I have not posted to this part of the board before so I will introduce myself. I play guitar and keyboards and I am an experimental composer. I own several Moogerfoogers and have considered getting a Voyager but I also have a great interest in the theremin for a few reasons. First, it sounds ike the Ondes Martenot which is an almost ancient electronic instrument way before the Minimoog and I love the Ondes. Second, Messiaen sound great on it and I am a big Messiaen fan:
I also love any controller that is expressive. The fact that the Theremin also produced CVs also makes it a great instrument to use to control my foogers. But that is the easy part.
I have looked at some of the methods of hard positions to control a theremin. It looks fairly simple but I am not sure what degree of control it takes to make it sound decent and not out of tune.
My question is this. What is the learning curve off a theremin? Is it something that takes years to perfect or can I get some decent results with a little bit of practice?
It takes years to perfect theremin playing! There are numerous videos on YouTube of people playing the theremin…even the mediocre players are awesome. If you think the Ondes Martenot is ancient, consider for a minute that the Theremin dates back to the 1920’s, and perhaps you’ve heard of the Telharmonium? That was the second electric instrument…not electronic.
Actually, I have an entire book dedicate to the telharmonium. An amazing instrument with a really interesting history. It was also huge and really the first additive synthesizer.
I guess what I was wondering about the theremin is how much practice is it going to take to get a decent sound from it. It’s clearly an instrument for which technique takes a long time to perfect. Take the guitar, yuo can pick it up, learn a few chords and a few was to strum it and sound decent.. You can also take an entire life perfecting playing techniques. I am wondering from personal experience what people have experienced with the theremin.
THe Theremin is pretty darn difficult to play, but if you spend the time that you woudl practicing on any instrument then it will definately come to you.
THe key is building the muscle memory necessary to accurately repeat intervals with your hand. Like depending on how you open your hand it will be a 5th or an octave. Once you can do that youre pretty much set so no matter how you are extended at the elbow youll be able to accurately flip out intervals.
I say this like im an expert player but in theory thats all it takes in my opinion. In practice thats pretty difficult. The instrument takes a while to heat up and finding the perfect tuning for you can be tricky until that happens. Also, just standing perfectly still in regards to your trunk can be hard too. Randy George (guy who did the Gnarles Barkley Crazy cover on the theremin) plays sitting down. Finding the right height for the theremin in comparison with your body is an issue too.
Overall you shoudl be able to play it if you put as much effort on that as you woudl anything else. If you can take the time to learn the principles of analogue synthesis then you should be able to pick a tune out on the theremin.
Bob Moog wrote a good theremin article on moogarchives.com. search for it under the theremin tag.
Also, the inventor of the Martenot was closely associated with Leon Theremin.
OK, thanks for the input. I like expressive instruments and the gestural nature of the theremin fascinates me as does the Ondes Martenot but the theremin more or less does the same thing but is more 3D and I like that. There are also other ways o using gestures such as accerometers so I am curious about even expanding on the theremin concept. I already play two instruments now (keyboard and guitar) so I suppose a third is not that much of a stress. Each instrument I have leared also adds greatly to my composition. Each instrument provides a unique venue for expressing musical ideas so I think I might just get a theremin.
i just picked up a theremin recently. and i have to say its pretty dificult to play well. but once you learn good body control (shallow breathing, not swaying while standing, keep your shoulders back and back straight) it becomes alot easier. ive found a trick in the manual works very well is hum a note ans then try and find that note with the theremin. or create a drone with a synth and play harmony to that. octaves are the easiest to find then fiths and thirds. but using fingers as well as arm position make things alot smother. i can find notes quicker when using both are and finger positions. it work like a fine and coarse tuning knob
Breathing effects it! Wow! That might be used for a good for a CV control which is another reason I want to get one. Another way to use it is for pitch bend.
Right out of the box I can find CV controller uses for it. But I would also like to play it especially some Messiaen pieces that I would love too learn on it. I can always grow into it in time. It took me a long time to learn to play a guitar and keyboards and I am still learning. I played a trombone when I was a kid but never got the knack for it but I think I can master a theremin at least enough to make decent music with it. Some of the tracks I have heard of it are very beautiful and expressive. I am really really tempted to buy one now even though money is kind of tight right now. In the end, anything that can expand my horizons musically is a good thing. Music has always been a constant in my life and finding new ways to express it is worth the cost of the theremin.
i just want to clarify, i didnt mean breathing on it. i meant when you breathe your chest and shoulders rise and fall a little and thi affects your arm position slightly and thus intonation. but yes standing close and taking deep breathes in and out yield some pretty cool results, i would imagine with cv controls this would be amazing. do a whole preformance just by breathing
Yes, I did understand what you meant by this. I know how a theremin works. While in some ways its simple, its amazing how it responds to all gestures. Even the Ondes Martenot, which I do love, or on the cutting edge, the Continuum controller, are very expressive but still limited to the motion of fingers. The Theremin responds to every motion of the body as you have pointed out. Obviously, using the hands to create notes makes sense but in the controller realm, using different parts of the body can be very effective.
As well as an interesting performance. Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant used a theremin and played it with his torso, arm, hand, and another part I will not mention. Had to do with thrusting his hips, and I will say no more on the matter.
Exactly, say no more. Yes, I have seen “The Sound Remains the Same”. “Whole lotta Love” if I remember correctly. Page also played the guitar with a violin bow in one song. A precursor to the Wood electric violins Viper.
I think I will stay away from those types of motions but I am thinking more other more musical ones
My brother mentioned that Whole Lotta Love thing. The theremin was the “orgasm machine.” As for me, I’ve had my Etherwave for a good four or five months and I still sound like a cat fight. Well actually I was never quite that bad. Of course at first I didn’t know you should let the theremin warm up for about ten minutes if not a little longer before you start playing with it. I noticed that if I didn’t one of two things would happen. Either I just couldn’t play the full pitch range the theremin offers or my pitch antenna would go absolutely whacko. Of course both of these could also be caused by the extremely limited space in my apartment. My Etherwave sits on my dining room table when I pracctice, and near that is the kitchen with plenty of metal appliances and things to screw up the electromagnetic fields. And on the opposite side there’s my couch, which being one of those with a bed inside also has plenty of springs inside. Since the fields the theremin produces can pass through objects it creates all sorts of whacky interference. I did find that moving the couch some distance away and then waiting for at least fifteen minutes, during which I can usually manage to find something to do, helps with that particular problem. Not the most convenient solution but since I’m not an electronics buff and don’t know anyone I’d feel comfortable trusting to try tuning the Etherwave internally, it’ll have to serve. Right at the moment I’ve been trying to work on finding a comfortable stance, then of course finding and sustaining notes. I’m not even going to try for vibrato until I can at least produce a decent melody. THe funny thing with me is that ever since my brother recommended I try the theremin back in January, and more particularly since I ordered my Etherwave, I’ve been mentally writing theremin parts to some of my favorite songs. As Tears go By by the Stones comes to mind as one possibility, as does Paint it Black. Being a Taylor Swift fan I’ve even been tinkering with the idea of a theremin in some of her music if you can believe that. Then again though it might be rather out of place.
I guess this is why I have some reluctance to get one. I want to be able to play the thing and instability is a concern. Of course, a faraday cage or some sort of limited EM sheild might help.
There are numerous videos on YouTube of people playing the theremin…even the mediocre players are awesome. If you think the Ondes Martenot is ancient, consider for a minute that the Theremin dates back to the 1920’s, and perhaps you’ve heard of the Telharmonium? That was the second electric instrument…not electronic. 
