Disaster has struck in the Usual Shop’s house… well, I am rather dramatising this, but as is inevitably the case when one lives in a Victorian house in Brighton, we’ve had an attack of damp, mildew and mould. We’ve spent much of the weekend trying to kill off the mould spores, misting all our clothes with anti-bacterial spray and brushing fabrics frantically. The mould’s got into D’s best suits, my oldest and most precious vintage dresses, our leather shoes and belts: pretty much everything that’s not been worn or exposed to fresh air lately. Serves us right for being too tight to turn on the central heating. Any tips for salvaging these clothes and getting rid of the smell, anyone?

The upshot of this is – as was the case last winter when this happened – that we have been forced to have a serious edit and cull of our wardrobes. The mould’s less likely to take hold if the clothes actually have a chance to air and aren’t packed solidly together, and we have turned out items we haven’t worn in years. So I’ve been exceedingly restrained this week on the accumulation front, going only to one jumble sale in Plumpton and being very selective.

The week’s finds are: a pale brown two-button man’s suit; a black cardigan with beaded detail on one shoulder; a super-80s yellow satin shirt with tie-bow detail on the sleeves; a pale grey earthenware pot; and, most randomly of all, a 1976 book called The Evolution of Electronic Music (from oscillators and theremins to synthesizers and computer-generated sounds via Stockhausen and Cage), by a David Ernst.  It’ll make a good Christmas present for someone…

Theremin was invented by the Russian Physicist named Lev Sergeivich Termen (a.k.a. Leon Theremin) in 1920. Theremins are popular instruments among avant-garde and new music artists because of their perceived freedom from traditional compositional structures. It is also performed as a classical instrument, and is occasionally used in jazz improvisation.

Easy to learn but notoriously difficult to master, theremin performance presents two challenges: reliable control of the instrument’s pitch with no guidance (no keys, valves, frets, or finger-board positions), and minimizing undesired portamento that is inherent in the instrument’s microtonal design.

This is one of the most fascinating, little-known musical instruments. It is called Theremin. It is unique among musical instruments in that it is played without physical contact. The musician stands in front of the instrument and moves his or her hands in the proximity of two metal antennas. The distance from one antenna determines frequency (pitch), and the distance from the other controls amplitude (volume). Most frequently, the right hand controls the pitch and the left controls the volume, although some performers reverse this arrangement. Some low-cost theremins use a conventional, knob operated volume control and have only the pitch antenna.

DE CINE A FOST INVENTAT SI CUM FUNCTIONEAZA TEREMINUL.PRIMA LECTIE DE MUZICA LA TEREMIN

Inventat de rusul Leon Theremin in 1919, tereminul este unul dintre primele sintetizatoare electronice.

Ce il face special este ca scoate sunete fara sa fie atins, mainile celui care il folosesc se misca intre cele doua antene. Astfel, controleaza frecventele si volumul pe care aparatul le emite.

Construit din două oscilatoare cu frecvenţe radio şi două antene metalice, funcţionează şi cântă singur la semnalele electrice produse prin mişcarea mâinilor artistului între cele două antene direcţionate spre difuzoare. Interpretul „atinge lumina şi ea cântă”. Tereminul e alimentat de la sursă electrică, iar sunetul se obţine din diferenţa de frecvenţă dintre două oscilatoare, unul cu frecvenţă fixată, celălalt cu frecvenţă variabilă. Instrumentul are două antene în raza cărora trec mâinile artistului cu mişcări de dirijor, care obţin înălţimea sunetului şi volumul. Benedict Popescu a luat contact cu tereminul în 1999, când a obţinut o bursă NATO în Anglia. Are deja înregistrate două CD-uri cu piese consacrate, româneşti şi străine, cântate la fierăstrău si la teremin.

DORIT CRYSLER-FEMEIA CU MAINI VRAJITE SAU ZEITA TEREMINULUI

DORIT CHRYSLER,cantareata de origine austriaca, adoptata de New York ,este “zeita tereminului”, asa cum a fost numita de presa straina.”Femeia cu maini vrajite” a fost prezenta si la Bucuresti in anul 2007 ,intr-un spectacol organizat la petrecerea Campari

BENDICT POPESCU CANTA LA TEREMIN -romanta “Pe langa plopii fara sot”.

MARIN MIHAI-”HAI, ROMANIA !”-BLOGUL ROMANILOR DE PRETUTINDENI (http://mihaimarin.wordpress.com

This has got to be the weirdest and definitly most awsome musical instrument I’ve seen in a while. I usually don’t have an musical instrument fetish, but this one totally stole my heart. I know little about it, other than it’s called a theremin, and that it uses radio waves going through the device and through you body. Obviously you can manipulate the pitch by changing your arms’ distance from the theremin.

I guess this is what they used to make that horribly awsome, yet horribly cliché UFO sound effect from all those low budget thirties science fiction films.

If I were to teach myself one really useless piece of know-how for the rest of my life, it would have to be to learn how to play the theremin. And I want to learn how to play these songs.

Eccovi una piccola selezione di celebri pezzi di musica classica eseguita su strumenti poco ortodossi.

“Preludio in Mi maggiore” di Bach eseguito su mandolino:

Il presto dall’ “Estate” di Vivaldi eseguito su fisarmonica:

“Toccata e fuga in Re minore” di Bach eseguita su bicchieri:

E, per finire, la leggendaria Clara Rockmore ne “Il Cigno” di  Saint-Saëns eseguito su pianoforte e theremin:

.

DUO HOUDINI

“improvvisazione di invisibili

 melodie di natale”

DUO HOUDINI in “improvvisazione di invisibili melodie di natale”

Christian Canducci: theremin

Stefano Zani: chitarra

Domenica 13 dicembre 2009, a partire dalle ore 16,00: ITINERARIO FRA I NEGOZI DEL CENTRO – Corso Mazzini, Gambettola (FC) 

Nell’ambito delle iniziative di Natale organizzate da Nonsoloruggine, associazione di negozi del centro, con il Patrocinio del Comune di Gambettola.

A truly original gestural interface…

The electronic instrument of his design which also bears his name — by all accounts the first electronic musical instrument — is notable for its whooping and sliding high-pitched squeal. The theremin has influenced popular music, classical music, television and film soundtracks, and the musical avant-garde. Read more at Wired.com

Wels ist eigentlich eine sehr überschaubare Stadt. Man kennt die üblichen Verdächtigen eigentlich, vor allem die verschiedenen Vereine und Gruppen. Dachte ich zumindest, denn obwohl ich schon mein ganzes Leben hier verbringe, hab ich erst heuer mitbekommen, dass es hier ein sehr feines Festival für zeitgenössische Musik und Komposition gibt, das Unlimited Festival, das jedes Jahr vom Kulturverein Waschaecht im Schl8hof veranstaltet wird.

Dieses Jahr wurde das Programm von Ikue Mori kuratiert, die über die New Yorker No-Wave/Punk-Szene zur Musik kam, und mittlerweile eine wahre Meisterin der elektronischen Klangerzeugung ist. Sie arbeitete sehr früh mit elektronischen Drum-Maschinen und war auch eine Pionierin im Einsatz von Laptops während live-performaces.

Recht viel mehr wusste ich vorher nicht, außer dass die meisten Musiker aus dem Jazz-Bereich kamen. Also wurden meine Erwartungen nicht wirklich erfüllt, aber das was dann zu hören war, war viel besser!

Gleich am ersten Abend wurde das ältere aber immer neu entstehende Werk „Cobra“ von John Zorn in einer speziellen „wels operation“ aufgeführt.

Hannes Schneider schrieb über die nächste Gruppe names „Speak Easy“: „phil mintons volltönende stimme vermag verstörende geräuschkollagen hervorzubringen, während ute wassermanns vielstimme vokaltechnik resonanzphänomene im raum erzeugt; dazu martin blumes differenzierte perkussion und thomas lehns eigenwillige klänge seine analogsynthesizers. in dieser konstellation entsteht eine physische unmittelbarkeit, wie sie nur selten erreicht werden kann“

Danach ging ich aber leider schon, und habe deswegen Spunk und ktl verpasst, wobei mich letztere eigentlich besonders interessiert hätten, war doch ein Gründungsmitglied von Sun O))) und Kollege von merzbow, stephen o’malley, dabei.

Dementsprechend wollte ich am nächsten Tag alles sehen, kam aber zu Dieb13 & Phil Minton zwei Minuten zu spät und hatte nicht mal mehr annähernd Platz im Pavillion. Nächstes Jahr wären größere Locations fein…

Dadurch kam ich aber noch rechtzeitig in den Kornspeicher, um bei Pamelia Kurstin mit „thinking out loud“ sogar noch einen Sitzplatz auf den Stufen zu bekommen. Kurstin spielt theremin, ein wirklich eigenartiges aber sehr interessantes Instrument → Video.

Des Abends im Schl8hof spielte dann das Trio Agra Dharma, mit Ikue Mori am Laptop, Makigami Koichi auch am Theremin, aber ganz anders, und Sylvie Courvoisier am Flügel.

Das Trio Lindha Kallerdahl (Vokal), Lotte Anker (Saxophon) und Okkyung Lee (Cello) war eines meiner persönlichen Höhepunkte am Festival.

Vor allem das intensive Cello trug viel zur gewaligen Energie dieses Auftritts bei.

Danach trat Ikue Mori mit ihrem Phantom Orchard Orchestra auf und sammelte damit einige sehr interessante Musikerinnen um sich.

Den Abschluss des Samstag Abend bildete das Duo Fred Frith und Chris Cutler, das mich anfangs gar nicht so überzeugte, aber gegen Ende hin immer mehr begeisterte.

Cutler am elektronisch bearbeiteten Schlagwerk konnte dem übermaßig präsenten Frith recht gut gegenhalten und so entwickelte sich ein wirklich spannendes Spiel.

Am Sonntag hatte ich leider Dienst und konnte weder am Nachmittag, noch am Abend vor halb Zwölf irgendein Konzert sehen. Genau genommen sah ich nur den letzten Auftritt.

The Ex feierten heuer am Unlimited ihr 30-jähriges Bühnenjubiläum und gaben entsprechend ihrer Wurzeln als „experimental trance-dance avant-afro-punk improv music“-Band ordentlich Energie.

Also mir ist klar, dass ich nächstes Jahr viel bewusster nach diesem Festival ausschau halten werde!

So November 4, 2009, I gained another year of experience in life. Throughout my day of yearly reflection and festivity, I wondered what my dear friends would do for me on this particular day of days. One of my fellow editors here chipped in with a few others and handed me an origami card. Upon opening it, I found a picture of the inimitable Léon Theremin working his magic and a speech bubble coming out of his theremin and saying: “I am coming for you in the mail.”

What is a theremin, you might ask? It’s a box (mine is white) that senses the position of its players hands relative to two antennae, one vertical, the other horizontal and looped, and emits sounds at varying frequencies and volumes to correspond to it.

The theremin is well-known for being the instrument used to make those really weird, oscillating noises in scary movies. Its filmography includes The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Red House, Spellbound, Ed Wood, The Machinist, and Hellboy. Moreover, pop musicians the world over have used it throughout music history, including The Beach Boys, The Flaming Lips, The White Stripes, Pink Floyd, Pixies, and Of Montreal, among others.

Because of the method behind its operation (waving your hands around the antennae), the theremin is notorious for being difficult to play properly. I know I can’t wait to start learning!

– Eric Vilas-Boas, Managing Editor

My last theremin involved a small speaker. Now I’ve replaced the speaker with my PC, using processing to pick up the values from the SRF05 ultrasound sonar thingy and play different notes accordingly – which gives multiple possibilities and far better sounds.

So to start with check out my previous theremin, the circuit is the same except for removing the speaker and the Arduino code now prints values to the serial port instead of outputing directly to a speaker. The only thing that I’m doing here that is really new is using the minim libary for processing, built by this chap (thankyou). What this allows us is to assign a sound file to a variable in processing and then gives us functions to start/stop the sound.

Arduino: Basic Theremin meets Processing!

Theremins are cool. Fact. You may also have heard of them as either aetherphone/ etherophone or termenvox/ thereminvox. Essentially its an electronic music instrument that plays a certain note depending on the position of your hand and its distance from an antenna.

Building a very basic one with Arduino is easy – easier than my basic drum machine. Very easy. Basically we can replicate one by building a circuit of a speaker and a distance sensor, such as my favourite the SRF05 ultrasound thingy. We calculate the distance and the nearer you get the difference in note/frequency emitted from the speaker.

You’re going to need only a few parts and not much code. You can read more about my applications of the SRF05 along with sample code here. If you can’t be arsed with reading any of that then no worries all is revealed below…

Arduino: A Basic Theremin

I was watching a clip from a concert of one of my favorite bands, Detektivbyrån. It was from a concert they did in Stockholm. They were playing “Om Du Möter Varg”.  I could not believe my eyes when I saw Martin moving towards  some kind of an electronic instrument, which produces sound by just moving  hands in midair! The sound was amazing! The crowd got really excited at that moment, and they started screaming. I had goose bumps….

This instrument is called the Theremin.

Léon Theremin playing his invented instrument, later known as Theremin

Thermin was created more than 90 years ago (very ahead of its time)! by the Russian inventor Léon Theremin. The instrument consists of two antennas that sense player’s hands positions and control the pitch and volume of the sound accordingly.

The Thermin was mostly associated with eerie sounds, so used specially in soundtracks of  sci-fi movies, like the 1951 movie: The Day the Earth Stood Still.

In 1994, the history channel produced a documentary about the instrument and its inventor. Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey

The most famous Thereminsts today are:

Lydia Kavina

Pamelia Kurstin: Watch Pamelia performing and talking on ted.com

Clara Rockmore : This is a wonderful performance by her.

If you want to learn about the Thermin this is a good introduction

And here is a video demonstrating a complete resources list to start learning this instrument.

And if you want to hear the Thermin like you have never heard it before, then check this out: Gnarls Barkley Crazy Theremin Jam

Co ze sobą mają wspólnego kot i theremin – pierwszy elektroniczny instrument muzyczny?

Lew Termen, który zmarł dokładnie 16 lat temu w Moskwie, swój niezwykły, a zarazem zadziwiająco prosty instrument, skonstruował pod koniec 1920 roku.

Pierwotnie Termen nazwał go eterfonem, później terminvoksem, ale ostatecznie przyjęła się nazwa theremin. To, mówiąc w skrócie, dwie anteny pomiędzy którymi macha się ręką, by modulować dźwięk.

W 1927 roku Termen wybrał się z przenośnym thereminem w tournée po Europie, a potem po USA. Zagrał między innymi z filharmonikami nowojorskimi. RCA zaczęła produkować i sprzedawać thereminy pod koniec lat 20.

Po kilku latach spędzonych w Stanach Zjednoczonych, Termen nagle wrócił do Związku Radzieckiego, gdzie trafił na 8 lat do więzienia. Jednocześnie musiał współpracować z władzami przy opracowywaniu mikrofonów dalekiego zasięgu. Opracował też koncepcję “Czegoś”.

“Coś” znalazło się we wnętrzu drewnianego godła USA, które 4 sierpnia 1945 roku dzieci z radzieckich szkół wręczyły ambasadorowi amerykańskiemu w Moskwie, Averellowi Harrimanowi, na znak przyjaźni między narodami. Godło zawisło w moskiewskim biurze ambasadora. Istnienie urządzenia podsłuchowego wyszło na jaw dopiero w 1952 roku, a ujawnione zostało w 1960 roku przez ambasadora Henry’ego Cabota Lodge’a, Jr. podczas zgromadzenia ONZ.

Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr ujawnia ukryte urządzenie podsłuchowe w godle USA

“Coś” było pasywnym urządzeniem podsłuchowym, które składało się wyłącznie z mikrofonu, kondensatora i anteny. Nie miało baterii, zasilania, ani przewodów elektrycznych, dzięki czemu przez tyle lat pozostało niewykryte. Historia i opis działania “Czegoś” tutaj.

Oczywiście nie tylko Rosjanie podsłuchiwali. Amerykanie nie pozostawali dłużni, choć nie każdy z ich pomysłów okazał się tak skuteczny, jak Coś.

Schemat działania akustycznego kotka

W latach 60 CIA uruchomiła program Akustycznego Kotka. Pierwszego takiego kotka z wszczepionym mikrofonem, nadajnikiem i baterią wypuszczono  przed kompleksem budynków należących do ZSRR w Waszyngtonie. Niestety został niemal natychmiast przejechany przez taksówkę. Cały projekt kosztował 25 milionów dolarów i okazał się kompletną klapą.

Lydia Kavina, la più grande! Precisione, pulizia timbrica, intonazione perfetta, caratterizzano il suo modo di interpretare questo affascinante strumento.
Nata a Mosca, Lydia cominciò a studiare il theremin all’età di 9 anni sotto la direzione di Léon Theremin stesso, suo prozìo. Cinque anni più tardi diede il suo primo concerto, che ha segnato l’inizio della sua carriera musicale che conta, ad oggi, più di mille concerti in teatri, spettacoli radiofonici e televisivi in tutto il mondo.
Come solista ha collaborato con le più importanti orchestre filarmoniche e ha partecipato ai maggiori festival mondiali.
Ha inciso 3 CD con musiche originali per theremin e compare in colonne sonore di film tra cui “Ed Wood” (di Tim Barton) e “eXistetnZ” (di David Cronenberg) con musiche di Howard Shore e ” The Machinist ” di Roque Banos.
Lydia ha anche al suo attivo numerse composizioni, compreso un concerto per theremin e orchestra sinfonica.
Impegnata nella promozione dello strumento, si dedica all’insegnamento, anche integrando i suoi tour con seminari, master e conferenze.

DISCOGRAFIA DI LYDIA KAVINA:

• Lydia Kavina, “Spellbound!” Original Works for Theremin, Mode Records, 2008
• Lydia Kavina, “Music from the Ether”, Original Works for Theremin, Mode Records 1999, 2005
• Lydia Kavina, Concerto per Theremin, Live in Italy, Teleura, Italy, 2000
• Lydia Kavina, Barbara Bucholz, Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin, Touch! Don’t Touch!, Wergo, 2006
• Lydia Kavina with London Philarmonic Orchestra, Ed Wood: Original Soundtrack Recording, Music by Howard Shore, Hollywood Records, 1994
• The Machinist, Roque Banos, Soundtrack, Melodramma Records, 2005

Ecco uno dei tanti video che si possono trovare su youtube:

We strung orange and purple lights and set up our tent. Had a carved pumpkin.  Sprayed our hair green.  Got out the theremin just for the weirdness factor.

The tent and light setup by the patio door.

Carved pumpkin with candle inside.

Ray's lovely green hair

*”Lose Your Soul“

I’m way over the West Hollywood Halloween Parade. Yes, it’s fun…but there are soooooo many people, it’s hard to park, and the traffic is unbearable (even for LA).   So, this Halloween, I went to see Ryan Gosling’s band, Dead Man’s Bones, perform at the Echo with one of my best friends.  A great idea, in theory…since the inspiration for the music, according to the band’s myspace page includes:  ” the disney haunted mansion, doo wop and 60s girl groups”.

The band is composed of Ryan Gosling, Zach Shields, a female vocalist and the Silverlake Conservatory Children’s Choir.  Last night, however, many of the children from the choir were absent, as they were trick-or-treating. Two children showed up. So,  at the beginning of the show, Gosling announced that the rest of the choir was made up of friends who learned the songs today.  Not a great start to the show.

Speaking of the start of the show, the whole thing began with a strange warm-up act. It wasn’t really an opening band. It was a few random talent acts. I wish this portion of the show would have been better.

The first act were some singing ghosts. I liked them:

Then there were the Apple Sisters, two girls (I think there’s a missing third) put on a little variety show.  Unfortunately, they were pretty boring. I’m sorry! The best part of their act was the skit when they were singing and speaking and bubbles came out of their mouth.

Then there was the guy who played the Theremin, an early electronic musical instrument controlled without the player touching it.  This was kinda cool. I’d never seen someone play this instrument.  But we didn’t need to hear three songs. “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” would have been fine by itself.

During the talent portion of the evening, I was a bit bored, so I started taking photos of the audience.  There were some fun costumes–and no one was dressed like a hooker! Yay!

Finally, Dead Man’s Bones came on stage.  They were carried up to the front of the Echo in coffins–a fun entrance.

I really didn’t know what to expect from this concert. It just seemed like a fun thing to do on Halloween….and it was.  But, Ryan Gosling was the only reason the night worked. Tickets were pretty expensive for the Echo—$20 a pop, plus handling fees…But, everyone at the Echo seemed like they were okay paying $20 to see Ryan Gosling live in person. He was mesmerizing. His charismatic presence took control of the out-of-control situation (the choir not knowing their part and a little girl too shy to sing her lines),with ease. I know I was transfixed on Gosling the whole evening…and I’ve interviewed tons of celebrities in the past. He really has that “It” factor.  Poor Zach Shields, a very good-looking guy and other half of the band, seemed out-of-place. He definitely seemed to be in the background.

So what did I think of the music? I think that it was very creative, theatrical and fun. I liked Gosling’s  voice. It reminded me of Chris Isaak’s.

Before I purchased tickets for the show, I read a few interviews about how the band started:

“Gosling and Shields met in 2005; Gosling was dating actress Rachel McAdams (his co-star in The Notebook) and Shields was dating her sister Kayleen. “Zach was wearing high heels when I first met him, and we were forced to live in the same house on the first day,” Gosling explained, laughing. “I thought, ‘Who is this guy, what am I going to do with this character?’ And then I thought, ‘Well, I guess we’ll start a band.”

The pair bonded over a shared obsession with scary stuff like ghosts, monsters, and zombies, and set out to create a spooky musical theater production, “a Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire kind of show,” as Gosling described it. Somewhere along the way, the “theater production” aspect of it fell to the wayside, but the songs remained.

Inspired by musical classroom experiments the Langley Schools Music Project and Nancy Dupree’s Ghetto Reality, the two decided to involve children in Dead Man’s Bones from the very beginning. “We’d rather see a high school play as opposed to a Broadway show any day,” Gosling explained. “Not that Broadway shows aren’t great, but there’s just something about a high school play…you’re not distracted by the achievements, you get to watch the process, the will to make something.” *pitchfork.com

In another interview, I read the Gosling grew up in a haunted house and played in a cemetery as a kid…so the “haunted” aspect in his music seems appropriate. I think the haunted aspect works well in some songs. I do like  “In the Room Where You Sleep” and “Lose Your Soul”. And these songs are pretty catchy.   I just don’t know how if there’s a large enough group of people devoted to this eerie, Halloweeny genre. Gosling’s answer to the question?:

“It seems like an interesting time to come into music, because it seems like everybody’s leaving, every office we go into the guy’s packing up, and pulling all the final things from his desk in a box,” Gosling said. “It seems like, you can’t make money anymore, so people are trying to figure out how it all should work. My impression just seems to be like, it’s kind of the Wild West in a way. Whatever you think of you can do, and that’s really terrifying but also an exciting situation to be in, because you realize that you can create the way that this goes down for you…So people are in it because they want to be, and not because they think it’ll be profitable for them. It seems like it’s good creatively, but you also have to figure out how you want to present your music, because the old model doesn’t work anymore.” * Pitchfork.com

Even if this new creative model doesn’t work, people will still come to the Dead Man’s Bones concerts to see Ryan Gosling. And, I do think he’s a very talented musician. He can play multiple instruments and has a great voice.  And believe me, I do love new, creative ventures like this one, but as the friend I attended the concert with posted this on her Facebook profile this morning ” Dead Man’s Bones = (Ryan Gosling) + (your third grade Halloween play when everyone forgot their cues) x (a 6-year-old girl goaded into singing about being shot to death). Arcade Fire, it is not.”

I still think they were some redeeming qualities to the concert…it felt very intimate.  I’m happy with the $20 I spent on a night with Ryan Gosling and his band.  I think he’s a lot more talented than many actors turned musicians. The video I shot and posted (above) will give you an idea of what the night was like.

Below, see some of the tons of photos I shot at the concert (mostly of Gosling, as he is so photogenic):

As much fun as the concert was, we were starving. We  snuck out a bit early to grab TWO BOOTS PIZZA (right next door to the Echo) and TACO ZONE (a few blocks away). I totally recommend both places. The FOOD made the night.

Un nuovo progetto in arrivo: insieme a Stefano Zani (chitarra), abbiamo formato il DUO HOUDINI, nel quale suonerò il theremin. Stiamo preparando un po’ di materiale e presto usciremo allo scoperto. Per ora non posso dire di più; un po’ per mantenere la sorpresa e un po’ perchè non sappiamo bene neanche noi cosa suoneremo. Chissà…

The Theremin is an early electronic musical instrument, invented in Russia in 1928 by Léon Theremin. It’s controlled by two antennas which sense the location of the player’s hands, with one being used to control the wave frequency, i.e. pitch and the other being used to control the wave amplitude, i.e. volume. It’s supposed to be very easy to learn but very difficult to master, especially because there are no frets or keys to guide your hands.

In the video, Clara Rockmore plays Wieniawski’s “Romance”. Ms. Rockmore was one of the first performers to bring musical artistry to the theremin. You may recognize the sound from old Sci-Fi movies.

Theremin [Wikipedia]