I was watching a clip from a concert of one of my favorite bands, Detektivbyrån. It was from a concert they did in Stockholm. They were playing “Om Du Möter Varg”. I could not believe my eyes when I saw Martin moving towards some kind of an electronic instrument, which produces sound by just moving hands in midair! The sound was amazing! The crowd got really excited at that moment, and they started screaming. I had goose bumps….
This instrument is called the Theremin.
Léon Theremin playing his invented instrument, later known as Theremin
Thermin was created more than 90 years ago (very ahead of its time)! by the Russian inventor Léon Theremin. The instrument consists of two antennas that sense player’s hands positions and control the pitch and volume of the sound accordingly.
The Thermin was mostly associated with eerie sounds, so used specially in soundtracks of sci-fi movies, like the 1951 movie: The Day the Earth Stood Still.
In 1994, the history channel produced a documentary about the instrument and its inventor.Theremin – An Electronic Odyssey
The most famous Thereminsts today are:
Pamelia Kurstin: Watch Pamelia performing and talking on ted.com
Clara Rockmore : This is a wonderful performance by her.
If you want to learn about the Thermin this is a good introduction
And here is a video demonstrating a complete resources list to start learning this instrument.
And if you want to hear the Thermin like you have never heard it before, then check this out: Gnarls Barkley Crazy Theremin Jam
Postscripter 