Hello Everyone, I'm The New Guy

I just wanted to post an introduction of myself. I have just bought a Moog Etherwave Theremin Plus and probably receive it in a week or so. I also purchased a Moog 101 Low Filter. I do not have any formal training in music or electronics. I am somewhat anxious but also excited for a new adventure in sound. I hope that I can learn from other members here and believe me I will need all the help I can get. Thanks.

Wow. I have to say I'm a little surprised and disappointed here at TW. 60 Views of my post and not even one response. Not even a simple hello. What does that say about the membership(collectively)? Is it laziness, arrogance, or maybe just a little of " The Absent Minded Professor"? This all reminds me of when I thought to join the VFW(Veterans of Foreign Wars) after returning from Vietnam(USMC 1968) and was given a "Cold Shoulder" treatment from existing WWII members. I may be new but I am just as passionate and exited about Leon Theremin as any of you here. I will continue in my quest to learn and play the Theremin regardless of my non-welcome, but it sure would have been nice to have a little communication from others here. Well I'm sorry but I just couldn't remain silent on this and who knows maybe it will help someone else down the road who comes here and is a "Newbee". Kerry.

Hello Kerry,

I mentioned in my other post TW has three active members today. The 60 views is us going back to reread it because we are mostly bored grumpy old men. In my 15 years at theremin research I have never met a Thereminist. - Christopher

Ooh Rah

Well thanks Christopher you are a class stand-up guy. Nice touch with the "Ooh-Rah" even tho this USMC expression wasn't used when I was in the Marine Corps. I have a lot of stories to tell about Vietnam and many are quite humorous. I have never felt guilty about Vietnam as I just joined to fight for my country, so as far as guilt well I just passed that on to the politicians of the time. Finally, my only regret in all this Thermin business, is that my beloved Rockie isn't around to share my Theremin experience. Rockie was a wild-caught(Smuggled, Quarantined, but bought legally from a pet shop in Palo Alto, Calif. 1982) African Grey Timneh Parrot and we shared 35 years together(Passed on Jan. 3rd 2016). Rockie was a flyer(Don't believe in wing clipping), player(Games) and talker(And other misc. sounds). Rockie could get a real groove on to music and liked Genesis, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Uriah Heep, ELO, just to name a few. Interaction and affection both were a TEN. Well that's all for now, but I'm gonna try to put a picture up of Rockie as my new Avatar. 

  Thanks for being a cool person Christopher.  Kerry.

Welcome aboard Kerry!  The theremin is NOT an easy instrument but if you stick with it you will find that it is a lot of fun to play and very rewarding when you realize that you are actually improving.  Good luck! - Harry

Thank you Harry for both your welcome and encouragement. Geez, I just can't wait until April 3rd to receive my Moog Plus. Harry you are a stand-up guy as well. Sayonara. Kerry. PS: Many years ago I taught Rockie a little sci-fi sound by whistling it, just four notes but Rockie got it and it was way cool to hear. 

Hi there cyberghostx13….is it O.K. if I just call you Cy? New Guy Cy! (Sounds like an exotic dish in a Chinese restaurant).

The reason you didn’t get love-bombed by a happy throng of welcoming Theremin World subscribers, is that not everyone checks the forum on a daily basis, and you did not ask any specific questions about either the instrument, or the many techniques currently being promoted on the internet to play it.

As for the cold shoulder you got from the WW II vets and the VFW membership, don’t forget that the conflict in Viet Nam was never officially a WAR at all. It was a “conflict”, sometimes euphemistically referred to as a “police action”. In fact, the United States Congress has not declared war on any nation or foreign entity since 1942. Be that as it may, Saigon was sumpthin’ in the late 1960’s. I remember it well!

Since you are not yet in possession of an instrument, let me warn you about something. When it comes to the theremin everyone is an expert, including people who have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. The basic rule of thumb is this: take no advice about the theremin, or about methods to play it, from anyone whom you have not heard play or whose playing you have heard but did not enjoy.

Sorry to hear about Rockie. I am at a place in my life now where I actually prefer the company of animals to the company of humans. There are two reasons for this. There is no duplicity with animals, and they are always in the moment - right HERE, right NOW. I think we have much to learn from them but most of us are blind to that because we think we are superior to them. 

"I only wish I could be half the person my dog thinks I am."

My only contact with African Grey Parrots was about 25 years ago.  I was designing and building a dining room table for a client and we were in her living room discussing the details of the design.  Two of these parrots were in a cage in the room with us and they were noisily expressing their opinion.  So Liz put a cover over the cage to quiet them down, which worked to some extent.  But there they were under the cover, muttering and whispering conspiratorially to each other.  You could make out bits and pieces of what seemed to be a conversation but never quite get the gist of what they were saying.  It was a little strange and I do believe that someone who had paranoid tendencies might begin to wonder if they were talking about him.

Well let me thank you sir(Falcon) for your kind intervention(Intentional or not) and timing of your above post. Sure helps after the shellacking I received a little earlier. 

Now to a favorite subject of mine, Rockie my Tymneh African Grey Parrot. We spent 35 years together just the two of us. I was a USMC Vietnam Vet and Rockie unfortunately was a captured and smuggled(Lucky to get through quarantine)young parrot, both of us a pair of scuffers I guess. I was checking out parrots in a Palo Alto, California pet shop(1982) when I first met Rockie. Very young and very scared, with wings hacked slightly. I asked for a piece of rawhide and tried to get this Grey to take and as I did I heard this tremendously loud growl/scream, ear piercing to say the least and all coming from something that was maybe a little over a pound in weight. I thought wow this parrot had really been thru da *hit same as myself and so the bonding had begun and so was the deal, $400.00 the purchase price. Rockie started flying after wings grew out and I was so happy for Rockie, no way would I ever clip wings for convenience as many parrot owners do. How could anyone take flight away from a parrot, I mean get a poodle or goldfish for crying out loud! 

Well the circus had begun. Rockie had to be locked up while I was at work and at night but the rest of the time Rockie was free to fly. I trained Rockie to fly onto my right arm even landing on bare skin and not a scratch, ever. Rockie would play flying games and attack objects, the first being a Windex spray bottle, what a surprise. 

Rockie learned many sounds some I taught and some learned without my assistance. Rockie was never as much a talker, but more of a player. Still the words Rockie spoke were perfectly understood and in my low voice. Words: Apple, OK, You bet, Oh Really, Rockie(Pronounced YouRockie) Hello, What, and Wow. I taught Rockie to make the sound of Champagne Cork being popped, and few whistles, even a four note a sci-fi/scarey movie sound from the fifties. What Rockie learned alone, the barking of a dog, the screech of a cat that sounded like it had been thrown off a cliff(I could not duplicate as to high a pitch), a few birds, a beer or soda can being popped open, a microwave oven alarm, a truck backing up alarm, babbling/mumbleing, and finally a bird whistle I learned in my youth growing up in Northern Illinois. Rockie very much interacted with me and loved to play, tug of war with a toy, tag especially a version I called "Pearl Harbor" as Rockie would attack me from above, a surprise attack swiftly swooping and flying thru my hair, gosh Rockie just loved that, guess a great feeling of empowerment. 

Well the reason I have written so much in this post is to set the stage to explain my love and passion for this "Soulmate" of mine. Rockie passed a little over a year ago on January 3rd 2016. I was in total shock for at least two weeks, I had become lazy and depressed and it was all I could do to take a daily shower and eat. Sleeping was not a problem, in fact more of a welcome if perchance to meet Rockie in a dream. I love music with a passion especially synth and guitar and so did Rockie, so upon hearing and seeing a Theremin for the first time just over a week ago, I investigated for 2 days and bought one a Moog Etherwave Plus Theremin. Now I have a new passion tho it will never even be in the same ballpark as Rockie it sure can't hurt and hey, I'm alone and retired. Well that's it for my introduction and why I am here. I will apologize to those who took a previous post as offensive. Sayonara. Kerry.