The first time I saw someone play the theremin, my jaw dropped. In the show Hannibal, Hannibal Lecter mentioned the instrument, making me pause the video and do a quick search on YouTube. I quickly found a video featuring Peter Pringle, a master thereminist and performer of other rare instruments such as the Haken Continuum, the electric kantele, and the hurdy-gurdy. He was performing “Over the Rainbow,” conjuring music out of thin air with movements so synchronized and precise that it seemed magical. At that moment, I decided I had to buy a theremin and learn how to play it myself.
Video: Peter Pringle Playing “Over the Rainbow”
Science, Espionage, and Unrequited Love: The Story of the Theremin and Its Inventor
The Invention
Russian physicist and radio engineer Lev Sergeyevich Termen, later more widely known as Leon Theremin, accidentally invented this early electronic musical instrument a little over a century ago, in either 1919 or 1920. An amateur cellist, Theremin was musically sensitive enough to notice–during either an experiment measuring gases or the development of a proximity sensor (a device that used sound waves to sense approaching objects)–that he could produce musical sounds by moving his hands in the air. After inventing the theremin, in the 1920s, he captivated large audiences in the nascent Soviet Union. Vladimir Lenin, mesmerized by one of Theremin’s performances in 1922, began to take theremin lessons from the inventor–and soon sent Theremin and his eponymous instrument on a world tour spanning Russia, Europe, and the United States.
The Soundtrack for the American Zeitgeist
The theremin’s sound–“evocative of an alien, warbling violin,” as Smithsonian Magazine puts it–seems to serve perfectly as background music against which Theremin embarked on the industrial espionage mission that Lenin surreptitiously sent him on. For his eleven years in the United States, Theremin acted as a Soviet spy as he helped RCA commercialize his namesake instrument, whose otherworldly music added a touch of intrigue to the soundtracks of American films–the 1945 noir drama The Lost Weekend, the 1945 Alfred Hitchcock psychological thriller Spellbound, the 1946 horror flick The Spiral Staircase, and the 1951 sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still, to name a few.
For decades, the United States did not learn of Theremin’s espionage and was embracing the scientist’s one-of-a-kind invention. RCA planned to sell 15,000 to 20,000 theremins (but, incidentally, ended up selling 500 due to the 1929 Stock Market Crash); American Albert Hoffman was tasked with performing the theremin music of the aforementioned films; and Theremin himself performed at the New York Philharmonic and Carnegie Hall.
Clara Rockmore
In New York, Theremin met a Litvak virtuosa violinist named Clara Reisenberg, who had to give up her instrument due to an arthritic bow arm. Reisenberg quickly learned to play the theremin with such adeptness that Theremin gifted her an RCA theremin. Seeing that she was a violinist, he also offered to modify the theremin, reversing the poles so she could play vibrato with her left hand. Reisenberg insisted on playing the theremin without modification, saying that “other people who will follow should play it the way you invented it.” Theremin, who fell in love with her and proposed, was rejected. Reisenberg instead married a lawyer, Robert Rockmore, and was soon known as Clara Rockmore.
Despite the rejection, the two remained friends, and Rockmore later had Theremin build her a custom theremin with a greater frequency range and increased sensitivity.
Today, Clara Rockmore is widely considered the greatest theremin player who ever lived. Below is a video of Clara Rockmore playing an RCA theremin, with her sister Nadia Reisenberg accompanying her on the piano.
Video: Clara Rockmore Performing the Theremin with Her Sister Nadia Reisenberg on the Piano
Things Go Downhill
Disappearance and Imprisonment
Due to the extraordinary difficulty of theremin playing and economic problems, the theremin was not a commercial success. Worse still, Theremin disappeared from his New York apartment in 1938. While some academics assert that the NKVD (known as the KGB later, between 1954 and 1995) had kidnapped him, others claim that he may have been troubled by the coming war, financially bereft, or simply homesick.
Upon returning to Russia, Theremin was imprisoned on suspicion of crimes against the state, likely due to his long duration in the United States during a period in which Stalin’s USSR was paranoid of foreign influences. He was later tasked with inventing covert listening devices for the Soviet Union, either of his own volition or, by some accounts, due to the government coercing him to work in a sharashka (a secret research and development laboratory in the Soviet Gulag system). Though Theremin stayed in this job until 1966, in 1962, while still working for the Soviet Union, he met clandestinely with Clara and Robert Rockmore, who slipped on ice and died a year later, a traumatic event that Clara never recovered from.
During his job developing bugs for the Soviet espionage effort, Theremin invented “The Thing,” a covert listening device that was concealed in a Great Seal of the United States, which was gifted as a “gesture of friendship” by Soviet schoolchildren to the U.S. Ambassador in Moscow in 1945. “The Thing” was discovered seven years later.
Post-Imprisonment
Conflicting narratives describe what happened next. One account states that after escaping from his government job, Theremin produced his instrument for the Moscow Conservatory of Music and taught theremin-playing to musicians there, including his grandniece Lydia Kavina, who is now considered one of the best thereminists in the world. Another account maintains that Theremin, after retiring from the KGB, applied to and was rejected by the Conservatory, whose director allegedly stated, “Electricity is not good for music; electricity is to be used for electrocution.”
The Return of Theremin
In 1989, Theremin was finally completely free after 51 years of state arrest, but it wasn’t until 1991 that filmmaker Steven M. Martin arranged a meeting between Rockmore and Theremin for the documentary Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey (1993), at which point a resurgence of interest in the theremin occurred. Sadly, Theremin passed away a day after the debut of the documentary, which, thankfully, highlighted not only his challenging life circumstances but also his genius.
Theremin’s story is characterized by both a rare brilliance and considerable misfortune, reflecting both the possibilities and travails faced by inventors and artists throughout the 20th century. His legacy, however, lives on in the music and technology spheres, underscored by the enduring fascination with the theremin and its unique sound.
How the Theremin Works
This section comes with the caveat that I am not well-versed in science and technology. That said, I shall briefly explain how the theremin works without delving too deeply into the physics or providing any misinformation.
Pitch
Right-handed theremins, by default, have the pitch antenna–the metal rod that projects vertically from the body or arm of the theremin–on the player’s right side. This antenna is connected to oscillators–electronic components that create fixed pitches–inside the theremin. Oscillators in the theremin continuously generate electrical signals. When you move your hand near the antenna, it changes these signals’ properties, like their frequency, which in turn changes the sound you hear.
In tandem with the oscillators and circuitry of the theremin, the pitch antenna creates an electromagnetic field, or EMF (invisible forces created by electrically charged objects). An electromagnetic field is like an invisible bubble around electrical devices, including the theremin. This field is crucial for how the theremin produces music. Any conductive material, including your body, that is within that electromagnetic field will change its capacitance, i.e., the ability of the theremin antenna to store electrical charge. Your hand affects this charge, changing the sound, or electrical charge.
Specifically, by moving any part of your body toward the pitch antenna, you increase the capacitance and change the frequency of the oscillator’s signal, affecting another oscillator in the theremin and thereby changing the pitch you hear. In short, all other things being equal, if you keep your body still, moving your hand towards the pitch antenna produces a higher pitch, while moving your hand away from the antenna creates a lower pitch.
The notes get lower as you move your hand away from the pitch antenna, so if your hand is so far away from the pitch antenna that it goes past the lowest note and produces no sound, you reach a point that theremin players call “zero beat.” Moving your hand even farther away from the pitch antenna reverses the direction of the pitches such that the notes get higher again as you move your right hand closer to your body. No one that I know of plays with the pitch field reversed like this (and it is hard to fathom anyone performing the theremin in such a counterintuitive way). Thus, we adjust the settings of the theremin to ensure that the pitch field is never reversed and that the zero beat is either right before our right shoulder, as Austrian thereminist Dorit Chrysler plays the theremin, or a little behind the right shoulder, as my theremin teachers, German thereminists Carolina Eyck and Trautonia Capra, play the instrument. In the video below, Carolina explains how to play a major scale using what she calls “finger positions,” her right-hand system for controlling pitch on the theremin.
Video: How to Play a Scale on the Theremin
Volume
An electromagnetic field is also generated by the volume antenna, the metallic loop on the left side of the player. By moving your left hand closer to the volume antenna, you decrease the volume. Moving it further away from the volume antenna increases the volume. The null point, as it is called in the theremin world, is the point at which your hand is close enough to the volume antenna such that the theremin is muted. In brief, moving your left hand away from the volume antenna (either above or below it, though the former is the way the overwhelming majority plays the theremin) increases the volume, while moving your left hand closer to the volume antenna decreases the volume. In the video below, Carolina explains some left-hand techniques:
Video: Left Hand Articulation on the Theremin
Articulation and Expressive Nuances
One of the magical aspects of theremin playing is that, with just two parameters–pitch and volume–a skilled theremin player can produce music at a phenomenally expressive level. Wobbling your right hand a tiny bit like an upside-down pendulum, for instance, can vary the pitch of one note just enough to create vibrato. Lifting your left hand away from the volume antenna and dropping it quickly produces staccato. And since every part of your body affects the sound the theremin produces, every tiny movement in every part of your body–whether it be a slightly raised elbow, a subtly lowered forearm, or a torso that unconsciously sways by a few millimeters–matters.
Electromagnetic Fluctuations and Tuning
A Brief Explanation
As if all these factors do not make theremin playing difficult enough, the expansion and contraction of the pitch antenna’s electromagnetic field changes the pitch. These are not small fluctuations. They make a huge difference to the playability of the instrument, and it is a critical mistake not to tune your theremin properly and as frequently as possible to compensate for these fluctuations.
To understand how electromagnetic fluctuations affect the theremin’s playability, picture the electromagnetic field emanating from the pitch antenna. The field should be circular, with the pitch antenna serving as the center of the circle. Now, imagine a large number of concentric circles within the electromagnetic field. The perimeter of each concentric circle represents a note, and the number of concentric circles remains the same whether the field expands or contracts. This means that if the field expands, the concentric circles, i.e., notes, are spaced farther apart from each other, and if the field contracts, the notes are more squished together.
This variability in the spacing of the notes occurs frequently, meaning that the theremin should be tuned frequently as well. By frequent, I do not mean in a matter of months, as is the case for acoustic pianos, but in a matter of a few minutes–sometimes even within a minute!
What proper theremin tuning accomplishes is to ensure that the spacing of the invisible notes emanating from the pitch antenna remains consistent each time you play. Without such consistency, it is impossible to internalize exactly where and how your right hand should be positioned to find the right notes, let alone perform any recognizable music that can be considered listenable.
Temperature and Humidity
One variable that causes the pitch field to fluctuate is the weather. Warm or humid weather expands the pitch field, while cool or dry weather contracts the field. Even barely perceptible changes in temperature and humidity can change the size of the pitch field a lot within just a few minutes. In the middle of a performance, for example, the room temperature rises a little as the audience grows, thereby expanding the pitch field. In air-conditioned rooms, the temperature will drop, causing the pitch field to contract.
Warmup
On a related note, like many electronic devices, a theremin needs a little time to “warm up” to its optimal operating condition after being turned on. Specifically, the temperature of the theremin rises for roughly 20 minutes or more after you turn it on. This increase in temperature causes the pitch field to expand, so it is inadvisable to play the theremin before it has had time to warm up. A theremin’s suggested warmup time varies with its make and model. My Moog Claravox Centennial theremin, for instance, has a suggested warmup time of 20 minutes; however, I have found that the actual time it takes for my theremin to reach a stable temperature can extend to 40 minutes or more. Like all other factors affecting the pitch field, the theremin’s internal temperature should not be overlooked. These are not small variations–moving your hands precisely the same way as you did 20 minutes ago, before warmup, may yield abysmal musical results (e.g., the same right-hand movement that produced an octave interval 20 minutes ago may instead produce a minor sixth interval!)
Large objects
Yet another consideration in theremin intonation is the problem of nearby objects, especially if they are large items like pieces of furniture, people, or walls. Large objects near the theremin can interfere with its electromagnetic fields, so it’s important to have a clear space around the instrument for consistent performance.
Close objects that have great mass drastically expand the pitch field, sometimes to the point of making the theremin unplayable. Indeed, even small objects can slightly affect the pitch field. To practice the theremin, I once dangled a small aluminum cigar tube on a floor lamp (more on that later). When I set my contraption about 1.5 meters away from the pitch antenna, the cigar tube swung like a pendulum. I then played a single, long note, and I noticed that the pitch swung up and down a little in perfect synchronization with the swinging tube!
So, we need to maintain a safe distance between the theremin and other objects, which, for my particular theremin, is roughly 2.5 meters. This does not mean that no object should be placed within 2.5 meters of the theremin (if that were the case, the theremin player herself wouldn’t be allowed to stand there!). Rather, this means that the theremin is unplayable in a cramped space and that moving objects should not be in its proximity. This brings us to the next variable.
Moving objects
When you play the theremin, your spellbound audience will inevitably gravitate towards your instrument, checking whether you are performing a magic trick or touching strings that appear invisible from afar. For all except the most skilled thereminists, a nearby audience (within approximately 2.5 meters of your instrument) will make your theremin unplayable. For one, the audience’s mass will dramatically expand the pitch field. For another, your audience’s movement will push and pull your intonation, making it impossible for you to hit the right notes.
Even moving objects below the theremin affect intonation! As a beginner theremin player, I practice at home and don’t perform publically, so I rarely have a human audience. Instead, my two dogs observe my theremin playing. As they scamper around and below the theremin, they swing the pitches up and down in sync with their wagging tails. While this effect is comedic, it serves only to hinder my development as a theremin player and to highlight the need to ensure a stable playing environment.
Tuning
Tuning a theremin involves adjusting the baseline settings of the pitch and volume controls to ensure the instrument responds accurately to your movements. This process adjusts the pitch controls so that the theremin accurately responds to your movements. As I mentioned before, environmental factors like the presence of large objects, temperature changes, and humidity can shift the electromagnetic field, necessitating frequent adjustments to maintain the theremin’s sensitivity and accuracy. If you are thinking of playing anything besides spooky or sci-fi sound effects on the theremin, pay close attention to this section!
There are many ways to tune the theremin. For now, it would suffice to explain the steps for theremin tuning in very general terms (though it’s admittedly difficult to explain this in words clearly and concisely):
General Steps for Theremin Tuning
- Preliminary tuning: Keeping your left hand far away from the volume antenna so that the theremin is unmuted, move your right hand from close by the volume antenna to your body. The zero beat (right past where the volume antenna produces the lowest note) should be right in front of your right shoulder or a little behind it, depending on which thereminist you follow.
- If the zero beat is way in front of you, that means the pitch field is too small. Expand the pitch field with the pitch knob. For most theremin models, this means turning the pitch knob counterclockwise.
- If the zero beat is way behind you, that means the pitch field is too large. Contract the pitch field with the pitch knob. For most theremin models, this means turning the pitch knob clockwise.
- Repeat Steps 1 to 3 until the zero beat is at the proper distance from your body.
- Fine-tuning: Keep your right hand in a fixed position and lift your left hand so that you play a steady note that is well within the frequency range of the piece you will play. For example, if you are playing “Hänschen klein” in F major (CAA, B♭GG, FGAB♭CCC…), find the ‘C’ you will be playing. Keep that note steady.
- Drop your left hand, but keep your right hand perfectly still. This mutes the sound.
- Without moving any other part of your body, move your fingers and/or wrist in such a way that you change the note, and lift and drop your left hand again so you can play this second note.
- Know what two notes your theremin ought to emit given a perfectly consistent motion from Step 5 to Step 7. Say that the two notes ought to be ‘C’ and an ‘F’ below it. If Steps 5 to 7 produce a narrower interval such as ‘C’ to the ‘G’ below, that indicates that your pitch field is too large. Contract the pitch field a little by turning the pitch knob a tad clockwise. If, on the other hand, the interval you produce is larger than ‘C’ to ‘F’, turn the pitch knob a tad counterclockwise.
- Keep fine-tuning the size of your pitch field with the pitch knob until the expected notes–in this case ‘C’ and the ‘F’ below–can be played with the exact same hand gestures. Once you accomplish this, you are done tuning!
If you are utterly discombobulated, check out the embedded video below. Carolina tunes using an octave, the usual way of tuning, rather than a fifth interval, as I explained above.
Video: How to Tune a Theremin
Linearity
A closely related concept to tuning and intonation is linearity. A theremin’s linearity is simply how evenly distributed the invisible concentric circles (i.e., musical notes) are when they are emitted from the pitch antenna.
Like a string instrument, the notes on the theremin are not perfectly and evenly distributed. On string instruments, lower notes are farther apart on the string, while higher notes are more narrowly spaced. However, while string instruments have a lack of linearity that follows the same proportions thanks to the laws of physics, different theremins distribute their notes according to different proportions, making it even harder to pinpoint where each note will be.
Some theremins are more linear than others, and certain models, such as Moog’s Etherwave Standard and Etherwave Plus, can be modified by soldering modules that improve linearity, which of course helps with playability.
An example of a very linear theremin is Moog’s long-discontinued Etherwave Pro, perhaps the most highly regarded theremin in the world. Another linear theremin is Moog’s Claravox Centennial, given the right settings in its “modern mode” and adjustments. However, the same company makes the entry-level Theremini, which is so devoid of linearity that professional thereminists like Carolina Eyck refuse to teach students who play it!
My Experiences Playing the Theremin
I had a video recording, which is long lost, of the very first time I tried playing a theremin–but perhaps “try” is not the right word. I remember showing a toothy grin in the video, flapping my hands crazily like a demented big bird and moving my head back and forth as I created humorous, extraterrestrial sound effects.
There are also a few videos of me attempting to play “Over the Rainbow” and “O Mio Babbino Caro.” The technique and intonation in these videos are abysmal, so I will save myself the embarrassment and refrain from posting them here.
Here is a not-too-horrible video of my umpteenth attempt at playing “The Peacocks,” a 1975 jazz standard composed by Jimmy Rowles that has an incredibly haunting melody and gorgeous harmony. My technique in the video is still a long way from decent, and the piece is still about ten times too advanced for my current level, but I think I did a passable job:
Video: My Theremin Rendition of A Jazz Ballad
Things to Work On
Having taken fourteen theremin lessons in the past three months, I am now well aware of numerous problems with my theremin playing technique. For instance, I had (and still have) to work on my posture. I tend to play hunched over, with elbows that are too far away from my torso, with a right arm that is either too low or too high, or with the theremin positioned too low or high. (It is obvious to me now that the theremin is too high in the video.) Relaxation and flexibility, neither of which I can boast, are paramount for good theremin playing. For these, I have been doing stretching exercises (almost) every time before I practice, and I try to get a massage two to three times per week.
More technical areas for improvement include my right-hand finger positions. These movements have to be fast, fluid, flexible, accurate, and precise, but old habits from more than two decades of piano playing die hard. For instance, whereas rotations of the wrist and forearm are essential for relaxed piano playing, this technique should be used deliberately and selectively in theremin playing in adherence to proper “aerial fingering.”
I am also constantly juggling my right-hand technique with that of my left hand. For too long, I paid so much attention to my right hand that I neglected my left hand, which, in the video above, exhibits both improper technique and too much rigidity, detracting from the quality of my musical phrasing, articulation, and dynamics. My left hand also went up and down for nearly every note, playing in a “pumping” motion that is not always desirable for proper articulation, dynamics, and phrasing. Needless to say, I have a long way to go!
Experimental Strategies
I have tried several experimental strategies to improve my theremin technique. Two strategies came from Carolina, with whom I had three in-person lessons in Berlin: what I call the Scarf Method and the Armrest Method.
The Scarf Method of theremin practice, designed for theremin tuning, involves hanging a loop made by a scarf, tie, or some other inelastic piece of fabric around your neck. Insert your right arm into the loop, make an “OK” sign with your thumb and index finger, and point your other fingers in the direction of the pitch antenna. This is what Carolina calls Finger Position 8. Once you play and hold the note you want steadily in Finger Position 8, rotate your right forearm and tilt your right wrist inward, curling your fingers while they point toward the ceiling so that you reach what Carolina calls Finger Position 1. From Finger Position 8 to 1, your “stabilization point” (where two deep lines meet below the center of your palm) should not move at all, and the pressure that your hand exerts on the scarf should remain the same. This ensures that you are not moving your right hand at all when you go from Finger Position 8 to 1–or else you will mess up the intonation and be wasting your time.
The other method from Carolina, the Armrest Method, involves the left arm. Designed to internalize the feeling of having your left forearm remain parallel to the ground, the strategy requires that an object of the right height be placed under your left forearm so that the only part of the left side of your body that moves is the left hand and fingers. The point of maintaining this position is to eliminate all unnecessary movements while performing left-hand articulation (as opposed to left-hand dynamics, which often require moving the left arm and elbow as well.) Unfortunately, this method was not helpful for me because it made my left forearm too relaxed–removing the armrest after two days of practicing with it made my left forearm drop lazily at a nonparallel angle to the ground.
The two remaining experimental strategies are my inventions. Because Finger Positions 5 to 8 are at the same “Tilt 5,” the angle of the ring formed by the right index finger and thumb parallel to the ground, I placed a small level on the ring to see if I could keep my right hand at a perfectly level angle. The image below shows how I used the level–though its placement, as I later found out, made for inaccurate measurements (a level could be used for my purposes, but it should not touch the thumb).
Finally, here is my wonky Cigar Tube Experiment, whose purpose is to ensure that my ring does not move around.
I punctured the bottom of a cigar tube so that I could use some wire to hang the tube on a floor lamp. I would play the five notes that are playable in Tilt 5 while keeping the cigar tube barely underneath and in the center of my ring, all the while trying not to touch the tube. I tried this method because precise theremin playing requires an immobile ring, and moving the ring unnecessarily interferes with consistent, accurate intonation.
As is probably evident by now, becoming better at the theremin requires an immense amount of dedication, patience, and self-discipline. I have yet to become skilled at this instrument, considered by many to be the most difficult one to master in the world. But a handful of others have done it!
Contemporary Theremin Performers and Luthiers
Thorwald Jørgensen
Take, for example, Dutch thereminist Thorwald Jørgensen, a professional percussionist who practiced the theremin for four hours per day for five years before he gave his first concert. I was ecstatic to meet Thorwald six years ago in Amsterdam to learn the theremin from him, but both my theremin and amplifier broke down due to voltage differences when he arrived at my place.
Here is Thorwald playing “Distant Shores” as he uses his theremin to produce the sound of the cello and of seagulls squawking. The results are uncanny!
Video: Thorwald Jørgensen Playing “Distant Shores,” Mimicking the Sounds of a Cello and Seagulls Squawking
Thorwald has an impressive classical repertoire that includes Alexander Alyabyev’s “Le Rossignol” (“The Nightingale”), which contains a high-register, whistling melody complemented by a mesmerizing imitation of birdcalls, as well as Rimsky-Korsakov’s famous “The Flight of the Bumblebee,” which many people assumed was impossible to play on the theremin.
Carolina Eyck
Speaking of the “Flight of the Bumblebee,” here is Carolina Eyck performing the piece at its intended blazing speed. “With technology, you can overcome speed limitations,” Carolina said to the Financial Times. She was probably referring to the use of an effect pedal, without which “The Flight of the Bumblebee” is most likely impossible to play on the theremin. Check out her video below:
Video: Carolina Eyck Performing “The Flight of the Bumblebee”
As if this were not impressive enough, Carolina can play the theremin and sing simultaneously, an incredibly difficult feat that requires extraordinary control over one’s body, and something that, to my knowledge, no one else has mastered.
Grégoire Blanc
Another incredible classical thereminist is French musician Grégoire Blanc, whose rendition of the theme of Schindler’s List puts mine to shame. Indeed, I tried playing the piece on the theremin many months ago, but I made the first few notes sound like an ambulance. Grégoire’s version, on the other hand, can evoke tears:
Video: Grégoire Blanc Performing the Schindler’s List Theme
Interestingly, Grégoire keeps his arms very low in comparison to Thorwald’s and Carolina’s. This difference seems not to detract from his music at all, however.
Pamelia Kurstin/Stickney
Speaking of different playing styles, here’s Pamelia Kurstin/Stickney (I don’t know which last name she goes by), who plays with a fascinating “Pacman” gesture on a left-handed theremin. Transitioning from a jazz background in the double bass to the theremin, Pamelia is one of a tiny handful of expert thereminists who play jazz. Her improvisation on “Autumn Leaves” is spot on, and her walking bassline makes her theremin sound as if it were an actual jazz bass! In this video, an already captivated audience can’t help but break into rapturous applause upon hearing her imitate the double bass:
Video: Pamelia Kurstin/Stickney Improvising on the Jazz Standard “Autumn Leaves” and a Walking Bassline
Peter Pringle
What else can you do on the theremin? This might not be a pure theremin sound, but pairing a suitable theremin with an Electroharmonix Talking Machine creates an eerie effect. Here, Peter Pringle makes his 1929 RCA theremin sound virtually indistinguishable from a human!
Video: Peter Pringle Making his Theremin Sing Like a Human
Trautonia Capra
Trautonia Capra, a former student of Carolina Eyck and her current assistant, is one of my theremin teachers (the other being Carolina herself). Trautonia specializes in experimental and ambient music. I was delighted to be invited to her home in Hamburg, where she gave a fascinating concert. One thing I remember well was the sound effect she made by submerging a gong in water, emitting an eerie, aquatic sound reminiscent of a waterphone. Trautonia is a fantastic teacher who truly cares about her students. Her ability to articulate complex concepts in theremin playing is incredible, and I have learned, and continue to learn, a lot from her.
Thierry Frenkel (Thereminist and Luthier)
Who else in the theremin world? Well, note that the title of this main section is “Contemporary Theremin Performers and Luthiers”; that is because no comprehensive discussion on the theremin is complete without mentioning Thierry Frenkel, a brilliant French thereminist and engineer who specializes in the repair, modification, and enhancement of theremins. Thierry invented the EPVM1345 module for the discontinued, acclaimed Etherwave Pro theremin, improving the sensitivity of the theremin’s volume antenna. He also invented the ESPE01 module for the Etherwave Standard and Etherwave Plus theremins, expanding their pitch range from a mere four octaves to six and improving linearity.
Thierry repaired my Etherwave Standard theremin for me many years ago, when I accidentally knocked the theremin over, dislocating the pitch antenna and splintering the wooden housing. He also found that the soldering of my ESPE01 module was unsatisfactory and helped me re-solder the module.
Thierry collaborated with Carolina Eyck to establish the Theremin Academy. (You may need a VPN to access the site.)
Other Thereminists
There are too many fantastic thereminists (e.g., Carolina’s former teacher Lydia Kavina, Charlie Draper, Katica Illenyi, hYrtis, and some of Carolina’s students, not to mention little-known thereminists from decades ago like Lucie Bigelow Rosen) to name in this article, so feel free to access this list of thereminists that I found on this webpage!
Comparative Analysis: Other Rare Instruments
Ondes Martenot
After all this theremin talk, it’s time to digress a little (just a little) and compare this amazing invention to other unusual instruments!
Sonically, the ondes Martenot is modeled after the theremin. However, one huge difference is the presence of a keyboard, making the task of playing in tune much easier. There is a string near the keyboard that the player can press on to create continuous glissandos and vibrato like those of a theremin.
In the twentieth century, production of the ondes Martenot was discontinued for many years, and it wasn’t until Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood, who is also a classical avant-garde musician, had one custom made for him that interest in the instrument was revived.
The ondes Martenot is most famously associated with the music of Olivier Messiaen, and has largely replaced the theremin, which was the originally intended instrument in Edgard Varèse’s piece, “Ecuatorial.” Check out a performance of Messiaen’s music on the ondes Martenot in the video below!
Video: The Ondes Martenot in Messiaen’s Music
Musical Saw
The musical saw is an idiophone whose sound is reminiscent of that of the theremin. Possibly invented in the Appalachians in the nineteenth century, the saw has spread across the globe and is even used by Taiwanese grandpas to play traditional Taiwanese songs. The musical saw is exactly what its name implies–a saw, one which you can get in almost any hardware store.
However, hardware store saws today generally do not serve as good musical saws, as the materials used in regular saws are of relatively low quality. Check out Grégoire Blanc’s beautiful performance of a baroque passacaglia on both the musical saw and the theremin below.
Video: Grégoire Blanc Performing the Musical Saw and the Theremin
Electrotheremin and Tannerin
Another instrument that sounds like the theremin is Paul Tanner and Bob Whitsell’s invention, the electrotheremin, which has also been further developed into a similar instrument called the Tannerin. The electrotheremin was designed as a touch instrument to specifically mimic the sound of a theremin while making it easier to hit the right notes and control the volume. Contrary to popular belief, the high-pitched sound in the song “Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys is not that of a theremin, but an electrotheremin.
Bob Boilen/NPR
Polyphonic Theremin
Lastly, do not be fooled by this prank pulled on April Fool’s! Synthesizer and theremin manufacturer Moog had thereminist Dorit Chrysler advertise a fictional “polyphonic theremin” that uses “Iso Directional Inductive Oscillator Technology,” also known as IDIOT! I must admit that many years ago, I knew nothing about the theremin and was fooled by this fake commercial:
Video: April Fool’s “Polyphonic” Theremin Prank
Theremin Models and their Characteristics
Thinking of getting a theremin? Why not give it a try, now that you know of the instrument’s incredible history; unique, contactless, method of playing; and diverse sonic possibilities? Here are a few theremins you can check out.
Etherwave Standard, Etherwave Plus, and Etherwave Theremin
The Moog Etherwave Standard and Etherwave Plus are some of the most commonly seen theremins, and for good reason. For their price points, they are well-built and reliable to play, with a more linear pitch range that is extended by two octaves if you solder Thierry Frenkel’s ESPE01 module properly.
A few years ago, the Etherwave Standard was given a new look by Moog. The new version of the Etherwave Standard, simply called the Etherwave Theremin now, is a little smaller than the original. According to Carolina, this means that the new version may not be suitable for taller, larger players.
Etherwave Pro
Another theremin made by Moog, the Etherwave Pro, was discontinued in the late 2000s. It remains the most sought-after theremin by those who take the instrument seriously. The Etherwave Pro has excellent linearity and a pitch range of 6.5 octaves. It comes with a jack to which you can connect a tuner, making it much easier to accurately find the right pitch.
In the early 2000s, this theremin was sold at a Moog theremin fair in Asheville, North Carolina for around US$700 only. Due to its demand and rarity today, its price point has skyrocketed to at least US$5000 (that is, if you can find one for sale!). Today, there is an Etherwave Pro on reverb.com for sale that goes for an eyewatering US$13,000!
Claravox Centennial
Partially modeled off of the Etherwave Pro and named after Clara Rockmore, Moog’s Claravox Centennial theremin, encased in walnut wood, is visually a beautiful work of art, in my opinion.
This theremin has two modes: traditional (analog) and modern (digital), the latter of which boasts great linearity. (Though the Claravox is not perfectly linear in modern mode, its linearity can be improved by adjusting two of its knobs.)
One downside of the Claravox is that it has been discontinued. Another disadvantage is that this theremin tends to have many glitches and issues, which many disappointed thereminists, including my teacher Trautonia Capra, observed. Moog claims that Claravox Centennial theremins with higher serial numbers are free from problems common in the earlier ones, but my own Claravox Centennial, which does have a relatively high serial number, has run into multiple issues, which, for brevity, I will not outline here.
That said, the Claravox is great despite its flaws. It has the same tuner connection capabilities as the Etherwave Pro, and there are many interesting timbres you can upload to the theremin via an app, which gives the theremin plenty of appeal. For me, the Claravox’s overall tone is much fuller and richer than the Etherwave Standard and Etherwave Plus; I consider the sonic difference analogous to that between a grand piano and an upright piano.
For more information about the Claravox Centennial and my experience with it, feel free to contact me or leave a comment.
Open Theremin V4
Here’s another great theremin, the Open Theremin made by Gaudi. But first, a few caveats: I had the first iteration of the Open Theremin many years ago, but for some reason, it was glitchy and the timbre was unsatisfactory, sounding much different from how the theremin sounded online.
Onto the advantages: as its name implies, Open Theremin is an open-source product that comes as a kit that you solder with an Arduino board and other components. For the price point, and assuming you solder everything properly, Open Theremin is not only a solid instrument but a fantastically compact one that can fit in a case just slightly larger than a pack of cigarettes.
Other Theremins
While the above are the most commonly seen theremins, there are many other theremins on the market. Recently, many professional thereminists have been playing the D-Lev, a digital theremin that I have not tried. Other theremins I have not played include Subscope theremins, custom-made by Dominik Bednarz; the Burns theremins, which are reportedly hard to play; vintage theremins such as Moog’s Big Briar models and the rare RCA ones from the 1920s and ’30s; a portable suitcase theremin made by the company Wavefront; toy theremins and light-sensing “flashlight” ones that can be bought on sites such as eBay or simply downloaded on your smartphone; and even a theremin cello made by Thierry Frenkel.
Conclusion
The theremin is arguably the most unique instrument ever invented. Its rich and intriguing history, magic-like way of playing, one-of-a-kind sound profile, and overall rarity make it a downright addictive musical device. So, now that you know all these things about the theremin, why not give it a try? The theremin community is very small, so we warmly invite you to join us!
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and feel free to chat about all things theremin-related by contacting me.
Leave a Reply