Theremin, Musical Instrument Without Touch

By Xah Lee. Date: . Last updated: .
theremin google doodle 2016-03-09
Google Doodle 2016-03-09, Clara Rockmore, virtuosa of Theremin.
THEREMIN. “Over The Rainbow” of - “Wizard of Oz”, composed Harold Arlen. played on Theremin by Peter Pringle.

Clara Rockmore (née Reisenberg, 1911 to 1998) was a Lithuanian virtuosa performer of the theremin, an electronic musical instrument. (Wikipedia Clara Rockmore)

The theremin (/ˈθɛrəmɪn/[1] THERR-ə-min; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone[2] or termenvox/thereminvox) is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the thereminist (performer). It is named after the Westernized name of its Russian inventor, Léon Theremin (Термéн), who patented the device in 1928.

The instrument's controlling section usually consists of two metal antennas that sense the relative position of the thereminist's hands and control oscillators 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 theremin was used in movie soundtracks such as Miklós Rózsa's Spellbound, The Lost Weekend, and Bernard Herrmann's The Day the Earth Stood Still. It has also been used in theme songs for television shows such as the ITV drama Midsomer Murders. This has led to its association with eerie situations. Theremins are also used in concert music (especially avant-garde and 20th- and 21st-century new music) and in popular music genres such as rock.

Wikipedia Theremin

Carolina talks Theremin - How to play a scale. Theremin
Thérémin : Debussy : Clair de Lune. performed by Grégoire Blanc Theremin