My first theremin video

Hi, All!

I've been playing the Theremin for about a year now, and wanted to share a video that I made today:

I'm using an Ultratone K450FX amp, and the pedals are: TC Electronic Reverb, Tera Echo TE-2, and Electro Harmonix Talking Machine.

Cheers and enjoy!

My best,
Jim

Thank you for sharing. You need to develop your fingering technique so you can better grab individual notes. Remember she is a lady.

Many years ago I explored real time octave shifting and later find the Moog method of dividing is very similar to mine except no switch is use between them. It is a bit of a trick and never met a Thereminist to take the method any further.

              Real Time Octave Switching

I have that same amplifier and it is way to heavy for me to move room to room.

Thanks again,

Christopher

Thanks so much for your reply, Christopher!

I use the Rockmore fingering method for some songs, and for others I just change the shape of the entire hand and move within the field.  It seems like some songs have a need for finer definition between notes, and other songs have more long glissandos and sweeping ranges.

For the songs where there's a lot more gliss and sweep, I found that I was leaving 3 fingers extended all the time and moving around like that in the field, LOL.

An example of one that requires fingering would be "Saints Go Marching In".  Just can't play a song like that without the Rockmore fingering technique!

The real time octave switching is very cool!  I wonder why Moog never tried something like that on the E-Pro??

Thanks again - I love your videos here on TW!

My best,
Jim

Hi Jim,

You have a nice vibrato! 

Were you using the EH Talking Machine throughout that performance?

Which TC Electronic Reverb are you using exactly?  And do you like it?

My wife teaches private piano and uses "pattern play" books that have accompaniment similar to that in order to encourage improvisation with her students.

Hey, Dewster!  Thanks for your message!

The Talking Machine is only used from about 0:40 - 1:20.

The TC Electronic Reverb that I'm using is "Hall of Fame 2 Reverb / Reverb Pedal with new MASH Footswitch and Shimmer Effect".  I love it.  I've used it on my Etherwave Standard very happily as well.  It seems to color the theremin's voice with a more haunting / ethereal sound...

Lately I've been searching YouTube for backing tracks of blues, jazz, and dark ethereal music (keyboards, bass), and then when I find something I like, I download the MP3 from Bandcamp for a couple bucks.  I love improvising so much more than doing covers   

My best,
Jim

"The Talking Machine is only used from about 0:40 - 1:20."  - maginy

Ah, it's obvious now that you say that.  You're getting a nice female sound from it.

"I love improvising so much more than doing covers"

Sometimes when listening to my ripped music collection I find a song that is fun to improvise to.  I usually play along with a muted trumpet or violin voice, in the instrumental sections between the lulls in the singing, or even sometimes on top of the singing, depending on what the other instruments in the mix are doing.  You can learn a lot of moves that way.

If you want to try a super fun cover on the theremin, you've got to play along with this recording: Amazing Grace by Joshua Bell featuring Branford Marsalis.

Wow!  It's just perfect for the theremin, and especially when it really gets fired up in the 2nd half it's just amazingly fun to play

My best,
Jim