User:Vaughnbrathwaite

About Me
My name is Vaughn Brathwaite. I am a senior student at Berklee College of Music, with a Degree in Contemporary Writing and Production.

Musical Insight
My musical palette is very diverse and multicultural, and within those cultures, I studied various musical subsidiaries. I am a keyboard player and a bass player, so it is very important to be proficient at playing musical styles from various countries. I view my role as the mortar, the welding if you will, between the harmonic and rhythmic facets of music, which is a very important job.

How I Got Started
I was born in a Caribbean household. Growing up I was around oldies music, Reggae, Calypso music, and Soca music. Because of this upbringing, I was being conditioned to the infectious grooves and pulsating beats of the music. Surprisingly, no one in my family is a musician, and little did they know at the time, that their culture was preparing me for my musical destiny. Caribbean flavor isn’t the only genre of music I am proficient at in: I became fascinated with African American Gospel music and Fusion. I didn’t grow up in an African American church or around Fusion players, so I had to learn by observation. I decided to teach myself by immersing myself in the genres, via listening to music, Youtube.com, instructional DVDs, and private instruction from one of New York’s finest organists, Charles Minor. This period of my musical development was critical; it was the “Chitlin’ Circuit”, of my musical development.

I experienced a lot of criticism from older musicians, younger piers, and my family but I chose to put music first. My family and friends felt the tension and disconnect for some time, but I had goals to reach. As I studied Gospel and Fusion music, I realized the importance of sensitivity and precision as a musician. I find that a lot of musicians don’t really pay attention to being as accurate and sensitive as possible when playing their instrument. This is a vital requirement to being a musician that can touch the audience you target. Luckily, mentors, who had my best interest at heart, passed on this knowledge to me. Their advice helped raise the level of my playing considerably.

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