From the articale ....With its sci-fi antennae bristling left and right, Russian physicist Leon Theremin’s novel invention of 1919 remains the only musical instrument you play without touching anything. “Aerial fingering” was the technique devised by the inventor’s original Lithuanian prodigy, Clara Rockmore, in the 1930s.
You could make the case that he has to "touch" (there's a physical interaction where his hand/glove blocks the light) the laser to trigger the note. I'm not even sure it would be that pedantic - there's a definite physicality to it that the theremin doesn't have.
From the headline I kind of expected it to be about some more contrived apparatus, something that was built ad hoc and is constantly close to self-disassembling from being used, like Wintergatan's Marble Machine:
Those are on the marble machine video, Eyck has a comparably puny 11 million. I think she deserves more, though.
Theremin is something of a niche instrument however. Around the same time as the Morricone cover was released I also stumbled on this syrian rap song, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxah0kE4cwU, and over the months after it was released I was surprised at how fast it was getting views. Apparently it found a broader audience despite being kind of niche as well.
"The Thing" Requires a mandatory mention [0]. Same principles and same designer.
It was a very sophisticated covert listening device (bug) for its time that went undetected for a long time. It did not have a conventional power source such as a battery or mains connection.
My first intro to this was the fascinating book The SpyCatcher.
To me it does sound unpleasant, like out of tune in a bad way (and I love untuned, atonal, experimental electronic music and use my own modular synth often, as a point of reference). Like the OP, I never understood the appeal of a theremin.
It was designed in 1920, before digital computers, and is made using a very small number of electronic components. So, they couldn't have made it sound like whatever they wanted, at the time.
There are still several companies who build it. Get one from Doepfer (German Manufacturer) here and connect it to a modular system or a semi-modular synth like a mini moog.
As a now inactive theremin player (but I will go back at some point!) I'm sad to learn that Moog isn't making real theremins anymore (the theremini isn't one).
The Moog Etherwave (Standard/Plus) wasn't the best theremin, but it was always extremely solid in terms of bang for the buck, a standard, easy to set up, reliable option with lots of other players you could ask for help, accessories (carry bag, mods, etc.) so it was the most logical recommendation for most newcomers.
There were (and probably still are) great choices from smaller makers as well, in fact I own one in addition to my Moog, but they were more adventurous choices that didn't offer the reliability and newbie-friendliness of the Moog at a comparable price. Many players would have their pet underdog theremin that they would personally use and prefer to the Moog, but would still recommend the Moog to newcomers because you just couldn't go wrong with it, and others were either expensive, fickle, unsupported, inconsistent quality, difficult to set up, difficult to source, etc. I don't know if newer options will have changed this.
I recently watched her live, introducing to the Theremin "for families", with a pianist. It was ok but too verbose and dumbed down (probably not by her, by her hosts). I'd try to attend her shows for grown ups instead, even with kids.
This was a case where the novelty of the instrument stood in the way of the performance.
"Good Vibrations" was actually recorded using an Electro-Theremin [1] (emphasis mine). It was essentially the same but sported more traditional knob controls. Also if you ever hear a Theremin-esque noise in an Elmer Bernstein soundtrack like "Heavy Metal" it was actually an Ondes Martenot [2] which is distinct from and less similar to the classic Theremin.
What stood out to me most is how personal the instrument is. The idea that the theremin tunes to your body and environment - that you become part of the instrument - feels almost mystical
Rob Scallon did a video with Carolina a few years ago, where they go into a bit of detail about how you play the thing and how it words. If you’re interested in the theremin, it’s a pretty good watch.
Do you know if there are any affordable "theremin" like MIDI control devices that enable free assignment of parameters to the antennas? For example, I could have both antennas control pitch, independently of each other, and amplitude would be set to a fixed value via a knob or on a device that the "theremin" sends its output to.
The D-Lev has a fairly extensive MIDI implementation, and you can control any CC with the volume hand (7 or 14 bits), so perhaps something like this would be possible if the synth it's driving is flexible enough.
There are 50 or so kits spread out all over the world, some in the hands of the world's best Thereminists, which has been quite gratifying. But the project has been in a bit of a hiatus while I do more R&D, and the current tariff situation isn't exactly filling me with enthusiasm. Enclosures and antennas have been a burden for some, a wine box build is probably your best bet. I don't mind supplying hand-wound coils and any guidance you may need. My contact info is on the support page.
I built a theremin in the early 80s for a school project. Had to get the local library to obtain books and other printed resources on it so I could make one. Sadly no pictures survive, and the device itself is long gone. Didn't think to document it at the time, beyond the hand in materials for the project. I was 14. I have wondered about getting a modern one though. They're so cool.
I think I saw her around 1999 or 2000 w an electronic group Arling & Cameron w a wind player. Lots of sound from a four piece. There is a different player on the album but they billed her as a world champion theremin player.
This is timely, I've been listening to Carolina Eyck a lot during the past few weeks! I've been building a virtual theremin for the Meta Quest, hoping to make this instrument more accessible and flexible by leveraging the powers of visual overlays and motion controllers. Here's a basic walkthrough: https://youtu.be/m8xFstjNxUo?si=ss2wSk1SIG90OWCM
I've been stuck waiting for Meta to verify my identity. Shortly after that happens, it'll be available on the Quest store.
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Many stringed instruments, the actual sound is made by whatever the strings are attached to, so there's a similar distance between touch and sound.
With percussion, it's quite direct, as with many wind instruments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajM4vYCZMZk
From the headline I kind of expected it to be about some more contrived apparatus, something that was built ad hoc and is constantly close to self-disassembling from being used, like Wintergatan's Marble Machine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvUU8joBb1Q
Theremin is something of a niche instrument however. Around the same time as the Morricone cover was released I also stumbled on this syrian rap song, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxah0kE4cwU, and over the months after it was released I was surprised at how fast it was getting views. Apparently it found a broader audience despite being kind of niche as well.
It was a very sophisticated covert listening device (bug) for its time that went undetected for a long time. It did not have a conventional power source such as a battery or mains connection.
My first intro to this was the fascinating book The SpyCatcher.
[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thing_(listening_device)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Theremin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6H1sLwJDQE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3xPyPEOmmM
Modern ones (the Moog ones I saw 20 years ago) have tunable waveforms but still hark back to that original sound.
I like the sound. In the sonic tradition of the cello.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XdFSU8sn3mo
Does this sound unpleasant to you? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=62lT9XsZVio (maybe it's subjective, but it sounds very pleasant to me).
The comment in the other reply to the parent comment, as well as what I've heard of Carolina Eyck's playing, do sound pleasant to me though.
Katica Illény doing the Star Trek theme https://youtu.be/x0NVb25p1oU
https://www.thomann.de/de/doepfer_a178.htm
https://doepfer.de/a178.htm
live in action: https://youtu.be/1mIferngPqY
or from stylophone:
https://www.thomann.de/de/duebreq_stylophone_theremin.htm
live in action: https://youtu.be/NNn-se0S4Ww
https://www.gaudi.ch/OpenTheremin/
The Moog Etherwave (Standard/Plus) wasn't the best theremin, but it was always extremely solid in terms of bang for the buck, a standard, easy to set up, reliable option with lots of other players you could ask for help, accessories (carry bag, mods, etc.) so it was the most logical recommendation for most newcomers.
There were (and probably still are) great choices from smaller makers as well, in fact I own one in addition to my Moog, but they were more adventurous choices that didn't offer the reliability and newbie-friendliness of the Moog at a comparable price. Many players would have their pet underdog theremin that they would personally use and prefer to the Moog, but would still recommend the Moog to newcomers because you just couldn't go wrong with it, and others were either expensive, fickle, unsupported, inconsistent quality, difficult to set up, difficult to source, etc. I don't know if newer options will have changed this.
Zaphod! Please take your hand off me. And the other one. Thank you. And the other one.
ZAPHOD:
I grew that one specially for you Trillian, you know that. Took me six months but it was worth every minute.
This was a case where the novelty of the instrument stood in the way of the performance.
I'm a lot of fun at parties.
[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electro-Theremin
[2] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ondes_Martenot
https://youtu.be/LYSGTkNtazo?si=wuqxx0_ojI-vfbwa
She's a super sweet person, and a consummate musician!
Do you know if there are any affordable "theremin" like MIDI control devices that enable free assignment of parameters to the antennas? For example, I could have both antennas control pitch, independently of each other, and amplitude would be set to a fixed value via a knob or on a device that the "theremin" sends its output to.
Manual: https://d-lev.com/support/D-Lev_Manual_2024-01-08.pdf Processor: https://d-lev.com/research/Hive_Design_2022-10-24.pdf
https://somasynths.com/flux/
https://youtu.be/jfpYluPyP3s?si=ohiXEkdEYoJkFht0
(It's hard to separate music Theremin from spy Theremin so I've just not tried)
Show HN: iOS Theremin Simulator with Hand Tracking (Beta) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42267668 - Nov 2024 (1 comment)
What the hell is a luminiferous theremin? - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41204378 - Aug 2024 (54 comments)
The Thing (Listening Device) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40583607 - June 2024 (1 comment)
YouTuber recreates Theremin's “Great Seal” spy bug [video] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36092382 - May 2023 (2 comments)
The Thing (Listening Device) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31232681 - May 2022 (1 comment)
The Thing (Listening Device) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27676518 - June 2021 (3 comments)
Russian Espionage and Electromagnetic Fields: The Story of the Theremin (2017) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23304053 - May 2020 (24 comments)
Theremin - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23029127 - April 2020 (1 comment)
The Thing - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20157116 - June 2019 (104 comments)
Peter Theremin’s haunting music, on his great-grandfather’s invention - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17955295 - Sept 2018 (1 comment)
Theremin's Bug: How the Soviet Union Spied on the US Embassy for Seven Years - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15498685 - Oct 2017 (11 comments)
Three Radio Theremin: Convert Old Radios into a Theremin - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11998382 - June 2016 (1 comment)
Our Comrade the Electron - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10437775 - Oct 2015 (1 comment)
Theremin - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10103717 - Aug 2015 (39 comments)
Our Comrade the Electron - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7310045 - Feb 2014 (2 comments)
The Great Seal Bug: How Theremin Eavesdropped On US Ambassador - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4191036 - July 2012 (1 comment)
Leon Theremin: The man and the music machine - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3696549 - March 2012 (1 comment)
The albums from that time were Arling & Cameron Music For Imaginary Films https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP5E3f0kgIG2riT_HOfOYwoMr... Others were All In & Voulez Vous an EP.
I've been stuck waiting for Meta to verify my identity. Shortly after that happens, it'll be available on the Quest store.