Preference: Does anyone actually even want "perfect" linearity?

I wanted to also add that I never played the violin or took any other instruments in my life. Ok, for some, "singing" counts as one but I never took vocal lessons nor know how to read music. I think I am not too shabby on the theremin. I think everyone is different.

Generalization is like "One Size Fits all": Not always true.

@FredM:

Are you sure that it's rhetorically a good idea to state what you subjectively and impulsively interpret into my words as a kind of fact, additionally in big red?

That's still worse than what you reproach me.

I admit that my "conclusions" may appear in some way exaggerated, naive, idealistic and even provocative. Thus the intended effect: People remember Clara's words and this triggers a thinking process. Not less and not more :-)

"The best engineer without being at the same time a trained musician (preferably a string instrument) will never be able to design a very good theremin." - Thierry

There is nothing subjective here! - You are DECLARING that ONLY a trained musician (like you, LOL) can ever design a very good theremin!

Yes! I DO have reason to be angry about such a statement - Particularly as it comes from TW's official theremin engineer.. And yes! I DO REPROACH YOU because what you say is UNTRUE and SELF SERVING! - And INSULTING to engineers like me.

And I am highlighting that what you are saying is UNTRUE by mentioning Bob Moog and other designers of very good theremins, who were not musically trained.

QED.

This is not a "one size fits all" type generalization - it is a complete fabrication! - The vast majority of really good theremins were designed by  engineers WHO HAD NO MUSICAL TRAINING!

Your words are an insult to all good engineers, an insult to the memory of Bob, and inexcusable IMO.

If you had any honor, you would have retracted your words and apologised, rather than having a go at me!

Fred.

Uh oh!

I fink Teewy is going to fwow up!

Dear Fred,

I see that my initial posting has been misunderstood or accidentally misinterpreted. Obviously my statements could be interpreted in a way which I did absolutely not intend and it was for sure not my intention to insult engineers (will clarify this below). Please accept my apologies!

1.) When I wrote that (provocative, I admit) posting, I had only one person in mind: Lev Termen himself since he built his instruments in a way that he (as a violoncellist) felt, was musical. He got later input from Clara Rockmore (a violinist) which allowed him to optimize his instruments towards the same direction.

2.) I see myself neither as a professional musician (I learned music theory and to play several music instruments in my youth but I was not allowed to professionalize) nor as an engineer (I finally studied theoretical mathematics and computer science), especially not as "TW's official theremin engineer" (my position here is the one of a technical redactor). Thus I had NO THOUGHT of raising myself above the head of others. My intention was to raise the rhetoric bar ways above the heads of us all (me naturally including) only to trigger a creative thinking process following the statement "If you need 100, ask for 1000").

3.) It is and was not my intention to criticize Bob Moog since he did a great work for the theremin community, but imagine what great instruments he could have built when he had been a professional musician at the same time! You will most probably confirm that several well known theremins which I had in mind and which have been thrown in big quantities for a low price onto the market, like the Theremax by John Paia, the different EPE theremins or the Gakken Premium, are unacceptable for the precision player.

4.) My thoughts were, and that's what I initially wanted to express, that although excellent engineering skills are an indispensable prerequisite to build good theremins, the engineer will always remain the servant of the musician and always and permanently need the latter to transform this heterodyning sound generator into a music instrument. We have seen several successful "pairings", at first Lev Termen - Clara Rockmore, later Bob Moog - Pamelia Kurstin, Anthony Henk - Lydia Kavina and George Pavlov - Lydia Kavina. I further stated that in an optimal case, the engineer would be at the same time a skilled musician because I'm convinced that Lev Termen would never have had the idea to build a playable music instrument if he had not been a cellist himself. Same reasoning for Maurice Martenot.

I hope that this detailed expression of my thoughts will show you that there has been an unfortunate misunderstanding, perhaps (among others) due to the fact that I tend to concentrate my postings to the essential since it is time consuming and difficult for me to write in English. Now I took the time though and I wish it will appease your anger.

Th.

Thierry,

I often read TW posts, but had not intended to participate - Obviously this "linearity" topic was of interest to me - particularly to read the input from thereminists.. I have user adjustable linearity as an option on the "Clara-Clone" theremin I am developing, but am not sure if this is worth fitting.. (perhaps if I was a trained musician I would know the answer to this question, LOL)

I did not want to react to any posting (for obvious reasons) - But your comment just pushed all my buttons in the sequence required to switch me to "kill" mode!

I now accept that what you conveyed was not what you intended to convey - but only because I am taking you at your word.. You are usually able to convey your thoughts in English perfectly, far better than many for whom English is their first language - So I am baffled at how misunderstanding or misinterpretation could factor in what you said - To me, reading it, there is no possible way to misinterpret what you said.... However, I do not know French, and cannot place myself in the position of thinking in French and writing in English, so accept that some "nonlinearity" must have existed in this translation process.

I agree that a musician who is an engineer would gain some advantage in designing theremins, but do not believe this advantage would be great, or that a musician+engineer could produce a better theremin than a non-musician engineer..

Lets be honest - to be a brilliant engineer one needs to devote all your energy to being an engineer, and to be a brilliant musician one needs to devote all your energy to being an musician.. Just like a consultant cardiologist who needs some electronic device to detect a particular arythmia will consult a consultant electronics engineer (for most people life is too short to aquire consultant level proficiency in more than one major discipline) So too one has engineers and musicians collaborating..

If the cardiologist decided to study electronics and design the instrument himself, his results are unlikely to be even nearly as good as what he gets from a consultant engineer - He may end up an inferior doctor as a result of his distraction, and an inferior engineer to someone who had focussed on engineering.

Yes - It would be great to be brilliant at everything! ;-)  .. But the next best is share our skills and hone them.

----------

I hope I can now dissapear off the face of TW for a long time.. ;-)

Fred.

Fred,

thank you.

I learned from this that I should express (as long as I have such) complex thoughts also in a more elaborate manner. I tend naturally to shorten my writing when it comes to English because I have not much "active" vocabulary (I almost never need to speak English) and I am forced to look up many words which in not only time consuming, but includes the risk of a certain blurring. But I'll make an effort in the future!

Oh come on Fred! You're a damned obsessive/compulsive and we both know it! You're not going anywhere. If you try to leave you'll only end up coming back so don't even THINK about it.

Speaking as a fellow obsessive/compulsive, it takes one to know one!

Speaking as a fellow obsessive/compulsive, it takes one to know one!

Bwahahaha... Coalport, do you sense my presence near yours too? :)

"Speaking as a fellow obsessive/compulsive, it takes one to know one!" - Peter

Levnet being down does make life harder! LOL ;-)

I am not feeling at all inclined or interested in posting anything to TW right now - most of my postings have been technical, but while one particular issue remains unresolved, I will not contribute anything technical, and am disinclined to post anything at all.. Even if this matter is "resolved", I really have lost my passion for TW.. So its not about "holding myself back" from participating.. Its a bit more about just not caring, and having no enthusiasm for TW..

Nuf said - Get back to linearity without me! Bye.... Probably until next time I see red! LOL ;-)

Fred.

Is OCD (and numerous other psychiatric and personality disorders) something which inclines people to choose a stupid instrument like the theremin, or does the theremin actually cause / amplify these disorders ???

Which of the following are myths?

1.) Theremins do not affect a persons mental health

2.) A statistically significantly greater number of people with mental health problems are drawn to the theremin compared to other instruments

3.) People who are drawn to the theremin have atypical psychology and above average IQ