Theremin
Introduction
The theremin is probably one of the first electronic instruments ever created. Invented in the 1920s by Russian engineer Leon Theremin, the theremin is one of the most beloved electronic instruments of all time. It influenced Robert Moog, who built many theremins before going on the create some of the first commercially available synthesizers.
The theremin is a strange instrument that you play without touching. Moving your hands towards and away from 2 antennas lets you control the pitch (right hand) and the volume (left hand). The range of available notes is vast, going from 0 hz, all the way up to a piercing 3 khz or so. The timbre sounds like that of a cello but can be altered using filters. Many theremins have tone and timbre controls. The lack of discrete pitches is partly responsible for the cello-like sound, and solo string repertoire lends itself well to being played on the theremin.
Update - 2002-11-29
My theremin is now owned by Toronto musician Samuel Andreyev and appears on his second CD Songs of Elsewhere. He plays the theremin very well, and tells me that it has been heard across Canada on CBC Radio. Good work Sam!
My Theremin
The original theremins were of course made with vacuum tubes. A very similar sound can be produced using transistors, and most modern theremins are built using solid state parts. The theremin I built was from a set of plans published in a 1996 issue of Electronic Musician, written by Robert Moog. I obtained a copy of the article from the music library at school, and began pricing out the parts. Realizing that this particular design contained some rather expensive parts, I waited until I had some free time, and a bit of extra money before pursuing the project. I built a case for my theremin using red oak, which I finished with polyurethane. My case and antenna designs are slightly different from the plans, but seem to work well.
In 1999 when I finished building the theremin, I couldn’t get one of the slug-tuned coils I needed. When I finally got it, and installed it the volume control circuit didn’t work. Now, about a year later I finally got some time to play with it again, and low and behold, the whole theremin works! I think I know now what the problem was. I never was able to get the thing far enough away from metal objects for the volume circuit to not be muted. When I set the theremin on some empty cardboard boxes, it worked right away! Wow, the sound!
The plans for this theremin circuit are not very easy to find. They are only available in a 1996 issue of Electronic Musician. I was only able to build my theremin because my music school’s library had the magazine which I was able to copy. Many libraries carry Electronic Musician, and it was in one of the issues of the 1996 year, although I can’t remember which one.
Sound Samples
Please be warned that I do not know how to play this instrument quite yet, but I recorded these samples to demonstrate the timbre of the instrument. The clip starts with a demonstration of the range of pitches you can get, and the second part demonstrates a more bright tone and timbre setting. The notes are being articulated with my left hand, and the pitch is being set with my right hand, neither one touching the antennas.
Listen to the Theremin - VBR MP3 - about 390K