Etherwave control

The right way to play the theremin is the way that feels most comfortable and natural to you, and affords you the best fine motor control in your pitch hand.

For me that means playing backhanded from the breastbone, my thumb and forefinger touching as if holding a pen to write on a sheet lying flat in front of me. I figure that all that time spent at school learning to write legibly might as well be put to good use!

Oops! Double post.

I'd have mentioned the isometric grip, but they beat me to it.

If you're wondering why the thumb and index finger tips should touch, just wiggle your hand around, then make the isometric grip while you're hand is wiggling. You'll instantly see that it's a stabalizing method which will go a long way towards steady entonation.

Hi, and thank you Mr. Grillo for your compliments about my website.

Just to clarify (Since Kip is the only other thereminist I've watched in person):

Kip started out eight years ago on his first theremin (a Theremax) before there was much instructional information available and, at first, experimented with playing from the right side of the pitch antenna.

However, he no longer plays that way. Kip plays directly to and from the antenna in a style that bears resemblence to Leon Theremin's style but with some finger/knuckle motions, too. (He now plays his Etherwave Standard and Pro most of the time.)

[i]I watched Kip (and even sat in on a couple of numbers with him) when he represented Moog Music in Kansas City last fall. His repertoire and natural ability to connect with listeners was very well-received. Hopefully he will be called upon as one of Moog's "Theremin ambassadors" in the future.[/i]

To acquire a technique for Theremin is a process of refinement. I have made many changes (tweaks) to my techniques over the last 1 1/2 years. As such, I have been cautious about publishing specific advice on how I hold my fingers because I find that I am constantly tweaking things. I hope some of the general information is useful, though.

One thing that has been helpful to me is to firmly establish my finger/hand position for "first position". My fingers/knuckles are large and tend to get in the way so I have to work at obtaining a solid position for #1. The other positions are easier for me however the only way to assure predictable results from positions 2 thru 4 is to "nail" that first position.

OK, as long as I am dispensing advice (my advice and 25cents won't get you a cup of coffee but here goes anyway): resist the urge to play fast.

If your goal is note accuracy, then play slowly and tweak every note. Learn to play do-re-mi-re-do slowly and accurately. Accuracy is more important than speed. Have faith: the speed will eventually come. Let the speed come naturally as your accuracy becomes solid. Don't push it -- to push speed is to risk glossing over notes rather than playing them solidly. A scale of solidly played notes will sound "faster" than a hasty scale of messy notes.

Since you are playing slow, you will hear audible sliding from one pitch to the next. That is ok at first. Learn to slide to each note WITHOUT overshooting. An overshoot followed by a correction in the opposite direction is more noticeable than undershooting and correcting to the note.

As long as you are observant and take things a step at a time, you will develop hand/ear coordination that will allow you to play the Theremin.

Enjoy!

[i]-- Kevin[/i]

"I figure that all that time spent at school learning to write legibly might as well be put to good use!"

So I guess a medical career was not an option for then then...

Wow! Thanks Kevin, I just learned something I wish I'd known when I got my theremin 9 months ago. I'd been attacking those fast scales a bit too soon. Great info to know.

one of the most useful comments I heard ( I think from Pamelia K) is that it's yur ear and your muscle memory that you are training. I used to be worried a lot about fingering technique etc. , then I found that it didn;t matter - one way was no better than another and that it was my ear and muscle memory and co-ordination of same that one is training.

That is absolutely true about muscle memory, and ear training. After about the first few months, I've noticed I tend to do things allmost by wrote that I used to worry about doing. After a while you'll start to notice this too.

About the only thing you do have to check from time to time is the size of pitch antenna's magnetic field which can be affected by humidity changes, and playing in different size rooms as was mentioned by Pamelia Kurstin in the Pro DVD.

Eventually, your muscle memory will get to where you can pretty easily tell if you need to adjust your pitch setting. I've noticed that if I have to reach too far to change notes, I need to turn the pitch knob to the right, and shrink the magnetic field a bit. If I find myself overshooting notes, it's time to turn the pitch knob back to the left a bit, and expand the field.

When I first got my theremin, I did not know about this, and it was so frustrating. Now, it's not a problem anymore.

One thing I should have mentioned at the start of this thread, and I apologize for not having done so, is that you really should let the theremin warm up for about 10 to 15 minutes before attempting to play it.

This is because the magnetic fields around the antennae are constantly changing as they settle down and stabalize for about 10 minutes.

My biggest mistake when starting the theremin was to just turn it on, and try to play, and wonder why I was having trouble locking in my entonation.

This area may well be what causes so many new thereminists so much frustration.

[i]I've noticed that if I have to reach too far to change notes, I need to turn the pitch knob to the right... If I find myself overshooting notes, it's time to turn the pitch knob back to the left a bit...[/i]

Indeed, to turn the Epro's pitch knob to the left increases the note spacing while turning it to the right decreases the spacing. These adjustments are done to the LEFT of the zero beat knob position.

However... the Theremax is the opposite. The fine tuning adjustments are made to the RIGHT of the zero beat knob position and to move the knob to the left places the notes closer together and to the right makes them farther apart.

[i]...you really should let the theremin warm up for about 10 to 15 minutes before attempting to play it... This is because the magnetic fields around the antennae are constantly changing as they settle down and stabalize for about 10 minutes.[/i]

To elaborate, electronic component values change with temperature.

Before turning on a theremin, the internal components will be at the same temperature. When first turning on the Theremin, electrical current flows through the circuits and some heating is normal. As the parts heat up, their values (resistance, etc) changes. The size and materials in different components (resisters, coils, semi-conductor, etc) heat up at different rates. The instability is the result of uneven heating of the parts after power up. After the passage of time (say 10-15 minutes) the parts reach thier operating temperatures and all is stable again.

Another source of SERIOUS instability is excessive humidity coupled with rapid temperature change. (Photographers know about this, too.)

If your Theremin is in an air-conditioned environment and then you take it outdoors on a hot, humid day, moisture will condensate on/in the theremin. (I almost had to scrub an outdoor performance over this issue -- fortunately, I allowed enough setup time that things stabilized.) In the future, I will likely pack a compact mirror with the theremin (if the mirror collects moisture, then I'll simply wait till it clears up before power-up).

Oh... the result of the condensation? Total unplayability. The Theremin was playing rapid scales and notes on its own! For a few frantic minutes, my Theremin was jumping around from pitch to pitch -- like the sample/hold device on a synthesizer.