Something to help you study
Ansel Ashby |
Last Updated:2/3/10 Section: Music Reviews
Many of us listen to classical music while we study, be it Bach, Beethoven, or Mozart, as a way to focus and relax while doing work. Supposedly there is something to do with rhythm that makes us think well, or at least study harder.
I started off with a Pandora station set to one of the old masters of classical music and stumbled upon a hidden gem: Zoe Keating, a contemporary classical composer and musician. Born in Canada on February 2, 1972, she started playing the cello when she was eight. She studied at Sarah Lawrence College in New York and Scuola di Musica di Fiesole in Italy. She soon moved to San Francisco, where she currently resides.
At this point you're probably asking me how a single cellist could possibly achieve the same semblance of sound that a full orchestra, or at the very least a quartet could achieve. If you're familiar with looping, it isn't that hard. Keating's debut album, Once Cello x 16: Natoma is a testament both to her technological abilities and her musical talent. She loops her cello back upon itself; that is to say, she records herself and then plays over the recording, up to 16 times. If you are familiar with either Andrew Bird or Final Fantasy (the band, not the video game), you get the idea.
Of course, some obvious differences exist between Keating and, say, Bach, a few sections to say the least, but it does fulfill my requirement of study music. First, it's not distracting; it is actually quite soothing. Second, it keeps me focused and awake. And finally, I actually enjoy it.
Zoe Keating has also worked with a number of notable artists over the past few years, and on a number of different sound tracks. She worked, most notably, on The Secret Life of Bees and with Amanda Palmer on Who Killed Amanda Palmer. She's won a bunch of awards, too.
So the next time you're reaching for that coffee or Red Bull to help you pull an all-nighter, instead of putting on a selection of baroque and renaissance classical, try creating a new station for Zoe Keating. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Her new album, Into the Trees, comes out soon.
I started off with a Pandora station set to one of the old masters of classical music and stumbled upon a hidden gem: Zoe Keating, a contemporary classical composer and musician. Born in Canada on February 2, 1972, she started playing the cello when she was eight. She studied at Sarah Lawrence College in New York and Scuola di Musica di Fiesole in Italy. She soon moved to San Francisco, where she currently resides.
At this point you're probably asking me how a single cellist could possibly achieve the same semblance of sound that a full orchestra, or at the very least a quartet could achieve. If you're familiar with looping, it isn't that hard. Keating's debut album, Once Cello x 16: Natoma is a testament both to her technological abilities and her musical talent. She loops her cello back upon itself; that is to say, she records herself and then plays over the recording, up to 16 times. If you are familiar with either Andrew Bird or Final Fantasy (the band, not the video game), you get the idea.
Of course, some obvious differences exist between Keating and, say, Bach, a few sections to say the least, but it does fulfill my requirement of study music. First, it's not distracting; it is actually quite soothing. Second, it keeps me focused and awake. And finally, I actually enjoy it.
Zoe Keating has also worked with a number of notable artists over the past few years, and on a number of different sound tracks. She worked, most notably, on The Secret Life of Bees and with Amanda Palmer on Who Killed Amanda Palmer. She's won a bunch of awards, too.
So the next time you're reaching for that coffee or Red Bull to help you pull an all-nighter, instead of putting on a selection of baroque and renaissance classical, try creating a new station for Zoe Keating. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Her new album, Into the Trees, comes out soon.
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