MPA 334 Week 3 9/6-7/10

 

The Theremin:

             Was originally developed in 1919 by Lev Termen, known by his anglicized name, Leon Theremin (1896-1993). Leon Theremin was a Russian inventor, professor, electrical engineer, and cellist who is most known for inventing the Theremin instrument, which he patented in 1928. He was also the inventor for the interface, which is a technique that is used for improving the picture quality of a video signal, and is widely used for video and television technology.

             The Theremin is considered to be the first electronic music instrument and is actually used without ever touching it.  The instrument consists of two antennae, one that comes out vertically and the other that comes out horizontally, and uses a beat frequency method to sound.  The vertical antenna was played with the right hand and controlled the pitch.  The horizontal antenna was played with the left hand and controlled the amplitude, or loudness, of the sound.  The human body's electrical is used to disrupt the electromagnetic field of the two antennae in order to change the pitch and the amplitude.

           
              The most renowned thereminist, considered to be the world's best, was Clara Rockmore (1911-1998).  Clara Rockmore was born in Vilnius, Lithuania, and was a student of Leon Theremin's, and was also a child prodigy in music.  She originally played the violin but was forced to give it up due to bone problems with her hands.  She was known for developing a unique way of "aereal fingering" in order to play the Theremin with the unparalleled precision that she had.  
            

The Theremin in Music and Film:

               The Theremin was more popularly used for movies made in the 1950s and 60s, because of its eerie and bizarre sounds.  One popular movie that used the Theremin for its sounds was 'The Day the Earth Stood Still". Other movies that were able to use the Theremin are 'It Came From Outer Space", "Spellbound", and "The Lost Weekend".  Since the 60s, however, other directors and sound engineers have been able to bring back the sounds of the Theremin for their movies, such as:

• Ed Wood
• Monster house
• The Machinist
• Hellboy
• The Avengers
• Moulin Rouge
• It Might Get Loud
• The Flintstones
• The Ten Commandments
• Mars Attacks!
• Bartleby

              Bands and musicians, over the years, have also been able to use the Theremin in order to create new and exciting sounds in their music, bands like:

• Led Zeppelin
• Elton John, who used the Theremin in his song 'Rocket Man', although it was only used for a few seconds.
• Muse
• Keane,
• All-American Rejects
• Aerosmith
• Elvis Costello and the Imposters
• The Beach Boys
• Black-Eyed Peas
• David Byrne
• Talking Heads
• Os Mutantes, a group in the 1960s who started the Tropicalia Movement of Brazil
• Simon and Garfunkel
• System of a Down
• Third Eye Blind
• The White Stripes
• Nine Inch Nails
• Queens of the Stone Age
• Sufjan Stevens
• Jem
• Incubus
• Rooney
• Semisonic
• Marilyn Manson

The majority of the list of movies and bands that I found that have used the Theremin in some of their songs I found on www.thereminworld.com.