Theremin

General information:

The theremin is more than an electronic novelty. Developed by Lev Termin, a Russian physicist and musician, it was patented in 1927 and produced for several years in the United States by the RCA Victor Company. Innovator Robert Moog, noted for his development of synthesizer technology, built several models of the theremin in the 1950s and 1960s. Although largely unknown by contemporary audiences, it has a devoted following of instrument builders and musicians. The theremin's clear and distinct sound has also been featured as an unusual special effect in such movies as Billy Wilder's "The Lost Weekend", Alfred Hitchcock's "Spellbound", the radio classic "The Green Hornet" and the Beach Boys' hit, "Good Vibrations".


How does it work?

What makes this instrument so extraordinary is that to create music, the player does not actually touch it. Radio frequency oscillators are used to create the sounds which are amplified and heard through the loud speaker. The frequency of one oscillator may be varied by the capacity change caused in an associate circuit by moving one's hand towards or away from the pitch control rod. An additional oscillator provides radio frequency current for heating a filament which controls the volume of the pitch. This oscillator is again affected by the movement of your hand towards or away from the looped volume control rod. Simply put, you create sound by moving your hands close to or away from two antennae which control pitch and volume.

Originally, sound could only be heard through headphones, which Termin soon replaced with a large cardboard horn. Later models used electronic amplifiers.

Hear the sound of a theremin (AIFF, 199K, 5 sec.)

Termin's invention is considered the precursor of many contemporary electroacoustic instruments. His own later inventions include the electronic cello (with no strings), and the terpsitone, a platform on which a dancer creates and controls sounds by varying proximity to antennae attached to the stage.

An Intriguing Life

Termin's own life history is equally extraordinary. Born in St. Petersburg in 1896, he studied physics in Petrograd and in 1919 established his own research institute. In the early 1920s, he began developing and demonstrating his electroacoustic inventions throughout Europe, arriving in New York in 1927, where he remained until 1938. His return at that time to the Soviet Union was abrupt. In his home country, he became a near prisoner until his release/pension some 30 years later. During this period, his work on communications surveillance devices was given top secret priority by the Soviet government. Erroneous reports (published as late as 1981, Andy MacKay, Electronic Music, Control Data Publishing) suggested that he had been executed in 1945.

In 1991, at the age of 95, Termin again returned to New York to meet with other acoustic designers Don Buchla, Robert Moog and Dave Smith, and to attend a historic concert at Stanford University featuring his instruments.


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