Theremin: The World’s Spookiest Instrument

It is astonishing to think how interesting and perplexingly cool the theremin is and how very few people in the world know about its existence even when they have probably heard it somewhere. “In my experience, there are two kinds of people: those who are beguiled by the theremin and those who just haven’t heard of it yet. Because of the way it’s played – gestures, space – it fascinates instantly”  https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/aug/22/invisible-instrument-theremin. 

To be honest, I didn’t know about it until a few years ago, when I stumbled upon this video of Clara Rockmore playing Saint-Saëns’s “The Swan” which literally looked like she was playing an invisible violin. The string-like sound is there, but it looks like she isn’t playing a particular instrument or even touching anything to that matter; she is playing air.

Leon Theremin (yes, that’s why the Theremin is called that) was a young Russian scientist who was working on a gas meter to measure densities. “‘Leon Theremin was an[n] . . . inventor of what is probably the most unusual musical instrument ever invented. You’re actually moving your two hands through two electromagnetic fields that are around two antennas. . . He was working in a laboratory in Russia as a young scientist, he was actually working on a gas meter to measure the density of gases,’ Glinsky said. ‘So as he brought his hand closer to the gas meter, he heard kind of a higher squeal. And as he brought his hand back to his body and away from the machine, it was a slower squeal’” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-theremin-a-strange-instrument-with-a-strange-history/ 

Then Leon started playing melodies on the device while his colleagues at the laboratory stared with amazement. This was the birth of one of the world’s first electronic instruments. The first model of the theremin used a foot pedal to control the volume and a switch to modify pitch. Later, in 1920, it became the mind-boggling instrument which requires zero contact of the performer with the instrument.

You are probably wondering how this thing even works, right? Basically, the first theremins were made up by circuits of vacuum tubes, coils, and wires which created electromagnetic fields around two antennae. By vibrating their fingers, players would raise or lower the pitch and volume. You can see why it is considered by many the world’s most difficult instrument. “A real theremin master can make an instrument soar with the fortissimo of Pavarotti or fade to the most delicate of whispers” http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/audio-music/theremin3.htm 

It is really easy to merely produce gross squeaks and cries because only masters can produce the beautiful violin-like sound, like Clara Rockmore, who was actually one of Professor Theremin’s original students. She was an accomplished violinist who was forced to stop playing violin because of injury and therefore picked up the theremin and went on to become the world’s best thereminist. What a great example of how good things can come out of bad situations!

The 1920 theremin was shown at the Moscow Industrial Fair and picked up the interest from Vladimir Lenin, who actually took some lessons on it and commissioned 600 models to be toured around the Soviet Union. Later on, Leon Theremin left for the United States, where he performed at the Metropolitan Opera House as well as Carnegie Hall. He patented his invention in 1928 and its rights were quickly seized by RCA who distributed it during the 30’s. “The Theremin became known in the USA as a home ‘novelty instrument’ and featured in many film soundtracks of the 1940-50’s, it also appeared in several pop records of the 1960’s but never overcame its novelty appeal; used for effect rather than as a ‘serious instrument’, most recordings employ the Theremin as a substitute string instrument rather than exploiting the microtonal and pitch characteristics of the instrument” http://120years.net/the-thereminleon-termensoviet-union1922/ 

Some examples of media were it was used are: “The Green Hornet Radio Show” (1936), “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (1951), “The Flintstones,” “Batman,” and 2004’s “Hellboy.” You can hear it from yourself in the next video clip. The theremin comes in at 1:14.

Leon Theremin went on creating and invented other instruments, such as the “Terpsitone,” the “Rhythmicon,” and the “keyboard Theremin,” and even the “Electronic cello.” He later ended up eventually “disappearing” and returning to his home country. However, in 1954 in a basement in Queens, NY, a young Robert Moog was obsessed with theremins and began building them with his father. “It’s hard to imagine what the evolution of the synthesizer would have been without Leon Theremin. For one, it was Theremin’s invention that first captivated Robert Moog. Theremin kits were Dr. Moog’s first product and many would say, his first electronic instrumental love. That impact was significant, too, on a whole generation” (http://cdm.link/2015/09/read-article-bob-moog-wrote-met-leon-theremin/  Moog’s theremins went on to become the leading company for the instrument and they have sold more theremins than any other company in the last 57 years. What’s marvelous about all this is that Bob Moog is the man behind the Moog synthesizers, and there is no denying that the theremin was a great influence for this development. “Electronic music pioneer Robert Moog built theremins long before he built synthesizers. In the 1960’s, he produced such models as the wedge-shaped Vanguard theremin and the shoebox shaped Moog Melodia theremin. Today, Moog Music Inc. produces the popular Etherwave and Etherwave Plus theremins and kits as well as the new MIDI-enabled Theremini theremin.”

Now that we have travelled through a brief history of the Theremin, we can see that is it actually a brief history of the technological advancements in electronic music over the last century. The discovery of the theremin and its technological innovation ended up being an inspiration for the creation of synthesizers, which are nowadays are incredibly popular and key for music production.