Rupert Chappelle SLOW Series

Ran across Mr. Chappelle's slow series a few days ago  There are quite a few, here's one:

I really like the ambient wall of sound he's able to achieve in these, I'm assuming it's 4 Theremin tracks.  Interesting video to go along with them too.

Rupert what a pleasant surprise. I do not listen to YouTube much so do not know what is out there.

Was it my imagination or was the visual playing off of the rhythm of the piece?

Christopher

Art Harrison is an excellent theremin designer for his approach. Rupert is an excellent player for that style of theremin.

After twenty years you do not see this approach on the big stage because it violates several theremin traditions.

Changing the sacred Loop & Rod into two flat plates and then reversing the traditional volume response direction is taboo. Even worse is to trade in her natural classic sound for a whistle or kazoo sound. 

Christopher

THE SLOW series was made demonstrate real precision play at a more comprehensible speed.

Presicion in;
Intonation
Vibrato
Tremolo
Intervals 
Arpeggios
Staccato
Pizzicato 
Gesturals
8 octave precision range
Speed - I still lack the endurance of the three best thereminists for fast play. I'll fix that by december.

The files were slowed down 4x with two copies of the sound file, one pitch shifted down 4x and one left at pitch.

The first three week of august are 4 part and last of august are 2 part ' to be uploaded next week.

Christopher  the whistle sound is due to me playing in the top two octaves of its range. At those pitches the harmonics you as associate with your favorite theremin are inaudible as those harmonics are above the range of human hearing.

I use the ehx talking machine and any theremin run through it would sound similar.

As for your religious convictions - why should I handicap myself and end up being a mediocre player - which is why no orchestras have a theremin in them. Pole antennas are like walking a tightrope and plate antennas are like walking a sidewalk. Pole antennas are notoriously difficult to pitch properly, as shown on MOST youtube videos. Reverse mapping the volume enables tremolo, staccato and pizzicato. Nope, I have the easiest and most responsive theremin available. Admit it. You just would prefer I get mediocre. We already have enough of that.

As for the big stage, I need 3 players with my skill set to do something like 2cellos, but with theremins. Until the future, multitrack will have to do.

"The files were slowed down 4x with two copies of the sound file, one pitch shifted down 4x and one left at pitch."  - Chappelle

Fascinating!  I do like the sound you're getting with this series!

"Christopher  the whistle sound is due to me playing in the top two octaves of its range. At those pitches the harmonics you as associate with your favorite theremin are inaudible as those harmonics are above the range of human hearing."

The whistle / kazoo reference is just the TW troll taking a backhanded swing at my Theremin.  He can be so nasty about everyone else's designs.

"Pole antennas are like walking a tightrope and plate antennas are like walking a sidewalk. Pole antennas are notoriously difficult to pitch properly, as shown on MOST youtube videos. Reverse mapping the volume enables tremolo, staccato and pizzicato. Nope, I have the easiest and most responsive theremin available."

I very much agree with you re. plate antennas and volume side reversal.  And when doing things digitally plates make even more sense as they increase sensitivity and inherent linearity. 

But if one is heterodyning, I believe a long thin pitch antenna can help linearize the field somewhat.

As a designer, what do you do with all those excellent players out there who have trained their muscle memory with a traditional analog Theremin?  I for one find it almost impossible to build anything I wouldn't want to play myself (though I do try to accommodate these same sentiments in others with features and options).

[EDIT] Though I will note that switching between various plate configurations can feel almost as "weird" as going from rods to plates.

Dewster 

It took me one week to switch for the big briar etherwave to the model 302 with much better results. It was so easy, so steady and it has BASS.

VIBRATO OPTIONAL.  Oh the pleasure of a steady note. So I could do multitrack. Geometry, Pink studies and red studies. My older stuff is good using the etherwave but vibrato was preferred. I did manage to get so steady that I used a spring antenna for a mechanical vibrato and the size of the pitch antenna was adjusted to compensate environmental changes. A foam core dampened the oscillation.

At bandcamp 'no vocals please' and  'Rupert' use the Etherwave. Compare it with what followed.

Linearity with the 302 requires aiming at the corner of the plate for up to upper mid range pitches and for the higher notes you aim for the center of the plate or do a lateral sweep towards the center of the pitch plate. Only fools, madmen and geniuses should take it to the right end of a piano's scale. And there is another octave above that which requires more motor control.

Most here are geniuses, but you need the skills and the right tool for what you want to accomplish. I am into 1950s and 1960s classical. I also have interests in standard classical fare as I liberally throw in quotes motifs and themes.

August theremin has one piece that quotes sunrise from Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite. My ambition is to have a theremin quartet to take on 19th century stuff like these guys:

2Cellos

But slower - our tool does have limitations. We all should Stretch them. Progress. The future is far more than our past.  Unless you got hypoxia from them evil face masks. That is how you make zombies without the zombie powder. I have a suite called covid transmissions, formerly the common cold. The titles got me into TROUBLE. 

 The theremin is the safest and most sanitary of all instruments. Just keep not touching it.

Rupert

Rupert I do not watch much YouTube as music is something I rarely listen to, yet what you shared is wonderful. Your theremin talent is right up there with him. Something undeniably beautiful about analog cello sounds though.

Funny: Talking about isolation I go and have my oil changed since last year. The guy says sir you have driven less than 100 miles since last oil change. I said go ahead when really I just needed him to put air put in my tires.

First I had to charge the battery. 

Christopher

Christopher, 

Thanks! I will be glad when I have half his skills. I wish I had his budget and management. I would prefer recording in nature just like him rather than with green screen in little room.

Here is my favorite waterfall:

Kilgore falls 360