Developing a good intonation

I think pitch practicing is like trying to get a tan while wearing a wet suit. What will help you in achieving a better “hit” ratio is by having a solid and somewhat predictable play technique. And by play techniques, I have tried MANY. I even thought of calling myself the multiple personnality disorder play technique Thereminist. I have been playing for 2 ½ years now and only recently I have yet changed my technique to what I think will be probably the one that I will stick with. The thing is, if you want constant results with your playing, you have to somewhat control the environment that you will be playing in. I mostly play in my music room and that place is pretty predictable, minus the cat or the dog walking around me. 2 factors that you will always have most control over is YOU: How you play and how you play. Yes, how you play as in what technique you are using and the other one is standing up or sitting down while you play. As for play techniques, some offer more flexibility in the expression department while being less “precise” on constantly hitting pitches (and I say this loosely as you’ll always have to nano-adjust the pitch of each note as Peter Pringle said): others have given me more predictable results while being less flexible in the expression department.

One thing I have noticed over the last few months is that standing up to play is a big disadvantage to the thereminist. It is somewhat impossible to stay still when you play, so by parking my derriere on a Drummer Throne, I have truly improved the precision of my playing by at least 75% (my non-scientific conclusion). I have also quite small hands and found that trying to play with a knuckle extension technique wasn’t conducive to the results I was trying to achieve. All this time, I really didn’t like how Carolina Eyck played as it felt so robotic like ~ but I’ll be DAMNED! By changing to her technique, it has allowed me to aim for increased precision and have a better time and fun too in my practices. I can actually say that I love it now... I feel that I can start progressing rather than trying to keep on finding a play technique that would suit me. I have found it, so now I need to work on getting more and more at ease.

Playing the theremin musically will take YEARS of devotion to the instrument. You’ll have many nights of tears, cussing like a sailor and hours of dealing with the devil in trying to sell your soul for being a theremin God (or Godess).

Améthyste wrote: "One thing I have noticed over the last few months is that standing up to play is a big disadvantage to the thereminist. It is somewhat impossible to stay still when you play, so by parking my derriere on a Drummer Throne, I have truly improved the precision of my playing by at least 75% (my non-scientific conclusion). "

This may be true for the Etherwave Pro theremin which has on one side a very linear, but on the other side a very restricted pitch field, due to its digital register switching. That's why some people who own an Etherwave Pro (among them Carolina Eyck and Randy George) play it sitting.

But that can not be generalized. For many theremin models it might even be an advantage to move the body within the pitch field in order to
- not to extend the right arm too far from the body because it will get tired sooner which leeds to less precision in the high register, and
- compensate the natural progressive unlinearity of most theremins in the high register because successive immersing of the body in the pitch field will stretch the tone spacing. An experienced player will use his/her own body movements to shape the different zones of the pitch field to the actual musical needs.

That's what for example Lydia Kavina, Peter Pringle and Thorwald Jorgensen do. And their playing is not less precise only because they play standing and move their body in the pitch field. A seat can be a temporary crutch which can in some cases help you with precision but most times it will steal you the needed freedom and flexibility.

Thierry,

Nah! I utterly disagree. I don't think that sitting down to play is a crutch as you say it: I play my Subscope (which is non-linear) sitting down and my accuracy is MUCH better than if I was standing to play it... your play adjusts to each theremin you lay your hands on as they are all different, wether you stand or sit, to play it ~ you'll adjust. I don't sit on my stool "stiffly": I do lean into the higher octave/registers even when I sit, so i think it is an advantage to be moving your body from the waist up than from feet up.

I am not saying that sitting down is the answer for everyone. For me, I noticed that when *I* sit, my arm and extensions are a lot more still than if *I* was standing up. I feel that I have a better control of the outcome when you can eliminate (or make better) part of the equation that is problematic (which is inconscious moving/wobbling of the body when you stand up to play).

"I am not saying that sitting down is the answer for everyone." - Amey

Isnt this the key? If we keep in mind that musical instruments and their player can effectively "become" a composite instrument, and that this is far truer for the theremin than for any other instrument  - the player IS physically a part of the instrument- the player is the sentient pitch and volume determining component in the theremins circuit!

And therefore the ways in which the physical charactaristics of this "player component" are different to some other "player component" will determine the optimum "placement" for this component!

The player MUST be of equal or more importance than the circuitry they are part of - if this component is less effective standing than sitting, then "it" should be seated, on the other hand, if this component has a carbuncle on its backside, it should probably be standing! - And this will apply whether the player is part of an E-Pro or a Subscope or a Jaycar circuit.

;-)

Fred.

When I took my data for hand capacitance I did it seated with my body as immobile as I could keep it while I moved my hand in a straight line to / from the antenna.  Hopefully linearization and variable sensitivity (particularly sensitivity reduction) will obviate the need for the bulk body capacitance corrections I see players doing in their videos, and therefore facilitate playing in the clearly more stable seated position.

Ok... I guess I am not that far off in my explanation then :P

"Hopefully linearization and variable sensitivity (particularly sensitivity reduction) will obviate the need for the bulk body capacitance corrections I see players doing in their videos, and therefore facilitate playing in the clearly more stable seated position." - Dewster

Actually, I dont think linearity is the major issue on this subject* - body movement is I think a useful addition to pitch control for skilled players - my argument is that one can achieve this even if one is seated. For me, the stability provided by being seated, and the lower energy required to stay stable, means that it is the only way I now have any chance of playing..

But I am sure other people, being different and perhaps younger and healthier, will find playing seated doesnt suit them (please note, I am NOT saying that only decrepid old fuddy-duddys like me will find being seated an advantage! ;-).. Comes down to whether your an axial or radial variable capacitor - and in that analysis im probably a SMD! ;-)

IMO, it has absolutely nothing to do with the theremin you are playing, and everything to do with you, the most important 'external' component of this theremin..

Fred.

*ps.. On a technical level:  Body movement from a constant loci has the effect of fine-tuning the high notes (or more correctly, the near-antenna field), but as the hands distance from the antenna increases, the effect of body movement increases - In this context, body movement is has a completely non-linear effect on pitch.

This is an effect governed by the physical laws of the universe, and applies to all theremins - none are exempt, and the principle applies regardless of whatever linearity compensation may be built into the theremin.

However - in the above context - one requires (I think) probably more stability when playing in the bass registers (far field) , because any body movement has a big effect on pitch.. so for theremins like the E-Pro where one can have a bass octave occupying perhaps 1/4 of the far-field playing area, I can see that sitting could be a big advantage.. I do not, however, really see that the fine control one may get in the near-field by being free to move the body greatly is likely to be such an advantage..

But Waddoo I Know.. ;-) LOL.