The device we want is near at hand ..

[Tony Hardie-Bick]

paul.maddox.mail-list at synth.net wrote:
> Chris,
> 
>> I read Martin's answer as "a theremin is hard to play DUE to the lack of
>> tactile feedback".
> 
> meh, due to lack of practice, many people manage it

The lack of widespread theremin music suggests otherwise. I have heard *one* 
person play theremin without it sounding out of tune (Lydia Karvina). The rest 
of the theremin "oevre" is wonderful but strange effects, that don't require 
significant pitch/time co-ordination (the riff on "Good Vibrations" was played 
using an interface similar to an Ondes Martineau).

The Theremin is one of my favourite all time instruments; in terms of pure drama 
and presence, an old style theremin is hard to beat, but it is the drama and 
statement of the sound and the gesture of the person and the appearance of the 
device, and its mode of pitch/volume movement that create a one-off mind-blowing 
revelation about music, rather than a space for the continuous evolution of 
musical language.

I think gesture is an essential aspect of music-making, and the Theremin gives 
this more so than abstract in-a-box do-everything music-making device, so, it's 
an incredibly informative innovation and exploration of musical space.

And from a pure engineering point-of-view, the patent is a stunning symphony of 
variations on what was possible with the thermionic tube, written at a time when 
such things were just new to the world. Mind blowing. Total and utter inspiration:

http://tinyurl.com/chytmz

The instrument just shows the way forward, by so clearly delineating what is 
necessary in a musical instrument, both by its absence and its presence in its 
design.

Tony (HB)