So far I hate the theremin.

i really enjoyed kissinger's The Last Leaf of Autumn

Just some ramblings of a village idiot

I see people are reading this cause the number of views keep going up, but no one is replying.
So I’ll just throw stuff out there for you to think about.

I’ve been wondering what the limitations are. Trying to imagine a few pieces with a theremin and if it would even be possible.
What do think about these?

Bach’s Suite #1 for solo cello

Lakme’s “The Flower Duet”

There a short bit in the middle of the Phantom of the Opera’s “Poor Fool He Makes Me Laugh” right about when Carlotta is singing,
Poor fool, he makes me laugh!
Haha, Haha...
Time I tried to get a better better half!
Poor fool, he doesn't know!
Hoho, Hoho...
If he knew the truth, he'd never, ever go!

More babbling later

[i]I’ve been wondering what the limitations are. Trying to imagine a few pieces with a theremin and if it would even be possible.
What do think about these?

Bach’s Suite #1 for solo cello

Lakme’s “The Flower Duet” "[/i]

Hi, Buddy and welcome to the wonderful world of Theremin music and Theremin enthusiasts.

From the most idealistic standpoint one would say not to impose any limitations on yourself -- just to "go for it!" with regards to playing anything on the Theremin.

The limitations with the Theremin may be similar to one's ability to repair an automobile. This ability would be subject to one's mechanical aptitude (i.e., talent), knowledge/experience, and tools.

There are many gifts that can contribute to one's pursuit of music that include: intelligence, imagination, poise, good ears, dexterity, memory. We all have varying amounts of such gifts. Those who pursue music with a combination of passion and an open mind will develop abilities.

(Some enlightenned schools have discovered that musical training measurably improves students' academic performance.)

Natural talent is a "point of departure". In addition to talent, one benefits from the acquisition of knowledge and experience. In music, this is accomplished by active listening (as opposed to just having music in the background) to many styles of music. Some musicians are entirely self-taught, others take private lessons. Some have learned by joining church choirs, etc.

The thing to remember is that everybody has to start somewhere. Your first attempts to sing or play an instrument will not likely sound wonderful. Your wife may tease you as you attempt to make music. Hang in there, though. A lot of people give up too soon!

Tools? Well, you probably know from your auto restoration work that while one can do the job with cheap tools, the high-end tools are manufactured with better precision and make your job easier. Whether a Theremin, a guitar, piano, or any instrument the better the instrument, the EASIER it is to make music on it. Since you aspire to play works such as the 'cello sonata, you want a Theremin that will allow precision playing. The standard Etherwave is a good choice -- it allows precision playing and is reasonably priced (I've played Kip Rosser's Etherwave and can attest to its excellent playability).

Regarding your question about repertoire -- some music lends itself to Theremin performance better than others. Lyrical music fits on the Theremin well -- music with rapid jumps is tougher. When starting out, you'll have just as much fun playing familiar tunes.

All the best to you. Enjoy!

Kevin,
Good home work on your part. I don’t know if you googled my name or if you just read into what I have already posted here on this forum. Nice job of blending in the car stuff.

I’ve read some of your other responses to newbies, and you either know a little bit about everything, or you’re good at BSing. Probably both. :p

** this is just for Kevin but I couldn’t find a Private Message option.
Do you hanger near the Connie downtown?
She’s down right now because the engine that was rebuilt last year blew up again and was sent back to California.**

As for making noise on a theremin, my starting point is I have no talent.

[i]There are many gifts that can contribute to one's pursuit of music that include: intelligence, imagination, poise, good ears, dexterity, memory. We all have varying amounts of such gifts. Those who pursue music with a combination of passion and an open mind will develop abilities.[/i]

we can scratch off good ears, and memory from the list. intelligence and imagination are questionable.

I am however pretty sarcastic with a dry sense of humor if that helps any.

Back to the subject.

[i] music with rapid jumps is tougher[/i]

so you’re saying I shouldn’t expect to play Mozart’s version of “twinkle twinkle little star” anytime soon?

Thanks for the words of encouragement though. And I hope to meet with you soon.

You can call me anytime that it’s convenient for you,
Days 913-321-1233 (mornings are bad cause I’m still half asleep)
Evenings 816-405-9107

my phone number is already all over the internet so i'm not worried about posting it here.

I would say that the two things that are difficult with the Theremin are rapid pitch changes and also big jumps. For example, many people think the Theremin would be great to play "somewhere over the rainbow", but that big jump in the middle of the word "somewhere" is nigh impossible to get quite right.

Certainly both have been done - Clara could do staccato that blows the mind, and Peter Pringle did a recording of "rainbow" where the jumps are right on the money - but these two types of musical task are what the Theremin is least good at.

>I’ve been wondering what the limitations are.>

The only real limitation that the theremin has is that it can play only one note at a time. However, it’s in good company – others include the woodwinds, and the brass. All of us like to think that the instrument is limited, but the truth is, the limitations are directly proportional to the limitations of the person playing. It’s all a question of how much time and effort is put into becoming proficient at all aspects of the instrument.


>Bach’s Suite #1 for solo cello

Lakme’s “The Flower Duet”>


Neither of these two pieces is out of the realm of possibility. It will just take a lot of practice. Myths ( or falsehoods ) that continue to be perpetuated are that the theremin is incapable of rapid note runs, staccato, wide intervals, and that it’s far more difficult to play than most other instruments. Buying into such stuff just makes new players want to give up before they start.

You may have been joking about your “ear” and sense of pitch. If nothing else, this would be the key factor involved with anyone who intends to play established compositions such as the ones you mentioned. All of the other skills (like fingering techniques and precision movements, volume antenna techniques, stance, presentation, etc.) are learnable, and they evolve over time. However, if a player is unable to truly hear what he or she is playing in relation to accompaniment or written notation, you may have a major problem. Practicing the theremin can actually help develop and refine your sense of pitch, but a player who’s unable to sing on key, or match a pitch that he/she hears, is at a real disadvantage.

For an extreme example --recently, I faced a huge challenge – a client came to me for theremin lessons. Normally, the methods I use yield encouraging results within an hour. But this person was the very first person I’d ever encountered who wanted to learn to play, but who was also severely tone-deaf. It was disheartening for us both. It was impossible for the student to sing or play even a simple Do Re Mi. In addition, the ability to discern simple rhythmic patterns was seriously impaired. Even a tapping out a familiar rhythm such as that of “Happy Birthday” on a tabletop was totally beyond the person’s capability. After 45 minutes, we both admitted defeat.

It's more likely that you’re just experiencing the normal adjustment period, wherein you come face to face with your reality, that is, YOUR OWN PERSONAL STARTING POINT. You’ve nowhere to go but up, and nothing to do but improve. It can be a marvelous journey.

Just get out the Flower Duet and hit it! There’s a wealth of instructional videos, a load of movie footage, and TONS written about playing technique in these Thereminworld threads. Be patient with yourself. You can start simple yet always attempt the difficult stuff whenever you feel like it, and HAVE FUN – otherwise, what’s the point?

I found what seems to me to be a reasonable test for tone-deafness on the web.

http://www.delosis.com/listening/home.html

You'll need about ten minutes of peace and quiet. It is part of a university research programme, but they don't ask for any personal details until after you've taken the test and been given your result.

(I was rather pleased with my result - 28/30 - but have been left wondering what my score would have been a year ago before I took up the theremin.)

where i really feel that test was more about memory, i got 26/30.
does that mean there is still hope?

i had my wife take it and she got 25.

i took it a second time and still got a 26.

so that put's me at about 85%.
i wouldn't want to listen to a song that was in key 85% of the time... but maybe i wont make any of the glasses explode.

Kevin, i'm not trying to suck up but i played The Last Leaf of Autumn for Polly and she thinks it is a great piece of work too.