Theremin

The theremin or thereminvox (originally pronounced {{IPA|}} but often anglicized as {{IPA|}} http://www.thereminworld.com/faq.asp) is one of the earliest fully electronic musical instruments. Invented in 1919 by Russian Lev Sergeivitch Termen (also Termin, later gallicized to Léon Theremin), the theremin is unique in that it requires no physical contact in order to produce music and was, in fact, the first musical instrument designed to be played without being touched. The instrument consists of a box with two projecting radio antennas around which the user moves his or her hands to play.

The theremin in use

In movie soundtracks

Although it has never been a widely-played instrument, the theremin was the basis from which all twentieth-century electronic musical instruments were later developed. While not enjoying the wide use in classical music performance for which it was originally designed, the instrument found great success as the 'eerie' background sound in countless motion pictures, notably Spellbound, The Lost Weekend, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Ed Wood, Mars Attacks! and in Bartleby (the DVD for which contains a short feature on the theremin). Despite such efforts of serious virtuoso performers as Clara Rockmore, the instrument fell into novelty status, largely because of the extreme difficulty in playing it, as well as a lack of instruments and instructors. The theremin is used unusually, for a full melodic part, in the soundtrack of Hellboy.

Related Topics:
Twentieth-century - Classical music - Spellbound - The Lost Weekend - The Day The Earth Stood Still - Ed Wood - Mars Attacks! - Bartleby - Clara Rockmore - Hellboy

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In popular music

Theremin sounds have been incorporated into many popular music songs from the 1960s through the present.

Related Topics:
Popular music - 1960s

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When Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys requested a theremin be included in the studio orchestra for the recording of "Good Vibrations", none were available, nor a musician to play one. Paul Tanner was brought in with his homemade device called an Electro-Theremin (also referred to as a Tannerin) that featured mechanical controls which could mimic the theremin sound. For concert appearances, a slide-controlled oscillator was designed and built for Wilson by Robert Moog. The Tannerin was later used to test hearing.

Related Topics:
Brian Wilson - The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations - Paul Tanner - Electro-Theremin - Robert Moog

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The theremin has also been used by other modern groups such as in One Ring Zero, a modern genre-defying group. With its unique sound it fascinates any who watch it played, even more so than the groups' other interesting instrument choices. The theremin provides an interesting background to the groups' sound and is actually not used to provide an eerie or strange feel.

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The Western-influenced punk band Murder By Death uses a theremin in their live show, along with their usual array of instruments, which include an electric cello, custom-made guitars, and a startling variety of bass guitar pedals.

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Along with a recording of Dvorak's New World Symphony, Neil Armstrong took a recording of the theremin album Music Out Of The Moon by Dr Samuel Hoffman on Apollo XI.

Related Topics:
Dvorak - New World Symphony - Neil Armstrong - Dr Samuel Hoffman - Apollo XI

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Russian musician Lydia Kavina (a distant relative of Theremin) is today regarded as the greatest living theremin virtuoso, having been a protégé of Léon. Pamelia Kurstin is a present-day New York-based thereminist whose eclectic style and innovations continue to define the unique nature of the instrument.

Related Topics:
Lydia Kavina - Virtuoso - Pamelia Kurstin - New York

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After the release of the film, Theremin—An Electronic Odyssey in 1994 (one year after the death of Léon Theremin), the instrument has enjoyed a resurgence in interest and became more widely used by contemporary musicians. Even though theremin sounds can be reproduced easily on modern-day synthesizers, many musicians continue to appreciate the novelty and uniqueness of using an actual theremin.

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For a list of bands/tracks that feature a theremin: http://www.thereminworld.com/bands.asp.

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