This article is about the instrument. For the inventor, see. For the Covenant album, see. For the 1993 documentary, see. It is named after the Westernized name of its Soviet inventor, Лев Термен , who patented the device in 1928. Theremin played by Italian thereminist Fabio Pesce on a Moog Etherwave theremin. Problems playing this file? The instrument's controlling section usually consists of two metal that sense the relative position of the thereminist's hands and control for with one hand, and with the other. The electric from the theremin are and sent to a. The theremin was used in movie such as 's , , and 's. It has also been used in for such as the ITV drama. This has led to its association with situations. Theremins are also used in concert music especially and 20th- and 21st-century and in popular music genres such as. See also: The theremin was originally the product of Soviet government-sponsored research into. The instrument was invented by a young Russian physicist named Lev Sergeyevich Termen known in the West as in October 1920 after the outbreak of the. After a lengthy tour of Europe, during which time he demonstrated his invention to packed houses, Theremin moved to the , where he patented his invention in 1928. Subsequently, Theremin granted commercial production rights to. Although the RCA Thereminvox released immediately following the was not a commercial success, it fascinated audiences in America and abroad. During the 1930s, was also taken with the theremin and together with her husband provided both financial and artistic support to the development and popularisation of the instrument. In 1938, Theremin left the United States, though the circumstances related to his departure are in dispute. Many accounts claim he was taken from his apartment by NKVD agents preceding the KGB , taken back to the and made to work in a laboratory prison camp at Magadan, Siberia. He reappeared 30 years later. In his 2000 biography of the inventor, Theremin: Ether Music and Espionage, suggested the Russian had fled to escape crushing personal debts, and was then caught up in Stalin's political purges. In any case, Theremin did not return to the United States until 1991. The components of a modern theremin, in kit form. After a flurry of interest in America following the end of the , the theremin soon fell into disuse with serious musicians, mainly because newer electronic instruments were introduced that were easier to play. However, a niche interest in the theremin persisted, mostly among electronics enthusiasts and kit-building hobbyists. One of these electronics enthusiasts, , began building theremins in the 1950s, while he was a high-school student. Moog subsequently published a number of articles about building theremins, and sold theremin kits that were intended to be assembled by the customer. Moog credited what he learned from the experience as leading directly to his groundbreaking , the. Around 1955, a colleague of Moog's, electronic music pioneer , purchased one of Moog's theremin subassemblies to incorporate into a new invention, the , which was intended to be an easy-to-use keyboard theremin. Since the release of the film in 1993, the instrument has enjoyed a resurgence in interest and has become more widely used by contemporary musicians. Even though many theremin sounds can be approximated on many modern synthesizers, some musicians continue to appreciate the expressiveness, novelty, and uniqueness of using an actual theremin. The film itself has garnered excellent reviews. Both theremin instruments and kits are available from manufacturers such as , Burns Theremins, , , , and. Some inexpensive theremins may only have a pitch control and may be harder to play accurately because of a relatively non-linear relationship between the distance of the hand and resultant pitch, as well as a relatively short span of hand-to-antenna distance for producing the available range of pitch. Block diagram of a theremin. Volume control in blue, pitch control in yellow and audio output in red. The theremin is distinguished among musical instruments in that it is played without physical contact. The thereminist stands in front of the instrument and moves his or her hands in the proximity of two metal antennas. The distance from one antenna determines frequency pitch , and the distance from the other controls amplitude volume. Higher notes are played by moving the hand closer to the pitch antenna. Louder notes are played by moving the hand away from the volume antenna. Most frequently, the right hand controls the pitch and the left controls the volume, although some performers reverse this arrangement. Some low-cost theremins use a conventional, knob operated volume control and have only the pitch antenna. While commonly called antennas, they are not used for receiving or broadcasting radio waves, but act as plates of. The theremin uses the principle to generate an audio signal. The instrument's pitch circuitry includes two set below 500 to minimize radio interference. One oscillator operates at a fixed frequency. The frequency of the other oscillator is almost identical, and is controlled by the performer's distance from the pitch control antenna. The performer's hand acts as the plate the performer's body being the connection to ground of a in an L-C inductance-capacitance circuit, which is part of the oscillator and determines its frequency. In the simplest designs, the antenna is directly coupled to the tuned circuit of the oscillator and the 'pitch field' that is the change of note with distance, is highly nonlinear, as the capacitance change with distance is far greater near the antenna. In such systems, when the antenna is removed, the oscillator moves up in frequency. To partly linearise the pitch field, the antenna may be wired in series with an inductor to form a series , resonating with the parallel combination of the antenna's intrinsic capacitance and the capacitance of the player's hand in proximity to the antenna. This series tuned circuit is then connected in parallel with the parallel of the variable pitch oscillator. With the antenna circuit disconnected, the oscillator is tuned to a frequency slightly higher than the stand alone resonant frequency of the antenna circuit. At that frequency, the antenna and its linearisation coil present an inductive impedance; and when connected, behaves as an inductor in parallel with the oscillator. Thus, connecting the antenna and linearising coil raises the oscillation frequency. Close to the resonant frequency of the antenna circuit, the effective inductance is small, and the effect on the oscillator is greatest; farther from it, the effective inductance is larger, and fractional change on the oscillator is reduced. When the hand is distant from the antenna, the resonant frequency of the antenna series circuit is at its highest; i. Under this condition, the effective inductance in the tank circuit is at its minimum and the oscillation frequency is at its maximum. The steepening rate of change of shunt impedance with hand position compensates for the reduced influence of the hand being further away. With careful tuning, a near linear region of pitch field can be created over the central 2 or 3 octaves of operation. Using optimized pitch field linearisation, circuits can be made where a change in between the performer and the instrument in the order of 0. The mixer produces the audio-range difference between the frequencies of the two oscillators at each moment, which is the tone that is then wave shaped and amplified and sent to a loudspeaker. To control volume, the performer's other hand acts as the grounded plate of another variable capacitor. As in the tone circuit, the distance between the performer's hand and the volume control antenna determines the capacitance and hence natural resonant frequency of an LC circuit inductively coupled to another fixed LC oscillator circuit operating at a slightly higher resonant frequency. When a hand approaches the antenna, the natural frequency of that circuit is lowered by the extra capacitance, which detunes the oscillator and lowers its resonant plate current. In the earliest theremins, the RF plate current of the oscillator is picked up by another winding and used to power the filament of another diode-connected triode, which thus acts as a variable conductance element changing the output amplitude. The harmonic timbre of the output, not being a pure tone, was an important feature of the theremin. Modern circuit designs often simplify this circuit and avoid the complexity of two heterodyne oscillators by having a single pitch oscillator, akin to the original theremin's volume circuit. This approach is usually less stable and cannot generate the low frequencies that a heterodyne oscillator can. Robot playing Theremin Important in theremin articulation is the use of the volume control antenna. Small flutters of the pitch hand can be used to produce a vibrato effect. To produce distinct notes requires a pecking action with the volume hand to mute the volume while the pitch hand moves between positions. Thereminists such as use a fixed arm position per octave, and use fixed positions of the fingers to create the notes within the octave, allowing very fast transitions between adjacent notes. Recent versions of the theremin have been functionally updated: the Moog Ethervox, while functionally still a theremin, can also be used as a , and as such allows the artist to control any MIDI-compatible synthesizer with it, using the theremin's continuous pitch to drive modern synths. The Harrison Instruments Model 302 Theremin uses symmetrical horizontal plates instead of a vertical rod and horizontal loop to control pitch and volume, with the volume increasing as the hand approaches the plate. Music From The Ether manufactures a modernized vacuum tube replica of the RCA AR-1264 and a transistorized theremin which the customer may customize with most any wood species they desire as well as many available tolex colors with matching knobs. Maverick composer Percy Grainger chose to use ensembles of four or six theremins in preference to a string quartet for his two earliest experimental Free Music compositions 1935—37 because of the instrument's complete 'gliding' freedom of pitch. Musician used the instrument in his concerts and in , providing also a short history of Léon Theremin's life. Other notable contemporary Theremin players include , , and. On 20 July 2013, a group of 272 theremin players Matryomin ensemble in , , , achieved a as the largest theremin ensemble. The name Matryomin is a of the words and theremin. In fact, Lothar was the name they gave to their theremin. The song actually features a similar-sounding instrument invented by called an. Upon release, the single prompted an unexpected revival in theremins and increased the awareness of. In response to requests by the band, began producing their own brand of instruments which would mimic the sound of a theremin. The Lothars are a Boston-area band formed in early 1997 whose CDs have featured as many as four theremins played at once — a first for pop music. Film music was one of the first to incorporate parts for the theremin in , including a use in his for the film : — 1931, and. While the theremin was not widely used in performances, the instrument found great success in many motion pictures, notably, , , all three of which were written by , the composer who pioneered the use of the instrument in Hollywood scores , , , , , Castle in the Air 1952 film , and the 1956 DeMille film. The theremin is played and identified as such in use in the movie. More recent appearances in film scores include , and both featuring. A theremin was not used for the soundtrack of , for which built disposable oscillator circuits and a to create the electronic tonalities used in the film. Los Angeles-based thereminist Charles Richard Lester is featured on the soundtrack of and has performed the US premiere of 1932 score for Komsomol — Patron of Electrification with the and in 2007. In Lenny Abrahamson's 2014 film, , Clara, the character played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, plays the theremin in a band named Soronprfbs. The theremin-like sound theme was actually provided by renowned studio soprano until her voice was removed in later seasons. Soprano Elin Carlson sang part of the theme when CBS-Paramount TV remastered the program's title sequence in 2006. It is the only known example of a theremin performance being the focus of an advertisement. He has previously also written an article, presented a radio show and incorporated the theremin in some of his televised comedy tours. First Theremin Concert for Extraterrestrials See Theremin performer Anton Kershenko and his young pupil at The First Theremin Concert for Extraterrestrials was the world's first musical broadcast dispatched from the Evpatoria deep-space communications complex in Crimea, and was sent seven years before NASA's. Seven different melodies were transmitted from audio-cassette recordings of the theremin being played by Lydia Kavina, Yana Aksenova, and Anton Kerchenko, all from the Moscow Theremin Center. The same instrument was also used to generate the outer space sounds for George Greeley's theme to the TV show. The Persephone allows continuous variation of the frequency range from one to 10 octaves. The ribbon is pressure and position sensitive. It has an for control, a handheld switch for and a foot pedal for volume control. It was developed by Russian composer in France, after he saw Lev Theremin demonstrate the theremin in 1924. By most accounts, the instrument was nearly impossible to control. Of the three instruments built, only the last one, made in 1978 for Lydia Kavina, survives today. The Fuzz Probe can be used as a theremin, as it can through feedback oscillation create tones of any pitch. The sensors measure the distance to your hands to control an effect or sound. The sound creates an ethereal tone, very similar to the theremin. The musical saw is classified as a friction with direct friction 131. Radio set 1 is to listen and to record the signal at around 1600. Radio set 2 is tuned at 1145 kHz so that its local oscillator of around 1600 kHz is to be received by radio set 1. Radio set 3 is also tuned at 1145 kHz so that its local oscillator may produce the beat with radio set 2. Operator's hand movement around bar antenna of radio set 3 may affect the local oscillator to produce tonal change. An array of linear Hall-effect sensors, each acting as an individual theremin in a changing magnetic field, responds to multiple moving neodymium magnets worn on fingers and forms a continuous interaction space in two dimensions. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. Retrieved 16 April 2010. Retrieved 16 April 2010. Retrieved 16 April 2010. Archived from on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2012. In Grove Music Online. A source guide to the music of Percy Grainger,. White Plains: Pro-Am Music Resources. Archived from on 2012-02-24. Archived from on 2012-10-28. Retrieved 14 January 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2015. Archived from on 2009-09-17. Inside Star Trek The Real Story. Archived from on September 14, 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2010. Archived from on 2012-10-14. In Baptiste Caramiaux, Koray Tahiroglu, Rebecca Fiebrink, Atau Tanaka eds. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. London, United Kingdom: Goldsmiths, University of London. CS1 maint: Uses editors parameter PDF. Strange Sounds: Offbeat Instruments and Sonic Experiments in Pop 1. The Art of Playing the Theremin. Theremin: Ether Music and Espionage. J; Trocco, Frank 2009. Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey Film and DVD. Videotape VHS and DVD. Moog Music and Little Big Films.
