Leon Theremin's Electronic Odyssey

Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey (1994): “The Music He Created Was Strange. His Life Was Even Stranger.”

"A documentary about the amazing life of Leon Theremin, inventor of the theremin, the electronic musical instrument so beloved of 50s sci-fi movie music. Theremin amazed America with his instrument until his kidnapping by Soviet agents in the mid-30s. Upon his release from a labor camp, he worked on surveillance devices for the KGB. Almost 60 years later , he is brought back to America for a touching reunion with his friends and colleagues."

The Theremin, The "Rhythmicon", The "Terpistone", The "ThereminCello", The "keyboard Theremin" and the Story of Leon Termen:

"The principles of beat frequency or heterodyning oscillators were discovered by chance during the first decades of the twentieth century by radio engineers experimenting with radio vacuum tubes. Heterodyning effect is created by two high radio frequency sound waves of similar but varying frequency combining and creating a lower audible frequency, equal to the difference between the two radio frequencies (approximately 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz). the musical potential of the effect was noted by several engineers and designers including Maurice Martenot, Nikolay Obukhov, Armand Givelet and Leon (or Lev) Sergeivitch Termen the Russian Cellist and electronic engineer.

One problem with utilising the heterodyning effect for musical purposes was that as the body came near the vacuum tubes the capacitance of the body caused variations in frequency. Leon Termen realised that rather than being a problem, body capacitance could be used as a control mechanism for an instrument and finally freeing the performer from the keyboard and fixed intonation."

Theremin World

"ThereminWorld is the new name for the Theremin Home Page. The Theremin Home Page was created during the summer of 1995 as a source of information for people building their own theremins. Back then, Yahoo! hadn't even become a real company yet! Since then, the site has grown from a single page of grey-backed HTML to become on of the most comprehensive online resources for theremin-related information."

Theremin.info

A web community built around the Theremin. This site seems to be full information related to making music with the Theremin including; sheet music, sounds, software, schematics, community forums, and an article archive.

Art's Theremin Page

"In these pages, I will share some of my theremin design ideas, exploring various technical aspects of this amazing instrument."

Theremin Vox

"Thereminvox.com covers news and issues about the theremin and other theremin-related musical instruments. More in general, the goal of Thereminvox.com is to investigate the role of technology as a tool for expressive manifestations and the relations between art, technology and the human body."

Theremin Enthusiasts Club International

Looking to meet others to jam Theremin style? Look no further than the T.E.C.I.

Leon Theremin, Lev Sergeivitch Termen, oddmusic.com, odd music

Oddmusic.com is a source for unique & experimental music, instruments, players & listeners. They have created a pag about the Theremin and its creator, including an interview with Lev Sergeivitch Termen that gives us some insight as to how became the kind of a person to create such a radically different instrument.

"[Said Termen,] I was born in Leningrad, that was then called St. Petersburg, in 1896. My father was a lawyer, and my mother was interested in the arts, especially music and drawing. Even before high school I was interested in physics, in electricity and in oscillatory motions like those of a pendulum. In high school I was interested in physics, and after playing the piano I started studying cello. While in high school I entered the conservatory on the cello, and I graduated with the title of "free artist on the violoncello." Then I entered the university, after graduating from high school, and majored in physics and astronomy."

PAiA: Theremax theremin

This company sells Theremin kits. From their site, "Theremax captures this age-of-technology spirit in an instrument based on the same heterodyne principles as the original but with embellishments made possible by the economy of integrated circuits and solid state electronics."

MOOG MUSIC

"Moog is pronounced so it rhymes with vogue."

Silicon Chip Online - Build A MIDI Theremin, Pt. 1

Unfortunately, it looks like they force you to pay for the article in some way. I may just find the info elsewhere, but the idea of a midi-theremin is still very cool to me. From the article, "Connect it to your computer (with sound card) or a MIDI synthesiser for a truly awesome array of sound possibilities. Using a computer, you can even record, save and playback your compositions."

Jaycar Electronics: buy a midi-theremin kit.

"This project, when built, operates like a Theremin in that it uses a plate and an antenna to control volume and pitch. Instead of gerenating the Theremin like tone it relies on either a MIDI accessible synthesiser or a computer with a sound card. When set up (usually with a computer) the instrument will "play" up to 120 different instrument selections in 15 types by 8 variation. The instrument produces discrete notes (not like the classic Theremin) which can be changed in pitch by hand movements on the antenna. Moving the hand in this way produces a glissando effect. The instrument features a two-line backlit LCD readout which gives you real-time readout of pitch, from C- sharp to G- a total of ten octaves, including sharps. When in use the actual instrument operates within a narrow range of course. Computer operation requires using sequencer software to interface between the Theremin & the sound card. These are available from the net. (Information on this is supplied with the kit) There are other sources from firms such as Yamaha, Korg, Roland, Faith, etc. as free downloads, all of which work under various versions of Windows."

MetaFilter discussion on the Theremin and the Ether Music 2005 Conference

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