What is this thing?

glatt · 10-27-2005, 08:11 AM

I saw this guy playing with a small streetcorner band two weeks ago at a festival. The intrument he was playing interested me, so I took a picture of him. I forgot about it until I saw the picture again last night. Does anyone know what the instrument is, or how it works? It almost looks homemade.

It makes an electric sound, much like a primitive synthesizer. He would wave each hand over the metal plates on each side and the tone would change its intensity and pitch. It was kind of like when you hook an oscilliscope up to some speakers and play with the knobs. The sound also reminded me of someone playing a saw by bending and shaking it to change the pitch.

He would move the hand on the left up and down, while waving the hand on the right back and forth over the plate. He never touched the metal plates.

and here's a close-up:

How does it work?

lumberjim · 10-27-2005, 08:24 AM

a theramin.

Pie · 10-27-2005, 08:25 AM

A theremine?
Doh!

glatt · 10-27-2005, 08:31 AM

Damn, you guys are good. Less than 15 minutes to get an answer and a link explaining it.

Thanks.

SteveDallas · 10-27-2005, 08:48 AM

The Cellar is the fount of all knowledge. Get used to it.

Undertoad · 10-27-2005, 10:23 AM

We work better than the rest of the net because we *care*

We care because we have a common investment in each other

wolf · 10-27-2005, 10:59 AM

A friend of mine is in the Austin, Texas Theramin Symphony.

One of my coolest nights at the movies was at the U of P International House. They showed the documentary on the Theramin and then the Day the Earth Stood Still.

BigV · 10-27-2005, 02:50 PM

A brief sample of theremin tunage, for those who find the textual and visual descriptions...lacking. If you know the sound, you know the sound, if you don't know, trust me, they're lacking.

By the way, I'm gonna make one.

Elspode · 10-27-2005, 04:21 PM

Some day, I'm going to build myself a Moog kit. Not that hard, apparently. I just need to find the jack to do it with.

Griff · 10-27-2005, 05:30 PM

Saw a neat performance on a theramin in Ithaca a while back. Bela Fleck had found this woman who could really make things happen with it. btw It is a theramin that does the theme to the original Star Trek tv series.

lumberjim · 10-27-2005, 06:41 PM

jimmy page uses it doing dazed and confused live. WAY COOL

Elspode · 10-27-2005, 07:33 PM

There are relatively few virtuoso theremin players in the world. Anyone can make space noises with it, but it takes incredible skill, nuance and patience to play one in a truly musical fashion.

LabRat · 11-01-2005, 10:12 AM

Never ever seen or heard of one before, the cellar strikes again!
Everyone here rocks.

(as does the music sample, thanks!!)

slang · 11-01-2005, 06:28 PM

Does using this thing normally make the musician's hand look rigid, yet rubbery like a prosthetic hand?

Looks pretty dangerous to me.

lumberjim · 11-01-2005, 06:41 PM

hitch up the team and go rent "The Song Remains the Same" (Led Zeppelin concert movie) at the local video store, Slang. 1/2 way through Dazed and Confused, Jimmy Page does a pretty groovy little bit with it.

10-27-2005, 08:11 AM	#1
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	What is this thing? I saw this guy playing with a small streetcorner band two weeks ago at a festival. The intrument he was playing interested me, so I took a picture of him. I forgot about it until I saw the picture again last night. Does anyone know what the instrument is, or how it works? It almost looks homemade. It makes an electric sound, much like a primitive synthesizer. He would wave each hand over the metal plates on each side and the tone would change its intensity and pitch. It was kind of like when you hook an oscilliscope up to some speakers and play with the knobs. The sound also reminded me of someone playing a saw by bending and shaking it to change the pitch. He would move the hand on the left up and down, while waving the hand on the right back and forth over the plate. He never touched the metal plates. and here's a close-up: How does it work?

10-27-2005, 08:24 AM	#2
lumberjim I can hear my ears Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 25,571	a theramin. __________________ This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment, remember We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion ~MJKeenan

10-27-2005, 08:25 AM	#3
Pie Gone and done Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 4,808	A theremine? Doh! __________________ per·son \ˈpər-sən\ (noun) - an ephemeral collection of small, irrational decisions The fun thing about evolution (and science in general) is that it happens whether you believe in it or not.

10-27-2005, 10:59 AM	#7
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	A friend of mine is in the Austin, Texas Theramin Symphony. One of my coolest nights at the movies was at the U of P International House. They showed the documentary on the Theramin and then the Day the Earth Stood Still. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

10-27-2005, 02:50 PM	#8
BigV Goon Squad Leader Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Seattle Posts: 27,063	A brief sample of theremin tunage, for those who find the textual and visual descriptions...lacking. If you know the sound, you know the sound, if you don't know, trust me, they're lacking. By the way, I'm gonna make one. __________________ Be Just and Fear Not.

10-27-2005, 08:31 AM	#4
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	Damn, you guys are good. Less than 15 minutes to get an answer and a link explaining it. Thanks.

10-27-2005, 08:48 AM	#5
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	The Cellar is the fount of all knowledge. Get used to it.

10-27-2005, 10:23 AM	#6
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	We work better than the rest of the net because we care We care because we have a common investment in each other

10-27-2005, 04:21 PM	#9
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	Some day, I'm going to build myself a Moog kit. Not that hard, apparently. I just need to find the jack to do it with. __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog

10-27-2005, 05:30 PM	#10
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	Saw a neat performance on a theramin in Ithaca a while back. Bela Fleck had found this woman who could really make things happen with it. btw It is a theramin that does the theme to the original Star Trek tv series. __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

10-27-2005, 06:41 PM	#11
lumberjim I can hear my ears Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 25,571	jimmy page uses it doing dazed and confused live. WAY COOL __________________ This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment, remember We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion ~MJKeenan

10-27-2005, 07:33 PM	#12
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	There are relatively few virtuoso theremin players in the world. Anyone can make space noises with it, but it takes incredible skill, nuance and patience to play one in a truly musical fashion. __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog

11-01-2005, 10:12 AM	#13
LabRat twatfaced two legged bumhole Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 3,143	Never ever seen or heard of one before, the cellar strikes again! Everyone here rocks. (as does the music sample, thanks!!) __________________ Strength does not come from how much weight you can lift, or how many miles you can run. It comes from knowing that you set a goal, and rose to the challenge. Strength comes from within.

11-01-2005, 06:28 PM	#14
slang St Petersburg, Florida Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 3,423	Does using this thing normally make the musician's hand look rigid, yet rubbery like a prosthetic hand? Looks pretty dangerous to me.

11-01-2005, 06:41 PM	#15
lumberjim I can hear my ears Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 25,571	hitch up the team and go rent "The Song Remains the Same" (Led Zeppelin concert movie) at the local video store, Slang. 1/2 way through Dazed and Confused, Jimmy Page does a pretty groovy little bit with it. __________________ This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment, remember We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion ~MJKeenan

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