Making music with a cello, computer, and software.

 

Zoe Keating makes music with only a classical cello, a MacBook Pro, and music editing software.  She describes her music as “the fusion of information architecture and classical music,”.  She goes on to say that “the way that you problem-solve in the world of technology … really lends itself to problem-solving with the kind of music that I do.”  Her music is the product of her playing a few measures of music for a base and then she will layer up what is on the computer, so that she has the effect of multiple people playing with her, then finally she will play the main portion of the song on her cello while the computer plays what she has already played and recorded.  The way she uses technology in order to play the music she wants to is a prime example of Informatics.  She had a problem, being that she could not get the number of cello players together that she wanted and so what did she do?  She uses technology to fix this and now it sounds as if there are any number of cellos playing the parts she wants.  Thanks to this, she no longer has to write music at all, instead she will play what she wants and if it does not work she will delete it, however, if she does like it, she can go with it, improvise, and hopefully finish with a beautiful song.  I think that is amazing, I love that she uses technology to make what she wants.  The idea of taking something you play and playing something different over a track you have already recorded and just adding to a song until you have something you love is what I believe music is all about, and if you only have yourself to make your music, then do what you can.  Zoe Keating uses technology to make her music come to life.

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/05/keating/