Clueless Mom Seeks Theremin Help

Help! My soon-to-be-14-year-old son wants a theremin for his birthday, and I'm so unmusical that I can barely whistle! He's both musical and techie, has a Roland digital piano that communicates with his laptop computer via MIDI connection -- does any of this matter or help in playing the theremin? I've read several recommendations on this forum about good starter theremins, but will he also need an amplifier? Thanks in advance for any advice, links, etc. anyone can offer. -- Will's Mom

If you get him the Moog Etherwave or the Kees instrument, he'll need an amp (get a keyboard amp - most guitar amps won't do), a 1/4" audio cable (about $10 - just go to any music shop and ask for a "guitar cord" and they'll know what you want), and a microphone stand (about $25 - tell the music shop you don't need the "boom" - it should end on top with a metal rod with screw threads on it pointing straight up).

No, his computer and his musical keyboard won't be of any help with this. There are MIDI theremin kits available (he'd have to learn how to assemble electronics with a soldering iron), but it's a very different animal, so I would advise that you shouldn't get him a MIDI theremin kit unless that's what he asked for.

Oh, and send him here when he gets it. :-)

Hi, to add to Tom's excellent answer...

Look for a Moog Etherwave Standard (as opposed to the Pro which may be a bit pricey for a starter Theremin).

All the best!

Hi Will's Mum,

(I see Kevin and Tom have posted while I've been typing, so some of this will repeat what has already been said.)

A keen interest in music and the ability to plug things into other things is a good start.

I would certainly recommend buying an amplifier. You might consider arranging with your local music store to visit at a time when they do not have many customers, and take the theremin along to try out various amplifiers to see what works well. If you are buying a moog etherwave, for instance, you will find that the its output signal is too powerful for an amplifier intended for an electric guitar. The key phrase to say to the shop assistant is "It has a line-level output."

For home use you do not require a particularly large or loud amplifier. Mine has a fifteen inch speaker, which is probably the smallest worth considering, and it is quite sufficient for me.

You should also know that the circuits of many amplifiers do not produce a good sound with the volume knob turned below about 3. They become thin and tinny, like a cheap portable radio.

Be warned: the sound of a theremin can have a piercing quality to it, particularly in the hands of a novice, rather like a violin. My son has accused me of playing "the cat strangling song" on more than one occasion. Also the sound has a tendency to carry. As with bagpipes, on a still day they can be heard a good distance away.

I started learning on a Kees. It has a softer tone than the etherwave, so may not be quite so hard on the ear for the rest of the family (but still I got the cat comments!) The Kees is happy with guitar amps and effects boxes. (I upgraded to an etherwave when I started performing in public as the Kees circuitry takes a while to warm up and is less tolerant of environmental factors such as temperature and humidity.) If you get a Kees you will need to buy a power supply. The etherwave comes with one.

But I digress. On the positive side, the sound does not seem to penetrate brick walls particularly. I practice in the kitchen, with the doors and windows shut, and while it is loud enough to set the crockery rattling from time to time, it does not disturb the rest of the family watching TV in the adjoining room.



Alex and Laura's Dad.

P.S. I can't whistle at all.

if you go with an etherwave, i suggest that you get the already-built model verses the put together kit.

i did the put it together kit so i could stain it, instead of it being black. Although i like the color it is coming out, it's a lot more work than the $50 that i saved

To add to Gordon's excellent advice, I would like to suggest that if your local music shop doesn't know what you're talking about when you say "it has a line level output", go elsewhere. Do not let anyone talk you into a plain guitar amp. It needs a keyboard amp that can handle line level.

To explain, basically, the Etherwave puts out a very strong signal, which to a guitar amp seems like an INCREDIBLY UNBELIEVABLY LOUD SOUND. To make it work at all you have to keep the amp turned down really low (like, on a scale of 1 to 10, about a 0.1) and then it has no significant volume response... and it can sorta burn out the amp over time too. So it's much better to invest the time to select an amp that's more appropriate, because it will last much longer and can be used for other musical equipment as well.

Take my word for it, I bought a plain guitar amp and regret it. I've ruined it. I'm going to have to replace it before I can get back to serious practice.

And yes, the Theremin has a shrill, whiney noise in the hands of a novice. Please do your son the favor of tolerating it. It's a fascinating instrument and if he's serious it'll give him something really unique in his life for decades to come - it's even a great conversation piece for job interviews. Get him the smallest decent amp you can find, find him a place to practice where he can close the door, and try to ignore the thing that sounds like a small annoying animal being tortured to death while your son very slowly learns to play it.

Thanks to all of you for such helpful specific advice. I guess we're doing this ... so I'm likely to be back with new questions, once I know what they are! And I'll definitely encourage Will to join this forum, once he's a thereminist. (Right word?) -- Will's Mom

i wouldn't call myself a theremins but i'm still here.

show him this site, even if he doesn't sign up he can still do penty of reading.

One final suggestion, with regard to enduring the learning curve.

You might like to bookmark this video clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn4TgYkqdi8) of one of the world's best classical thereminists and watch it from time to time to remind yourself of one possible end result of the time your son spends making that appalling noise.

:-)

And if he’s not in to classical, Theremins are everywhere…

Garage rock (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m17_YpEvbIU)

Techno (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LzKWArAMLE)

Pop (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHKurlu-I7g)

and I don’t even know what to call this, but Miss Eyck’s fingering is amazing to watch. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3ze0DKrAGU)