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The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an
electronic musical instrument An electronic musical instrument or electrophone is a musical instrument that produces sound using electronic circuitry. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical, electronic or digital audio signal that ultimately is plugged into ...
controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named after its inventor, Leon Theremin, who patented the device in 1928. The instrument's controlling section usually consists of two metal antennas which sense the relative position of the thereminist's hands and control
oscillators Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum ...
for frequency with one hand, and amplitude ( volume) with the other. The electric signals from the theremin are amplified and sent to a loudspeaker. The sound of the instrument is often associated with eerie situations. The theremin has been used in movie soundtracks such as Miklós Rózsa's '' Spellbound'' and ''
The Lost Weekend ''The Lost Weekend'' is a 1945 American drama film noir directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Ray Milland and Jane Wyman. It was based on Charles R. Jackson's The Lost Weekend (novel), 1944 novel about an Alcoholism, alcoholic writer. The film ...
'', Bernard Herrmann's '' The Day the Earth Stood Still'', and Justin Hurwitz's '' First Man'' as well as in theme songs for television shows such as the ITV drama ''
Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of I ...
'' and the Disney+ series ''Loki'', the latter composed by Natalie Holt. The theremin is also used in concert music (especially avant-garde and 20th- and 21st-century
new music New music may refer to: Musical styles and movements Pre-20th century * Ars nova, musical style in 14th-century France and the Low Countries * '' Le nuove musiche'', collection of monody by Giulio Caccini * New German School, music style in late 1 ...
) and in popular music genres such as
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
.


History

The theremin was the product of Soviet government-sponsored research into proximity sensors. The instrument was invented in October 1919 by the Russian physicist Lev Sergeyevich Termen, known in the West as Leon Theremin. After a lengthy tour of Europe, during which time he demonstrated his invention to packed houses, Theremin moved to the United States, where he patented his invention in 1928. Subsequently, Theremin granted commercial production rights to RCA. Although the RCA Thereminvox (released immediately following the Stock Market Crash of 1929) was not a commercial success, it fascinated audiences in America and abroad.
Clara Rockmore Clara Reisenberg Rockmore (9 March 1911 – 10 May 1998) was a Lithuanian classical violin prodigy and a virtuoso performer of the theremin, an electronic musical instrument. She was the sister of pianist Nadia Reisenberg. Life and career Early ...
, a well-known thereminist, toured to wide acclaim, performing a classical repertoire in concert halls around the United States, often sharing the bill with Paul Robeson. During the 1930s, Lucie Bigelow Rosen was also taken with the theremin and together with her husband Walter Bigelow Rosen 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 New York City apartment by NKVD agents (preceding the KGB), taken back to the Soviet Union and made to work in a '' sharashka'' laboratory prison camp at Magadan, Siberia. He reappeared 30 years later. In his 2000 biography of the inventor, ''Theremin: Ether Music and Espionage'',
Albert Glinsky Albert Glinsky (born December 9, 1952) is an American composer and author. His music has been performed internationally by soloists, ensembles, and dance companies. His book, ''Theremin: Ether Music and Espionage'' won the 2001 ASCAP Deems Tayl ...
suggested he 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. After a flurry of interest in America following the end of the Second World War, 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, Robert Moog, 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
synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
, the Moog. (Around 1955, a colleague of Moog's, electronic music pioneer Raymond Scott, purchased one of Moog's theremin subassemblies to incorporate into a new invention, the
Clavivox The Clavivox was a keyboard sound synthesizer and sequencer developed by American composer Raymond Scott beginning in 1952. He applied for a patent in December 1956 and was granted on Feb. 3, 1959. Scott had earlier built a theremin as a toy fo ...
, which was intended to be an easy-to-use keyboard theremin.) Since the release of the film '' Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey'' 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 received positive reviews. Both theremin instruments and kits are available. The Open Theremin, an
open hardware Open-source hardware (OSH) consists of physical artifact (software development), artifacts of technology designed and offered by the open-design movement. Both free and open-source software (FOSS) and open-source hardware are created by this ope ...
and
open software Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is released under a license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to use, study, change, and distribute the software and its source code to anyone and for any purpose. Op ...
project, was developed by Swiss microengineer Urz Gaudenz, using the original heterodyne oscillator architecture for a good playing experience, combined with Arduino. Using a few extra components, a MIDI interface can be added to the Open Theremin, enabling a player to use their Theremin to control different instrument sounds. 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.


Operating principles

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 their 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 capacitors. The theremin uses the heterodyne principle to generate an audio signal. The instrument's pitch circuitry includes two radio frequency
oscillator Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum ...
s set below 500
kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...
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 grounded plate (the performer's body being the connection to ground) of a
variable capacitor A variable capacitor is a capacitor whose capacitance may be intentionally and repeatedly changed mechanically or electronically. Variable capacitors are often used in L/C circuits to set the resonance frequency, e.g. to tune a radio (therefo ...
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 tuned circuit, 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 tuned circuit 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.e., it is closest to the free running frequency of the oscillator, and small changes in antenna capacitance have greatest effect. 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 capacitance between the performer and the instrument in the order of 0.01 picofarads produces a full octave of frequency shift. 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. Theremin's original design included audio frequency series/parallel LC formant filters as well as a 3-winding variable-saturation transformer to control or induce harmonics in the audio output. 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. Better designs (e.g., Moog, Theremax) may use two pairs of heterodyne oscillators, for both pitch and volume.


Performance technique

Important in theremin articulation is the use of the volume control antenna. Unlike touched instruments, where simply halting play or damping a resonator in the traditional sense silences the instrument, the thereminist must "play the rests, as well as the notes", as
Clara Rockmore Clara Reisenberg Rockmore (9 March 1911 – 10 May 1998) was a Lithuanian classical violin prodigy and a virtuoso performer of the theremin, an electronic musical instrument. She was the sister of pianist Nadia Reisenberg. Life and career Early ...
observed. If the pitch hand is moved between notes, without first lowering the volume hand, the result is a "swooping" sound akin to a
swanee whistle A slide whistle (variously known as a swanee or swannee whistle, lotos flute piston flute, or jazz flute) is a wind instrument consisting of a fipple like a recorder's and a tube with a piston in it. Thus it has an air reed like some woodwinds ...
or a glissando played on the violin. 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
Carolina Eyck Carolina Eyck (born 26 December 1987) is a German- Sorb musician specialising in playing the Theremin, an electronic instrument. Her performances around the world have helped to promote the unusual musical instrument. Biography German-born music ...
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. Although volume technique is less developed than pitch technique, some thereminists have worked to extend it, especially Pamelia Kurstin with her " walking bass" technique and Rupert Chappelle. Recent versions of the theremin have been functionally updated: the Moog Ethervox, while functionally still a theremin, can also be used as a MIDI controller, 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 a desired wood species, as well as many available tolex colors with matching knobs. The critic Harold C. Schonberg described the sound of the theremin as "(a) cello lost in a dense fog, crying because it does not know how to get home."


Uses


Concert music

The first orchestral composition written for theremin was Andrei Pashchenko's ''Symphonic Mystery'', which premiered in 1924. However, most of the sheet music was lost after its second performance. Other concert composers who have written for theremin include
Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. He bec ...
, Percy Grainger, Christian Wolff, Joseph Schillinger, Moritz Eggert, Iraida Yusupova, Jorge Antunes, Vladimir Komarov,
Anis Fuleihan Anis Fuleihan (April 2, 1900 - October 11, 1970) was a Cypriot-born American composer, conductor and pianist. A native of Kyrenia, Fuleihan belonged to a Christian Lebanese family; he attended the English School in that town before coming to the ...
, and Fazıl Say. Another large-scale theremin concerto is Kalevi Aho's Concerto for Theremin and Chamber Orchestra "Eight Seasons" (2011), written for
Carolina Eyck Carolina Eyck (born 26 December 1987) is a German- Sorb musician specialising in playing the Theremin, an electronic instrument. Her performances around the world have helped to promote the unusual musical instrument. Biography German-born music ...
.
Edgard Varèse Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (; also spelled Edgar; December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States. Varèse's music emphasizes timbre and rhythm; he coined ...
completed the composition ‘’Equatorial’’ for two Theremin Cellos and percussion in 1934. His work was a stated influence throughout the career of
Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...
, who also composed for theremin. 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 Jean-Michel Jarre used the instrument in his concerts Oxygen In Moscow and
Space of Freedom Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...
in
Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
, providing also a short history of Léon Theremin's life. The five-piece
Spaghetti Western Orchestra The Spaghetti Western Orchestra, formerly the Ennio Morricone Experience, were a quintet of musicians who perform music from Spaghetti Westerns, especially the music of Ennio Morricone. As the ''Ennio Morricone Experience'', they performed at ...
use a Theremin as a replacement for Edda Dell'Orso's vocals in their interpretation of
Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...
's "Once Upon a Time in the West". Other notable contemporary Theremin players include Pamelia Kurstin,
Peter Theremin Peter Theremin is a Russian composer, performer of the theremin, an electronic musical instrument. Life and career Thereminist, the organizer of the festival of theremin culture "Thereminology", creator of the first Russian-language portal abo ...
,
Natasha Theremin Natalia Lvovna Termen (; born 24 June 1948), better known as Natasha Theremin, is a Russian musician. Early life She is the daughter of Russian scientist, musician and inventor Léon Theremin and Maria Feodorovna Theremin (Gushchina). Her fat ...
,
Katica Illényi Katica Illényi () is a Hungarian violinist, singer, dancer and theremin player. She has classical training, and plays in several musical genres including folk music, klezmer and Manouche jazz. Illényi comes from a musical family. She was r ...
. and
Lydia Kavina Lydia Evgenevna Kavina (; born 8 September 1967) is a Russian-British theremin player, based in Oxfordshire, UK. The granddaughter of Léon Theremin's first cousin, Soviet anthropologist and primatologisMikhail Nesturkh Kavina was born in Mosco ...
, Dutch classical musician
Thorwald Jørgensen Thorwald Jørgensen (born 1980) is a Dutch classical musician who specialises in the theremin, an electronic musical instrument. Biography Jørgensen was born in Zaltbommel. He took up playing percussion instruments at age 14 and began playing ...
has been described as "one of the most important exponents of classical music on the theremin". In 2019 a group of 289 theremin players (Matryomin ensemble) (including daughter, granddaughter and great-grandson Lev Theremin - Natasha Theremin, Masha Theremin and Peter Theremin) in Kobu, Japan, achieved a
Guinness world record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
as the largest theremin ensemble. The name ''Matryomin'' is a portmanteau of the words ''
matryoshka Matryoshka dolls ( ; rus, матрёшка, p=mɐˈtrʲɵʂkə, a=Ru-матрёшка.ogg), also known as stacking dolls, nesting dolls, Russian tea dolls, or Russian dolls, are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside ano ...
'' and ''theremin''.. The theremin concerto "Dancefloor With Pulsing" by the French composer Regis Campo was written for
Carolina Eyck Carolina Eyck (born 26 December 1987) is a German- Sorb musician specialising in playing the Theremin, an electronic instrument. Her performances around the world have helped to promote the unusual musical instrument. Biography German-born music ...
and premiered with the Brussels Philharmonic in 2018.


Popular music

Theremins and theremin-like sounds started to be incorporated into popular music from the end of the 1940s (with a series of
Samuel Hoffman Samuel J. Hoffman (July 23, 1903 in New York City – December 6, 1967 in Los Angeles) was a notable thereminist. At age 14, began playing the violin professionally in New York City. Under the stage name Hal Hope, he led nightclub and society ...
/ Harry Revel collaborations) and has continued, with various degrees of popularity, to the present.
Lothar and the Hand People Lothar and the Hand People were a late-1960s American psychedelic rock band, known for their spacey music and pioneering use of the theremin and Moog modular synthesizer. The band's unusual appellation refers to a theremin nicknamed "Lothar", wit ...
were the first rock band known to perform live with a theremin in November 1965. In fact, Lothar was the name they gave to their Moog theremin. The Beach Boys' 1966 single " Good Vibrations"—though it does not technically contain a theremin—is the most frequently cited example of the instrument in pop music. The song actually features a similar-sounding instrument invented by
Paul Tanner Paul Tanner (October 15, 1917 – February 5, 2013) was an American musician and a member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He developed and played the Electro-Theremin, a theremin soundalike instrument that is best known for its use on the B ...
called an
Electro-Theremin The Electro-Theremin is an electronic musical instrument developed by trombonist Paul Tanner and amateur inventor Bob Whitsell in the late 1950s to produce a sound to mimic that of the theremin. The instrument features a tone and portamento ...
. Upon release, the single prompted an unexpected revival in theremins and increased the awareness of analog synthesizers. In response to requests by the band,
Moog Music Moog Music Inc. () is an American synthesizer company based in Asheville, North Carolina. It was founded in 1953 as R. A. Moog Co. by Robert Moog and his father and was renamed Moog Music in 1972. Its early instruments included the Moog synthesi ...
began producing their own brand of ribbon-controlled instruments which would mimic the sound of a theremin.
Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...
also included the theremin on the albums Freak Out! (1966) and
We're Only In It for The Money ''We're Only in It for the Money'' is the third studio album by American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on March 4, 1968, by Verve Records. As with the band's first two efforts, it is a concept album, and satirizes left- and righ ...
(1967)
Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...
of Led Zeppelin used a variation of the theremin (pitch antenna only) during performances of " Whole Lotta Love" and "
No Quarter The phrase no quarter was generally used during military conflict to imply combatants would not be taken prisoner, but killed. According to some modern American dictionaries, a person who is given no quarter is "not treated kindly" or "treated ...
" throughout the performance history of Led Zeppelin, an extended multi-instrumental solo featuring theremin and bowed guitar in 1977, as well as the soundtrack for '' Death Wish II'', released in 1982. Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones also used the instrument on the group's 1967 albums '' Between the Buttons'' and '' Their Satanic Majesties Request''. Tesla guitarist Frank Hannon used a theremin in the band's song "Edison's Medicine" from the 1991 album '' Psychotic Supper''. Hannon is also seen using the instrument in the song's music video at the 2:40 mark. 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. Although credited with a "Thereman" on the track "Mysterons" from the album ''Dummy'', Portishead actually used a
monophonic synthesizer Polyphony is a property of musical instruments that means that they can play multiple independent melody lines simultaneously. Instruments featuring polyphony are said to be polyphonic. Instruments that are not capable of polyphony are monophoni ...
to achieve theremin-like effects, as confirmed by Adrian Utley, who is credited as playing the instrument; on the songs "Half Day Closing", "Humming", "The Rip", and "Machine Gun" he has actually used a custom made theremin. Page McConnell, keyboardist of the American rock band
Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...
, plays the theremin on rare occasions. His last notable performance was on 6 August 2017, the final evening of the band's 13-night residency at
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
. When Simon and Garfunkel performed their song " The Boxer" during a concert at Madison Square Garden in December, 2003, they utilized a theremin. The original recording of the song had featured a steel guitar and a piccolo trumpet in unison in the solo interlude, but for this performance, thereminist Rob Schwimmer played the solo.


Film music

Russian composer
Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...
was one of the first to incorporate parts for the theremin in orchestral pieces, including a use in his
score Score or scorer may refer to: *Test score, the result of an exam or test Business * Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio * Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company * Score Media, a former Canadian m ...
for the film '' Odna'' (russian: Одна — 1931, Leonid Trauberg and
Grigori Kozintsev Grigori Mikhailovich Kozintsev (russian: link=no, Григорий Михайлович Козинцев; 11 May 1973) was a Soviet theatre and film director, screenwriter and pedagogue. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1964. In 1965 ...
). While the theremin was not widely used in
classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
performances, the instrument found great success in many motion pictures, notably, '' Spellbound'', '' The Red House'', ''
The Lost Weekend ''The Lost Weekend'' is a 1945 American drama film noir directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Ray Milland and Jane Wyman. It was based on Charles R. Jackson's The Lost Weekend (novel), 1944 novel about an Alcoholism, alcoholic writer. The film ...
'' (all three of which were written by Miklós Rózsa, the composer who pioneered the use of the instrument in Hollywood scores), '' The Spiral Staircase'', '' Rocketship X-M'', '' The Day the Earth Stood Still'', '' The Thing from Another World'', '' Castle In the Air'', and '' The Ten Commandments''. The theremin is played and identified as such in the
Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...
movie '' The Delicate Delinquent''. The theremin is prominent in the score for the 1956 short film ''
A Short Vision ''A Short Vision'' is a British animated film by Joan and Peter Foldes released in 1956. The film, inspired by one of Peter's poems, depicts the destruction of the world, including mankind. The film's music was composed by Matyas Seiber, who co ...
'', which was aired on '' The Ed Sullivan Show'' the same year that it was used by the Hungarian composer Mátyás Seiber. More recent appearances in film scores include '' Monster House'', '' Ed Wood'' and '' The Machinist'' (both featuring
Lydia Kavina Lydia Evgenevna Kavina (; born 8 September 1967) is a Russian-British theremin player, based in Oxfordshire, UK. The granddaughter of Léon Theremin's first cousin, Soviet anthropologist and primatologisMikhail Nesturkh Kavina was born in Mosco ...
), as well as '' First Man'' (2018). A theremin was ''not'' used for the soundtrack of '' Forbidden Planet'', for which
Bebe and Louis Barron Bebe Barron ( – ) and Louis Barron ( – ) were two American pioneers in the field of electronic music. They are credited with writing the first electronic music for magnetic tape composed in the United States, and the first entirely elec ...
built disposable oscillator circuits and a ring modulator to create the electronic tonalities used in the film.Notes about film soundtrack and CD
MovieGrooves-FP
/ref> Los Angeles-based thereminist Charles Richard Lester is featured on the soundtrack of '' Monster House'' and has performed the US premiere of Gavriil Popov's 1932 score for ''Komsomol – Patron of Electrification'' with the
Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...
and Esa-Pekka Salonen in 2007. In Lenny Abrahamson's 2014 film, '' Frank'', Clara, the character played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, plays the theremin in a band named Soronprfbs.


Theatre and performing arts

Charlie Rosen, orchestrator of the Broadway
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
''
Be More Chill ''Be More Chill'' is a teen novel written by American author Ned Vizzini and published on June 1, 2004. It follows unpopular high school student and social outcast Jeremy Heere, who is considered a loser by his peers. Deeply unsatisfied with his ...
'', credits the show as being the first on Broadway to have a theremin in its band.


Television

* In May 2007, the White Castle American hamburger restaurant chain introduced a television advertisement centered around a live theremin performance by musician Jon Bernhardt of the band ''The Lothars.'' It is the only known example of a theremin performance being the focus of an advertisement. * Celia Sheen plays the theremin in the
Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of I ...
series. * In October 2008, comedian, musician, and theremin enthusiast
Bill Bailey Mark Robert Bailey (born 13 January 1965), known professionally as Bill Bailey, is an English musician, comedian and actor. He is known for his role as Manny in the sitcom ''Black Books'' and his appearances on the panel shows ''Never Mind the ...
played a theremin during his performance of Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall, which has subsequently been televised. He had previously also written an article, presented a radio show and incorporated the theremin in some of his televised comedy tours. * Charlie Draper plays the theremin in the soundtrack (written by Natalie Holt) for the Loki TV series on Disney+. * The title theme song for the 2022 ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' spinoff series ''Strange New Worlds'' uses a theremin when invoking the original series' iconic theme composed by
Alexander Courage Alexander Mair Courage Jr. (December 10, 1919May 15, 2008) familiarly known as "Sandy" Courage, was an American orchestrator, arranger, and composer of music, primarily for television and film. He is best known as the composer of the theme musi ...
. However, that theme did not use a theremin, but a mixture of instruments with vocals by the studio soprano Loulie Jean Norman to create an "unearthly" sound, sometimes mistakenly attributed to a theremin.


Video games

* A theremin tune serves as the theme for the Edison family in the NES port of '' Maniac Mansion'' *
Lydia Kavina Lydia Evgenevna Kavina (; born 8 September 1967) is a Russian-British theremin player, based in Oxfordshire, UK. The granddaughter of Léon Theremin's first cousin, Soviet anthropologist and primatologisMikhail Nesturkh Kavina was born in Mosco ...
's solo theremin is featured on the soundtrack for the 2006
MMORPG A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...
computer game '' Soul of the Ultimate Nation'', composed by
Howard Shore Howard Leslie Shore (born October 18, 1946) is a Canadian composer and conductor noted for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Hobbit'' film trilogies. ...
.


First Theremin Concert for Extraterrestrials

''The First Theremin Concert for Extraterrestrials'' was the world's first musical METI broadcast dispatched from the Evpatoria deep-space communications complex in Crimea, and was sent seven years before NASA's Across the Universe message. 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. These seven melodies were: # "Egress alone I to the Ride" by E. Shashina # The finale of the ''9th Symphony'' by Beethoven # ''The Four Seasons: Spring,'' "Allegro" by Vivaldi # "The Swan" by Saint-Saens # "Vocalise" by Rachmaninoff # "Summertime" by Gershwin # Russian folk song "Kalinka-Malinka" They were played in succession six times over the span of three days from August–September 2001 during the transmission of
Teen Age Message The Teen Age Message (TAM) was a series of interstellar radio transmissions sent from the Yevpatoria Planetary Radar to six solar-type stars during August–September 2001. The structure of the TAM was suggested by Alexander Zaitsev, Chief Scie ...
, an interstellar radio message.


Similar instruments

* The Ondes Martenot, 1928, also uses the principle of heterodyning oscillators, but has a keyboard as well as a slide controller and is touched while playing. * The
Electronde The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...
, invented in 1929 by Martin Taubman. It has an
antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves * Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...
for pitch control, a handheld switch for articulation and a foot pedal for volume control. * The Syntheremin is an extension of the theremin. * The
Croix Sonore The Croix Sonore is an early electronic musical instrument with continuous pitch, similar to the theremin. Like the theremin, the pitch of the tone is dependent on the nearness of the player's arm to an antenna; unlike the theremin, the antenna was ...
(Sonorous Cross), is based on the theremin. It was developed by Russian composer Nicolas Obouchov in France, after he saw Lev Theremin demonstrate the theremin in 1924. * The
terpsitone The terpsitone was an electronic musical instrument, invented by Léon Theremin, which consisted of a platform fitted with space-controlling antennae, through and around which a dancer would control the musical performance. By most accounts, the ins ...
, also invented by Theremin, consisted of a platform fitted with space-controlling antennas, through and around which a dancer would control the musical performance. 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
Z.Vex Effects Z.Vex Effects is an effects pedal company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their name derives from the name of founder Zachary Vex who is a respected innovator in the business, and by some described as a "mad scientist". Products The company's ...
Fuzz Probe, Wah Probe and Tremolo Probe, using a theremin to control said effects. The Fuzz Probe can be used as a theremin, as it can through feedback oscillation create tones of any pitch. * The MC-505 by Roland by being able to use the integrated
D-Beam The D-Beam was originally manufactured by Interactive Light, as a stand-alone unit, around 1996. It was then soon purchased by Roland Corporation, becoming trademarked and rebranded as D-Beam Controller for their own music equipment. Background Aft ...
-sensor like a Theremin. * The
Audiocubes The AudioCubes are a collection of wireless intelligent light emitting objects, capable of detecting each other's location and orientation, and user gestures, and were created by Bert Schiettecatte. They are an electronic musical instrument used ...
by Percussa are light emitting smart blocks that have four sensors on each side (optical theremin). The sensors measure the distance to your hands to control an effect or sound. * A
three radio theremin The Three Radio Theremin was originally created by Tomoya Yamamoto . The theremin is constructed by tuning 3 separate radios to create a system that acts similar to a stand-alone theremin. The circuitry in each individual radio is used to funct ...
(Super Theremin, ) invented by Tomoya Yamamoto (), composed of three independent radio sets. Radio set #1 is to listen and to record the signal at around 1600
kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...
. Radio set #2 is tuned at 1145kHz so that its local oscillator of around 1600kHz is to be received by radio set #1. Radio set #3 is also tuned at 1145kHz 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. * The Matryomin by Masami Takeuchi, is a single-antenna Theremin-type device mounted inside a Matryoshka doll (aka Russian Doll). * The ''Chimaera'' is a digital offspring of theremin and touchless ribbon controller and based on distance sensing of permanent magnets. 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.
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See also

* List of Russian inventions * Ring modulation


References


Publications

* * * * * Rockmore, Clara (1998). ''Method for Theremin''. Edited by David Miller & Jeffrey McFarland-Johnson. Made publicly available a
Clara Rockmore Method for Theremin
df


Film and video

* *


External links


Music From The Ether

ThereminWorld.com



Theremin Times

ThereminVox.com

TECI
Theremin Enthusiasts Club International
theremin Theremin Family

Theremin Argentina
* {{Authority control Electronic musical instruments Continuous pitch instruments Inventions by Léon Theremin Experimental musical instruments Monophonic synthesizers Musical instruments invented in the 1920s 1928 introductions 1928 in the Soviet Union Soviet inventions Russian inventions Theremins