Posture & Balance contd.

I have always advocated a playing stance that resembles the traditional Tai Chi position, that allows the player to shift the body's center of gravity forward and backward. There are many advantages to this system, and one of them is comfort. If you stand totally immobile for long periods there is far more stress on the lower legs and feet than if you are constantly moving.

Shifting your body gives you greater stamina because, among other things, it promotes good lower body circulation. There is a whole host of other advantages, but this particular one seems to pertain to the problem many thereminists have with standing for long periods of time.

As for footwear, I always play the theremin either in stocking feet or barefoot. I only wear shoes if I am playing in public.

....just my personal take on the situation.

Hi Coalport. If you've seen any of my later videos, you'll notice that I have indeed started using the tai-chi stance, and shifting in my techniques. My motion's not as far as yours as I'm not nearly as tall. Hadn't considered the cirulation aspect.

Another thing that many people seem to be unaware of is that instrumentalists who play at what Clara Rockmore referred to as "the professional level", are athletes. If someone wants to play the theremin well, he or she needs to be in shape, just as much as a football player, a swimmer, or a distance runner. Is it surprising that someone who is 50 or more pounds overweight is having a problem standing still for extended periods of time, or suffering from arm fatigue?

North America is the land of the chubbies. We're all too fat! I know I am. The simple task of lifting a pitch arm that is three or four pounds heavier than it ought to be for its optimal weight, is tremendously tiring. Not only that, a fatter arm is going to be far less agile than a thinner arm that has roughly the same muscle mass.

Most of us need to be a little less hypersensitive about the obvious - namely, that we're are overweight - and realize that every aspect of our lives (including our theremin playing) would benefit greatly if we'd just get out of the fridge.

The accuracy and consistency of precision thereminists is directly related to how relaxed they are when they play. The more relaxed your theremin technique is, the better your playing will be. If you were playing with three pound weights on your wrists, the stress of the simple task of keeping your arm raised would prevent you from playing well. After a few minutes of this, you would probably not be able to play at all. It's the same thing with three pounds of extra fat.

I'm not saying we should all be thin and sylph-like. That ain't gonna happen and it would not necessarily be a desirable thing, but we need to be in good shape relative to our size for the activity we want to engage in. When was the last time you saw a fat violinist or a thin sumo wrestler?

Remember the words of the late Wallis Simpson (the woman for whom King Edward VIII abdicated the British throne), "You can never be either too rich or too thin."

How about the quote from that other famous Simpson - Homer Simpson: "DUH!"

I am in shape. Round's a shape, right? ;)

Coalport wrote:
"How about the quote from that other famous Simpson - Homer Simpson: "DUH!"

Is it more like "DOH!" ?

Yes, it's true, we are all too fat. I am included in that!

The question of fat, shape, etc. seems secondary to me. It's (in my humble opinion) rather a question of agility which has not forcibly to do with the musician's weight.

I saw the late Myriam Makeba in TV some years ago and even though she was really not thin at this time, she danced in such an agile manner which let me totally ignore her shape.

[i]"You can never be either too rich or too thin."[/i]

Having examined my belly and my wallet and noted which of them bulges and which does not, I have to agree - both occurrences seem extremely unlikely.


(As nobody else has done this, here is a link back to the thread of which this is a continuation (http://www.thereminworld.com/forum.asp?cmd=p&T=2723&F=780&p=3). As I did not participate in that thread I am not able to edit in the corresponding forward link from that thread to this one.)

There is a thereminist on youtube and I think he's also a TW member under the same pseudo. That's why I'll not cite his name here and now. He has published lots of YT videos on several theremins, an Etherwave Pro, a Wavefront Classic, etc.

One thing is common to all his recordings: You never see his face. You see the theremin, you see his hands and you see...

...his non negligible paunch, barely covered by a shirt and a binder. So I wonder what he would add to this discussion...

What if Clara Rockmore would have stated "A body-mass-index below 23 is the most important prerequisite before you start studying the theremin" ??? ;-)

haha Thierry ... I know who is the Thereminist you are speaking of! I happen to be fond of him - cause he's just so pleasant to talk to and so kind to reply to people's comments on his videos or even questions. :)

Thierry,

Does a larger player have move his body a shorter distance than a smaller player to cause the same change in the capacitive fields of the theremin?

Gordon,

Yes