What have you been practicing lately?

I have been playing a lot of Enya stuff lately... I know it's playing "over" what she is doing, but i believe that it is good for ear trainning... :)

Well, here's my first attempt at showing the world my theremin prowess-don't laugh too loudly!

https://vimeo.com/50795937

Thanks for the Video Roy! :) What kind of theremin are you playing?

Hi Amethyste, the theremin is an Arthur Harrison 145 with the pitch antenna replaced by an aerial instead of the horizontal plate as per the original design.

Amey: "...I know it's playing 'over' what she is doing, but i believe that it is good for ear trainning..."

You have a good ear already, Amey, so for you it may be good ear training. For someone who does not have a good ear, it's not such a great idea.  It's like trying to correct your own grammar when you don't know the rules of syntax.

The dilemma of those who are self-taught is that they must be student, teacher, and judge of their own progress in a subject about which they admittedly know little or nothing. Ear training is a particularly difficult thing to teach yourself because you need an already well-trained ear in order to do it. 

Coalport,

I always learn something from you... See I thought that you can train a so so ear by doing exercises... Isn't aural training the process you go through to recognize chords or certain notes? You are either born with a good ear or you don't? Do you think that someone with a bad ear can never really be changed?

I don't read music or never had any formal training even for singing... I guess I should perhaps learn, right?

Amey, you could find it valuable to learn the basics of musical notation so that you could at least follow a score and identify notes. It's not that difficult and it could be very useful because there is so much public domain sheet music available FREE on line. 

I guess the goal with ear training is always to reach your own full potential, whatever that may be. Yes, there are people who are born with natural gifts that ordinary folk could never acquire no matter how hard they practiced and studied.....Mozarts & Einsteins.

Most thereminists who pursue ear training do so to improve their sense of pitch. Yes, the ability to identify and name chords is also part of ear training but that particular skill is probably of greater use to someone playing the harp or a fretted or keyboard instrument capable of harmonies. 

Ultimately, any musical course of study you pursue - the history of music, music appreciation, jazz 101, whatever - will make you a better and more sensitive musician. Unfortunately, few thereminists are interested in the study of music. They want to learn the theremin in order to express what they are convinced they already know.

"Playing the theremin...takes practice, attention to detail, and years and years and years of the study of music." Clara Rockmore

Currently working on (for the last 3 years) Franck Sonatas for Violin, 1, 2, 3, and 4. These works will kick your bum all over the studio, especially if, like me, you're forced to learn by ear. Those who can see to read music are truely blessed, and would have these works knocked out in much shorter time than it's taking me to learn them. So far, I have the basics of 1, and 4 down. If I go too many days without working on 2, and 3, I have to work like the devil to get back that skill. These works, along with Requiebros are not for the faint hearted.

I have to spend many hours playing along with the great violinists' recordings, and then work the memory aspect over and over. They're getting there, slow, but wure.

Also been working on other works which are still challenging, just not as bad as the Franck works.

By special request, I've started working on  Ebben? Ne andrò lontana - La Wally.

I practice original compositions either written by or for me.  I recently recorded the theremin solo parts for a couple of short compositions by Rainer Straschill.  To read music is essential to play original compositions.

While I have recorded some classical transcriptions for theremin, I decided years ago to leave the electronic-version-of-classical-music genre alone.  For me personally, this has been a good move.

I compose theremin-works that are well within my ability to play them.  I avoid rapid passages in my theremin works and build tension through the use of difficult harmonies, syncopated rhythm, sustained textures.  I prefer intellectual challenges to 'technique challenges'.

In other words, when I listen to the fast scale in the Fuleihan, my reaction is "screw THAT!"

Thus, in general the works I play on theremin have tended to get more playable as I've learned the theremin's (and my own) capabilities and limitations.

Right now, I am trying to plat "Memory" from Cats. It's really fun :)