https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajM4vYCZMZk
From the headline I kind of expected it to be about some more contrived apparatus, something that was built ad hoc and is constantly close to self-disassembling from being used, like Wintergatan's Marble Machine:
Theremin is something of a niche instrument however. Around the same time as the Morricone cover was released I also stumbled on this syrian rap song, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxah0kE4cwU, and over the months after it was released I was surprised at how fast it was getting views. Apparently it found a broader audience despite being kind of niche as well.
It was a very sophisticated covert listening device (bug) for its time that went undetected for a long time. It did not have a conventional power source such as a battery or mains connection.
My first intro to this was the fascinating book The SpyCatcher.
[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thing_(listening_device)
Modern ones (the Moog ones I saw 20 years ago) have tunable waveforms but still hark back to that original sound.
I like the sound. In the sonic tradition of the cello.
Does this sound unpleasant to you? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=62lT9XsZVio (maybe it's subjective, but it sounds very pleasant to me).
The comment in the other reply to the parent comment, as well as what I've heard of Carolina Eyck's playing, do sound pleasant to me though.
Katica Illény doing the Star Trek theme https://youtu.be/x0NVb25p1oU
https://www.thomann.de/de/doepfer_a178.htm
live in action: https://youtu.be/1mIferngPqY
or from stylophone:
https://www.thomann.de/de/duebreq_stylophone_theremin.htm
live in action: https://youtu.be/NNn-se0S4Ww
The Moog Etherwave (Standard/Plus) wasn't the best theremin, but it was always extremely solid in terms of bang for the buck, a standard, easy to set up, reliable option with lots of other players you could ask for help, accessories (carry bag, mods, etc.) so it was the most logical recommendation for most newcomers.
There were (and probably still are) great choices from smaller makers as well, in fact I own one in addition to my Moog, but they were more adventurous choices that didn't offer the reliability and newbie-friendliness of the Moog at a comparable price. Many players would have their pet underdog theremin that they would personally use and prefer to the Moog, but would still recommend the Moog to newcomers because you just couldn't go wrong with it, and others were either expensive, fickle, unsupported, inconsistent quality, difficult to set up, difficult to source, etc. I don't know if newer options will have changed this.
Zaphod! Please take your hand off me. And the other one. Thank you. And the other one.
ZAPHOD:
I grew that one specially for you Trillian, you know that. Took me six months but it was worth every minute.
This was a case where the novelty of the instrument stood in the way of the performance.
I'm a lot of fun at parties.
She's a super sweet person, and a consummate musician!
Do you know if there are any affordable "theremin" like MIDI control devices that enable free assignment of parameters to the antennas? For example, I could have both antennas control pitch, independently of each other, and amplitude would be set to a fixed value via a knob or on a device that the "theremin" sends its output to.
Manual: https://d-lev.com/support/D-Lev_Manual_2024-01-08.pdf Processor: https://d-lev.com/research/Hive_Design_2022-10-24.pdf
(It's hard to separate music Theremin from spy Theremin so I've just not tried)
Show HN: iOS Theremin Simulator with Hand Tracking (Beta) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42267668 - Nov 2024 (1 comment)
What the hell is a luminiferous theremin? - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41204378 - Aug 2024 (54 comments)
The Thing (Listening Device) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40583607 - June 2024 (1 comment)
YouTuber recreates Theremin's “Great Seal” spy bug [video] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36092382 - May 2023 (2 comments)
The Thing (Listening Device) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31232681 - May 2022 (1 comment)
The Thing (Listening Device) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27676518 - June 2021 (3 comments)
Russian Espionage and Electromagnetic Fields: The Story of the Theremin (2017) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23304053 - May 2020 (24 comments)
Theremin - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23029127 - April 2020 (1 comment)
The Thing - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20157116 - June 2019 (104 comments)
Peter Theremin’s haunting music, on his great-grandfather’s invention - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17955295 - Sept 2018 (1 comment)
Theremin's Bug: How the Soviet Union Spied on the US Embassy for Seven Years - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15498685 - Oct 2017 (11 comments)
Three Radio Theremin: Convert Old Radios into a Theremin - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11998382 - June 2016 (1 comment)
Our Comrade the Electron - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10437775 - Oct 2015 (1 comment)
Theremin - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10103717 - Aug 2015 (39 comments)
Our Comrade the Electron - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7310045 - Feb 2014 (2 comments)
The Great Seal Bug: How Theremin Eavesdropped On US Ambassador - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4191036 - July 2012 (1 comment)
Leon Theremin: The man and the music machine - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3696549 - March 2012 (1 comment)
The albums from that time were Arling & Cameron Music For Imaginary Films https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP5E3f0kgIG2riT_HOfOYwoMr... Others were All In & Voulez Vous an EP.
I've been stuck waiting for Meta to verify my identity. Shortly after that happens, it'll be available on the Quest store.
asdefghyk•9mo ago
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brudgers•9mo ago
ChrisMarshallNY•9mo ago
zimpenfish•9mo ago
ChrisMarshallNY•9mo ago
Many stringed instruments, the actual sound is made by whatever the strings are attached to, so there's a similar distance between touch and sound.
With percussion, it's quite direct, as with many wind instruments.