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| The Swan - on a Theramin | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 28 2007, 09:20 AM (152 Views) | |
| George K | Apr 28 2007, 09:20 AM Post #1 |
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Finally
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Fascinating |
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A guide to GKSR: Click "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08 Nothing is as effective as homeopathy. I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles. - Klaus, 4/29/18 | |
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| pianojerome | Apr 28 2007, 09:25 AM Post #2 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Someone in my physics class freshman year built a theramin. She couldn't play it, though! Must be very difficult. |
| Sam | |
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| Mark | Apr 28 2007, 09:46 AM Post #3 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Very cool! The absolute best Theramin playing I have ever heard. |
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___.___ (_]===* o 0 When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells | |
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| apple | Apr 28 2007, 09:51 AM Post #4 |
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one of the angels
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how does it work? |
| it behooves me to behold | |
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| George K | Apr 28 2007, 09:58 AM Post #5 |
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Finally
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Theramin The theremin, or thereminvox, is one of the earliest fully electronic musical instruments. It was invented by Russian inventor Léon Theremin in 1919, and it is unique in that it was the first musical instrument designed to be played without being touched. It consists of two radio frequency oscillators and two metal antennae. The electric signals from the theremin are amplified and sent to a loudspeaker. To play the theremin, the player moves his or her hands around the two metal antennae, which control the instrument's frequency (pitch) and amplitude (volume). The theremin is widely associated with "alien", surreal, and eerie-sounding portamento, glissando, tremolo, and vibrato sounds, due to its use in film soundtracks such as Spellbound, The Lost Weekend, and The Day the Earth Stood Still. The theremin is also used in art music (especially avant-garde and 20th-century "new music") and in popular music genres such as rock and pop. Unique among musical instruments, the theremin is performed without touching it. The musician stands in front of the instrument and moves his or her hands in the proximity of two metal antennae. The distance from one antenna determines frequency (pitch), and the distance from the other controls amplitude (volume). Typically the right hand controls the pitch and the left controls the volume, although some performers reverse this arrangement. The theremin uses the heterodyne principle to generate an audio signal. The instrument's circuitry includes two radio frequency oscillators. One oscillator operates at a fixed frequency. The other is a variable frequency oscillator, the frequency of which is controlled by performer's distance from the frequency control antenna. The performer's hand acts as the grounded plate (the performer's body being the connection to ground) of a variable capacitor in an L-C (inductance-capacitance) circuit. The difference between the frequencies of the two oscillators at each moment generates a beat frequency in the audio frequency range, resulting in audio signals that are amplified and sent to a loudspeaker. To control volume, the performer's hand acts as the grounded plate of another variable capacitor. In this case, though, the variable capacitor takes the place of the variable resistor that is usually used to control the volume of audio equipment. The distance between the performer's hand and the volume control antenna determines the capacitor's value, which regulates the theremin's volume. |
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A guide to GKSR: Click "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08 Nothing is as effective as homeopathy. I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles. - Klaus, 4/29/18 | |
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| sue | Apr 28 2007, 10:21 AM Post #6 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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I look forward to hearing that when I get home. Wierd coincidence...I'd never heard one before, and just recently watched a movie with a 'theramin virtuoso' in it. It was quite humorous; I didn't realise that these things were for real! Great movie, by the way. Les Aimants |
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