Korgscrew
Group: Super Admins
Posts: 3511
Joined: Dec. 1999 |
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Posted: Nov. 26 2007, 02:12 |
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The 'aerial fingering' technique was developed by Clara Rockmore and is, as Sir Mustapha says, a way of helping achieve jumps between notes. I find it also makes it easier to subtly adjust the note as it's played, as well as enabling greater control over glissandos. The technique has been expanded by Lydia Kavina and, more recently, Carolina Eyck, who I'd say is regarded as being the next big thing in the world of classical theremin playing.
Perfect pitch is not essential for playing the theremin, but good relative pitch definitely is. You also need a really clear idea in your head of how the notes you're wanting to play should sound - if you can't sing it, you'll find it hard to play it accurately (which isn't to say that you need to be a good singer to play it, of course, just that you need all the pitches in your head in the same way as if you were going to sing it).
There are a few theremins being made now, many of them quite affordable. I'd steer clear of most of those being sold on ebay - there are a lot there which really aren't suited to precision playing, if that's what you want to aim for.
The cheapest that I could recommend would be that made by Kees Enkelaar. His theremins are very compact, with an attractive cedar cabinet which fits onto any mic stand. They offer a choice between sine and saw wave output (which I suspect is achieved by using a VCO rather than the classic theremin 'dual heterodyning' oscillator - more on that later). Having tried one, I'd say it's a very playable instrument, which is definitely worth the $244.49 US which he charges for it (that price includes shipping to Europe from Australia where he's based).
Next up in price is the Moog Etherwave Standard. It offers a greater range of sounds than the Kees Enkelaar (though none of them pure sine or saw waves, due to the fact that the Etherwave uses the classic dual heterodyning oscillator design developed by Leon Theremin - dual heterodyning meaning that it uses two oscillators, one fixed in pitch, the other varied by the proximity of the player's hand to the pitch aerial, with the output pitch being the difference between these two), and I believe it offers greater pitch stability and a more linear playing field. I find that it sounds best when played through a sympathetic amplifier - a valve guitar amp can really work wonders for it, but I find that even a well chosen solid state one will sound much more pleasing than playing it direct into a mixing desk.
Moog have distributors in most European countries who will be able to help you buy one of their instruments, or alternatively, it's possible to order direct from Moog Music. The Etherwave Standard costs $419 from Moog, but their shipping charges can be quite high (I investigated buying a gig bag from them once - the shipping was about three times the $60 cost of the bag, from what I remember). They also turn up on ebay from time to time.
I've heard good things about Wavefront's instruments, but I've never tried one. Their cheapest model is housed in a briefcase and costs $675.
Jake Rothman of Longwave Instruments builds the Elysian Theremin. Unfortunately, though I've had several conversations with Jake and have seen his instruments close up, I've not had the chance to play the Elysian model. I can say, however, that he's a very knowledgeable and interesting person, and I have no doubt that he is heavily committed to making top quality instruments. If the standard Elysian isn't quite what you're looking for, he'll be able to build you one that is. As standard, the action of the volume antenna is reversed, but that can be easily changed.
Jake also repairs old theremins (RCAs included) and builds the Coloursound range of guitar effects. The Elysian Theremin costs £399.
Sadly missing from this list are the Moog Etherwave Pro, which was discontinued earlier this year, and the tVox Tour, which hasn't been in production for some time now. I think the tVox Tour is a brilliant design and I like its sound a lot, but nobody's yet quite managed to persuade its designer, George Pavlov, to put it back into production (I did try...he sounded convinced as well...who knows...).
Nobody's sure whether Moog will produce anything to replace the Etherwave Pro. It doesn't seem to be on the cards just yet and really, theremins aren't nearly as good money makers as synthesisers. It was Bob Moog himself who was the real theremin enthusiast there and it remains to be seen how committed to them the company will be now he's no longer alive.
The Ondes Martenot produces its sound using the same heterodyning principle as the theremin, but the way it's played is very different. Maurice Martenot's original instrument was played standing up, with the player standing some distance away from the instrument, not unlike the theremin. The difference was that the pitch of the Ondes Martenot was controlled using a string connected to a ring which the player wore, rather than using an electromagnetic field. As the instrument developed, this ring controller became mounted horizontally on the instrument itself (looking not all that different to the German Trautonium, though with the Trautonium, the player pushed down the wire like with a stringed instrument). A dummy keyboard was later added to help the player find the pitches, and eventually the instrument gained a functioning keyboard. An interesting thing about the keyboard is that it can be wobbled from side to side to produce vibrato, much like the solo keyboard on the much later Yamaha GX1. The circuitry also developed a great deal, with various filters being added which could modify the sound.
There's a great video on youtube of Jean Laurendeau demonstrating the Ondes Martenot, where he shows the use of both the ring and the keyboard.
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, but, anyway, I see that getting the right pitches is quite a big part of the theremin playing, and I think I would manage this quite easily. I'd only need a bit of technique... (such as: what do people extend their fingers for? To part one note from another?)... and a theremin, of course. As far as I know, no-one makes them anymore... unless they're custom-made. 
) who usually plays very melodic theremin lines; he was a member of a New Wave band called Bluvertigo, but the group is currently on hiatus as its frontman, Morgan, has launched a solo career. Megahertz, though, still plays in Morgan's band, called Le Sagome [The Silhouettes]. He's obviously not at the same level of Mss. Buchholz, Kavina and Rockmore - he's more 'pop' than them 
