What is Theremin?

Strange it is. Stranger the workstyle. Strangest the name. The person you see in the picture above is not a magician. He is a thereminist, who assumes a magician-like veil, all thanks to the musical instrument he plays called the “Theremin”. Pronounced “therr-uh-min”, this instrument takes the name of its inventor Leon Theremin who patented it in 1928.

Lev Sergeyevich Termen

Leon Theremin is the anglicised name of the Russian inventor, musician, and engineer, Lev Sergeyevich Termen. He invented the Theremin, which is one of the earliest electronic instruments created. It is also called Thereminvox or Termenvox (in Germany and Russia) and Aetherophone. At a glance it may look like some unique radio design but it is a musical instrument that can be operated and controlled without touching (yes, without!) it.

An original Theremin model from the 1930s. | Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Leon Theremin invented the device in 1920. It had two antennas — one to control pitch and another to control volume. The idea of the theremin was that you wouldn’t touch the instrument at all to create sounds. No physical or mechanical contact whatsoever required — a rather unusual method of playing a musical instrument.

Theremin quickly became a matter of intrigue and for a while that stayed, but the changing political climate of the Soviet Union was bane to its growth and rising fame.

How does it work?

Just as one who plays a guitar is a guitarist, one who plays a theremin is a thereminist. The antennas that are conspicuously seen are called position sensors, meaning they sense the relative position of the hands of the player. One only needs to make sure their hands are in proximity to the antennas.

When your hand moves closer to the vertical antenna (pitch antenna), the pitch rises. Meanwhile whn the other hand moves closer to the horizontal tubular loop (volume antenna), the volume decreases.

One only needs to make sure their hands are in proximity to the antennas. | Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Odd one out

Besides the strange playing style, the instrument also cannot be easily compared to other musical instruments we know. A theremin’s sound depends entirely on the movement of our hands. It has to be highly sensitive and react to every movement in its field of work. Therefore, a player cannot be careless. Generally theremin’s sound has a unique wavering quality. So, if a player is nervous and the hands tremble a bit, the sound coming out will be different.

Not to mention, unlike other instruments, this one has no ‘tuning’. So imagine being tone-deaf and playing theremin. Chaos galore.

Why ordinary when you can be extraordinary?

Though it seems now that this is a rather difficult instrument to master, even for the musicians, there is a grand fun involved in being able to actually play it. In terms of science, your hand itself becomes part of a variable capacitor that you form with the device. Isn’t that crazy for an instrument? A science whizz will have a fantastic time playing around with a theremin.

Greatest of all time

Clara Rockmore was a Russian musician and is considered one of the greatest thereminists ever. She was one of the very few who successfully made the theremin sound mellifluous. Rockmore, who was already a trained classical violinist, learned how to play theremin from the inventor Leon Theremin himself!