Theremin

I want a theremin...

Anyone played one? Built one? (there's numerous schematics out there...)

anyone ever...composed for one?

In my research, I came across a single professional classical thereminist: Carolina Eyck. Check out the audio/video - it's very interesting...

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There's a related French instrument: 'Ondes Martentot' (used by Messaien in the Turangalila) his second wife Yvonne Loriod played.

It's a simple principal, your hand usually varying the capacitance of an ocillator tuned circuit mixing with a fixed oscillator to produce a beat.

If you want concert quality, then.... hope you have a fat wallet!

If you want it for experiment, depending on the circuit you choose they're quite easy to build, the cabinet/metal work probably harder than the electronics. If you have soldering skills, it shouldn't take long to run one up using some kind of prototyping board - we used to use Veroboard (not sure if that's still available but there are substitutes).

Good luck.

M

ps:edit. I had a look round but the one useful circuit uses an obscure double-balanced diode tran thing that's probably discontinued. There 's one on Theremin world that omits volume control but that isn't what you want. Is it worth an email to Theremin World to see if they can suggest current circuits/kits ?

I have a friend who's learning to play the Theremin who wants me to compose something for him. It will probably take a few years for him to get the tuning down though.

It will probably take a few years for him to get the tuning down though.

It does look VERY difficult eh?! Ms. Eyck has published a theremin method book...which looks (at the same time) useful, and damn complicated :P

I played a theremin once. It was fun to play, and fairly easy for me to get the hang of it...maybe because I'm a string player. We don't have keys or frets, so we have to train ourselves to "know" where a pitch is on our instrument. Similar overall principle.

Oh God, the theremin is a wonderful instrument, isn't it? I want one as well! I believe Shostakovich composed for the theremin, but I am not quite sure...

I play the theremin, and am actually friends with Carolina Eyck. I have a short recording at the following web-address, but it's rather out-of-date. I've got better since I made it. It is a brilliant instrument to play though. The novelty doesn't wear off, but it's really rather difficult to play. If you're musical, it's not hard to get the hang of it (if you've got no sense of pitch, then you're screwed), but is really very difficult indeed to master. Most people who start can't hold a tune on the thing bearably, and it seems to attract people with poor senses of pitch.

www.myspace.com/charliedraper

Unfortunately there's very little repertoire for the theremin itself, so I'm sort of restricted to emulate (badly) the repertoire of other instruments. It would be quite fun to write for theremin - you'd have to write a melody that was mainly stepwise, with jumps of more than a sixth occuring rarely, and only for dramatic effect, and an accompaniment would be a must. In fact, this gives me an idea for a competition! I'd be happy to perform any (playable) compositions, were any of the YCs to write them - in fact, this July I'll be meeting near London with a handful of thereminists, so a theremin duet or ensemble might even be feasible.

P.S Shostakovich didn't write for Theremin, but Martinu, Cage, Roszka and Varese all have.

I want one for free improv and other spontaneous settings, so holding a tune is secondary to simply acquiring one.

Did you build or buy yours?

P.S Shostakovich didn't write for Theremin, but Martinu, Cage, Roszka and Varese all have.

As a true obsessive-compulsive, I researched it a bit and...voila!

Odna - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Also, Zetetic, I listened to your recording... Rachmaninov and Theremin? Two thumbs up!

Wow! I never realised Shostakovich wrote for theremin! That's so cool! I need to get the score.

Thanks for the tip-off manossg, and thanks for the compliment too.

You're welcome! I shall use you as a teacher when I get my teeth around a theremin (is this even physically possible?) !!!

You could sort of eat it I suppose. . . but the antennas are made of metal, so you'd probably break your teeth. Plus it would scream horribly at you. And you might hurt it. . . . .

And I thought only oboists developed such affection for their instruments! :P

Ah my guitarist wants one, was going to build one, but he said it was too expensive or something.

I don't think he could handle it currently.

It would be cool to omit the the volume control, and instead use a foot volume pedal to control it... and then play two theramins at once. Or a theramin and another instrument... or whatever.

Be nice to effects process the theramin too. Maybe add a little detune chorus to add some extra tone to it. Be fun.

It would be far to hard for anyone to play two theremins properly at once, unless they wanted to just make sound effects. Incidentally, the inventor of the Theremin experimented a fair bit with pedals for volume control before he invented the second antenna. This picture shows his assistant Goldberg playing one:

http://www.peterpringle.com/theremin%20jpegs/ther1.jpeg

If you're interested, my friend Peter Pringle's written a concise but interesting history of the Theremin's development alongside its sister-instrument, the Ondes Martenot:

Ondes & Theremin #1