readout or display for notes for beginners learning to play the theremin - open theremin?

I was sat at work today thinking away to myself

now probably best explain I'm completely new at the art of playing the Theremin and was given an Open Theremin PCB and built up and just have it and have it working - I'm a bit more electrically talented than musically 

obviously its not like other instrument's and with the variable note so to speak, the new player might struggle and benefit from a visual representation of what note is been played? or am I completely wrong? 

you know a bit like them tuner clips that are used for tuning a guitar

something like output frequency been displayed as its note. I don't know if anything like this exists for the Theremin any ever had it but possibly it could be added to the open Theremin to help new players.

what is the thought on this?

"what is the thought on this?"  - BazR

Here's mine, which displays note, octave, and volume:

http://www.thereminworld.com/forums/T/28554?post=214205#214205
http://www.thereminworld.com/forums/T/28554?post=213038#213038

What's great about doing this inside the Theremin is it can be super responsive to your gestures.

I honestly couldn't live without it.

A better video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAKbHS-9Uq4

...or for those not handy with a soldering iron...

Get one of these, or similar, from the outlet of your choice.

Korg Guitar Tuner

If you have a smartphone there are a bunch of tuner apps.  You'll quickly learn that staring at a tuner while trying to play the theremin is extremely distracting and counterproductive and can become a bad habit as well (same with pitch preview).  If you use a tuner try to use it to find your starting note or to occasionally stop and check your pitch as you play.  I quickly did away with using turners and just learned how to hear the pitches and intervals.  You can also record yourself and check your performance on playback and learn where you need to make changes.

' You'll quickly learn that staring at a tuner while trying to play the theremin is extremely distracting and counterproductive and can become a bad habit as well (same with pitch preview).  If you use a tuner try to use it to find your starting note or to occasionally stop and check your pitch as you play. ' -johnthom

My view also: don't be a slave to the pitch tuner, be a slave to your ears.

It's nice to have a device to help in the beginning (for example dewster's very comprehensive tuner) but ultimately the playing will flow more naturally without having to fish for notes.

If I had to use a tuner, I would choose Dewster's one and avoid the guitar tuners that shows the note and a dial with a pointer.
You see, the kind that says "you are playind note D" and which pointer goes right if it is too much high and goes left if it's too much low.

A problem quicly appear when you are at the limit between two notes: pointer swings rapidly between left and right and you may not know how to correct your pitch.

The "circular" approach of Dewster's tuner design doesn't have this problem

That said, I tend to agree that is beter to learn without visual indication.

One thing that gets left out of these types of conversations is the ability and the expectations of the player.  Most folks dabble, some get pretty good, a very few become world class.  I can tell you absolutely that looking at your hands when touch-typing is a bad habit because in the end it will slow you down.  But if you don't type a lot and never will, I guess who cares?  Are tuners and/or pitch preview genuine enhancements, or crutches that will somehow ultimately hold very good players back? 

1. In general, and due to a lack of any pitch reference, a raw Theremin isn't well suited to a cappaella performance.

2. A well designed pattern-based real-time pitch display can help you play and improvise by showing you where you are in the scale.  It can teach you a lot about intervals and melodic structure.

3. Real-time pitch correction is inextricably tied to absolute pitch, so you need some sort of reference to use it productively rather than fighting it. That reference can be your accompaniment, some sort of drone, or a real-time pitch display.

4. Can playing with no references cause bad habits?  E.g. might your technique suffer from having to hover right at the edge of audibility for new notes?

I think playing aids get looked at too philosophically, or as cheating, or as the source of bad habits.  I'm a dabbler with low expectations so I'll gladly take all the help I can get.  If I never get really good on the thing it won't come as a surprise and I'll have plenty of company.  In the extremely unlikely event that I start to become really good (requires time and effort I'm not putting into it) I'll gladly cross that bridge when it comes and try my best to unlearn any bad habits then.  It's no fun to unlearn and relearn something ingrained, but we end up doing it all the time for other stuff, and it's usually not the end of the world.

I have had Dewster's tuner in use for a year and a half now, and short of using Spectratune software on a computer (https://nasmusicsoft.com/SpectratunePlus.php) it is the only type of tuner that I've found to be fast enough to be of any use.

That said, I agree 100% with johnthom, RoyP, and Mr_Dham above.  While a tuner is a good thing to have available, especially if you don't use pitch preview, it is primarily useful for checking your pitch at pauses in your phrasing or for slow, deliberate play.

I have no evidence to support this other than how my particular brain works, but I feel that the visual-to-motor response is slower than the aural-to-motor response, and watching a tuner introduces a halting behavior in faster playing for me.  Playing by ear is much faster.  Avoid staring at a tuner.  Play by ear with accompaniment as a guide, but if playing a cappella you can use a fast tuner to check pitch at natural pauses in the music. Otherwise it's probably best to learn to ignore visuals as much as possible in favor of your trained ear if you ever want to play up to speed.

Again, this is how my ears/eyes/brain works, but your results may vary.

Yes, you just have to know what to expect from these tools and what their particular limitations are.

They are good things anyway, and Dewster's pragmatic approach is the right one.

A visual aid gives some indication of the gesture that gives an octave, a fifth, ...
An audio aid (accompaniment, auto-tune, ...) gives precise indications on the pitch...

The most important thing is perhaps to mix them, and to try to see what they will reveal about the theremin playing.

I remenber that, once, I mixed direct sound and auto-tuned sound and I was so happy because it pointed out something I didn't see (or hear) before about the pitch.

And yes, learn / unlearn, is part of all learning processes...

I have no evidence to support this other than how my particular brain works, but I feel that the visual-to-motor response is slower than the aural-to-motor response, and watching a tuner introduces a halting behavior in faster playing for me.  Playing by ear is much faster.

 
Actually, this is true my a neurological perspective (I do research on brain function), the brain processes auditory stimuli faster than visual. The brain processes auditory information next to each ear where it has been received. On the other hand, visual information is processed by the occipital lobes, at the back of the head - relatively far from each eye, with the right eye being processed on the left and the left eye being processed on the right.

From a musical standpoint, you should never use a tuner for each note while playing a melody. Tuners can be very helpful for identifying your starting note and for learning how to match pitches (playing in tune), although not while you trying to play a melody. I use a Korg OT-120 Chromatic Orchestral Tuner which can be attached directly to your theremin’s output. While it is more expensive than many other tuners, it has features that will help you train your ear. In music, it is essential that you let your ears do all of the work, you will only inhibit your ability to play well if you need to relay on visual information.

BTW, using a tuner can be very useful but only for the things I mentioned above - learning how to match pitches and ear training. It is also far more difficult to unlearn bad habits than to learn good ones from the beginning. Many people, especially adults without previous musical experiences, are afraid to rely on their ears as our society is so heavily oriented towards the visual. Don’t be afraid! Training your ears is a wonderful experience and you’ll be happy you did!