Shinier Etherwave knobs

"As for the "laser harp", spectacular though it may be, it is a triumph of FORM over UTILITY. There is nothing it can do musically that cannot be done far more easily and efficiently on the simplest of Casio keyboards." - Coalport

LOL ;-) .. That is too true!

"I find it interesting that non-musicians often (usually?) think that the less effort when playing a musical instrument the better, even (particularly?) in the extreme where it eliminates tactile feedback. " - Dewster

And the fact of the matter is this - We are tactile.. By removing tactile feedback we remove one of our primary control mechanisms.. And I think that in the majority of cases this is disadvantageous. I went through a phase of thinking that the theremin was the stupidest instrument ever invented (the phase didnt last long, but I occasionaly go back to the idea).. I think that the theremin (and other non-tactile instruments) may "liberate" us from the tactile feedback loop and therebye open creative possibilities we might otherwise not engage with..

In this context, I think the theremin is probably better suited to "experimental" music than to other music. I think that anyone capable of mastering the theremin in the way the few like Peter do, if they spent this time on any other instrument, would probably get greater returns for their efforts.

"Once I get off my Theremin kick I'd like to make new electronic instruments that are as immediately rewarding to play as possible while still being perceived as real instruments by professional musicians (i.e. the ability to play complex things on them and not look like an idiot on stage while doing so).  Music is both fun and deadly serious." - Dewster

""Once I get off my Theremin kick" - Lol ;-) Shes got you, Dewster! - Fight, kick, scream all you want - Your only escape from her is the same escape I have -

Love your bio Fred, I may steal it:

I'm an electronics design consultant,fallen prey to Theremin 'sirens' and following them to financial ruin as I attempt to create the ultimate Theremin

Here's hoping well see this through without having to pay the ultimate sacrifice.  My own diabolical plan to turn vinyl fence posts into digital Theremins needs to bear some fruit toot sweet.  Baby needs some new test equipment, and the oppressive private healthcare premiums in this bestest country in the whole wide world don't exactly pay themselves.

Hey - I have just realised something..

The most interesting / entertaining and enjoyable threads on TW, to me, are those which wander off  - drifting without any tactile feedback, but somehow seem to almost be going somewhere...

LOL - I think it is in these places that the theremin spirits make their home..

"Shinier Etherwave Knobs" - ROFLMAO!  - I ignored this thread.. The fact that I bothered to look at it at all shows how bored I must have been! ;-)

(sorry Jason - No offence meant to you - Its highly relevant [or at least relevant] to EW owners, which must be the majority of theremin owners)

FRED: I think that anyone capable of mastering the theremin in the way the few like Peter do, if they spent this time on any other instrument, would probably get greater returns for their efforts.

I did.....and I did.

It wasn't until I had retired that I tackled the theremin. 

The theremin is a wooden duck. 

"The theremin is a wooden duck. " _ Coalport

Am I correct in believing you are saying its a decoy? ... Now you really have roused my curiosity!

But not enough to stop me going to bed - its 1:37am here - I think you have probably just started your evening..

;-)

Fred.

... Quack! ;)

LOL.  This is why I don't get too picky about keeping threads "on topic" - I love watching where these conversations go!

"The theremin is a wooden duck. "  - Coalport

Perhaps a large wooden badger.

The theremin has lured many to their destruction over the years. The reason for this seems to lie in the fact that it speaks so powerfully to certain people, but not at all to the population at large.

"The theremin has lured many to their destruction over the years"- Coalport

The "wooden duck" is a good description for the theremin I think - but the "wooden badger" idea is probably even better!

It the desception it embodies which makes it this kind of "Trojan horse" - It looks so simple! Technically simple (which lured me into its lair) and probably looks musically simple (which lures wanna-be players into its lair).

Technically, I believed it to be an instrument I could completely redesign with great improvements, and have on the market in the matter of months - a year at most.. It was so simple! ... I have done some highly complex designs (lab equipment to control deposition of exactly one molicule thick films on substrates, for example) - The theremin was a doddle by comparison! ....... I can now, years down the road, recognise that the simplicity was a Trojan - Hiding in this horse was an army of complexities and horrors - But this army did not kill me (although perhaps it nearly did) - it enslaved me.. But I am still fighting - its almost about revenge now!  ;-)

Musically I suspect many players come to the theremin (despite reading warnings about the difficulty) with the belief that, for them, playing the theremin will be easy - They find that its not easy - A few really devote themselves to gaining more mastery of the instrument, and spend every spare moment on this, and end up eventually being reasonably competent... But most remain "trapped" - the desire to be able to play this instrument is stronger than their  willingness to expend the effort required to master it (and for some, they simply do not have the required abilities no matter how much time they spend) - So they resort to the easiest escape route - self delusion.

Most are probably not "lured to their destruction" - But as musical instruments go, the theremin has probably claimed more scalps than most, I would guess..

Fred.