Theremin and Talkbox Video Outtake "Loving You"

I finally decided to remove this from "Private" videos lolol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbFEbEq8jfQ


I figured out Ripperton's secret!

I used an Etherwave Plus and a Rocktron Banshee.

Eric,
Rhythmicons

I was just thinking of looking like a Magnificent Freak on YTube performing that very song with Theremin and Voice box, just the other day.
I am so glad that you beat me to that artistic high!
HaLOLHa!
You got some Big Stones.
Can't wait for the anal examination that is in the works for you at 'the, "L .net", we dare not speak of' here on ThereminWorld.

Good Luck!

teslatheremin

Excuse you?

EricK,
I love your performance, but what do I know?
Are you a member of Levnet? You should be.
The wonderful people at Levnet like more exact playing. Pitch and Intonation performance that represent the classical Theremin. Not all members, ascribe to the classical requirement. But, much is to be learned there.

I guess, what I was trying to say, in a joking manner, was that almost all new video posts that peak an interest to one of the members of Lev.net, are dissected with a classical predisposition. That was all there was to that comment.
I have heard many Thereminists that have been discussed there that did not seem to measure up to the expectations of that classical music mindset. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed, or even aspired to the level of musicality that was being ridiculed and perhaps summarily dismissed.
Although, all these comments at Lev.net are based on a classical reference point, the powers that be there understand that alternate musical uses for the Theremin exist and are open.
They are very fair as to agreeing that experimental music should exist.

I guess I have been long-winded here, but Lev.net is cool, just as cool as ThereminWorld.

Good Luck!

teslatheremin

You have to forgive me as Im not necessarily a regular here, but your comment sure came across quite dickish and unwarranted. No hard feelings though. I consider it forgotten.

That being said, I posted that video because I thought it would be pretty funny. Only a small fraction of my videos on youtube have been meant to convey any musicality because I don't take myself seriously enough to brodcast my musical abillities and certianly Im nowhere near practiced enough to try to pass off my Theremin playing as anything but 50% melody and 50% sci-fi. There simply aren't any theremin/talkbox videos on the tube but two, and I decided to take that one off my private videos because I thought some may see the humor in it.

Now I did post a simple demonstration on what the Voyager would sound like being controlled by a theremin because frankly there really are none out there that Ive come across, and certianly mine could have been much better. It was really just intended to give people an idea about what the Etherwave Plus would sound like controlling their Voyager or their Phatty or their favorite CV device. Someone did post a comment on that video pretty much invoking the good names of Theremin and Rockmore and accusing me of bastardizing everything they have worked for. Speaking on behalf of the great Lev Sergeyevich, they surmized that what I posted was beyond the wildest intentions of his invention. Needless to say, rather than tell the person to go frack themselves I simply deleted the comment. Could have very well been a subscriber of that particular mindset in which you describe. I personally don't see the need to be so anal about a particular way of playing an instrument. Im happy to own a Theremin and I feel that ANY kind of exposure can only further the interest in such a unique device.

Respectfully,
Eric

If you were to divide theremin enthusiasts into two main camps, I think they would probably be "precision" and "non-precision".

The "classical" and "experimental" folks are actually subgroups. The thereminist who plays Bach has to do it with the same skill and accuracy as the thereminist who plays Gnarls Barkley - they are both precision thereminists.

Experimental thereminists sometimes resent their music being referred to as "sound FX" but the experimentalist and the sound FX guy are both "non-precision" thereminists.

Most of the theremin material posted to public access sites like YT & MS is Show & Tell boys with toys. Some of the vids, although they may be clumsy, unsophisticated and shot on cellphone cams, contain seed ideas that are really interesting and deserve to be picked up and further investigated by people with greater resources.

Some ideas, like the talkbox video, have been experimented with extensively by plenty of thereminists but are new to the people who are unfamiliar with them. New equipment is coming out all the time, so an idea that may not have seemed viable ten years ago may get a whole new lease on life because of some new high tech, state-of-the-art toy.

Keep 'em comin' guys!,

Don't you think these things are exaggerated a bit? I mean I don't know of too many instances where a classical musician poo pood on Charlie Parker because his approach was unorthodox. Alot of folks didn't like Thelonious Monk because his technique was different but I don't think that classically trained pianists could necessarily pull off some of his tunes and give them justice.

It seems to me pretty funny that theremists have such over inflated egos...I mean I fully understand that it is an extremely esoteric instrument and I said that in a presentation that I gave on it the other day, but I really don't care if people are so full of themselves that they have to be so overly critical. Unless they are Clara Rockmore then they were at a juncture where they too once sucked.

Actually my intention was to post on youtube the whole chorus of Loving You done right, but the difficulty in playing the theremin coupled with the difficulty in using the talkbox and trying to get a perfect take on video is an obstacle. I mean, try to say "Dootn Dootn Doo Doo" with a talkbox. Its hard lolol.


My theremin is just one more componant of my growing Moog system. If someone doesn't like what I do with it then thats their personal problem. If they want to be douchebags then they will make all theremin players look like douchebags. If they want to collectively squirt themselves on theremin enthusist communities then they will undermine the efforts of other thereminists who try to use such places to educate the world about their instrument.


I also don't agree that experimental or Sound FX thereminists are "non precision". Look at people like Ornette Coleman or John Coltrane and if someone doesn't think they aren't precise then their ear is untrained.

Eric

I don't see that the theremin should have special dispensation because playing it to the same standard as any other instrument is a challenge. A quick search on google shows there are plenty of candidates for "world's hardest instrument."

The test for whether a particular piece of music requires accurate pitch is simple - if you took out the theremin and replaced it with violin or trombone or whatever, played to the same level of competency, would it be acceptable?

(In the case of your talk box video I would say the answer is Yes! I think it's clear that you were, as the info box says, just goofing around - not auditioning for the London Philharmonic Orchestra. I enjoyed it.)

(Note that I speak as someone who has chosen to limit the range of music he can play rather than spend a great deal of time acquiring pitch precision skills. I have no particular interest in being a mediocre classical thereminist. There are enough of them already and I just want to make the sort of music I like best. If I were ever to play scored music it would be more likely to have graphic squiggles than notes on lines.)

well, i say that even if eric's theremin / talkbox video was just a joke, i actually found it pretty awesome and it really opened my mind to some great possibilities for an "ultra expressive" alternative to the vocoder... i am sure there have got to be some "precision players" who would benefit from that idea, and hope that they soon apply it to their own nefariously precise purposes!

Eric >> Please don’t feel that one person leaving an offensive Youtube message reflects the views and behaviour of all thereminists. I’m one of those numerous "mediocre classical thereminists"; over the last year of so, I’ve used Youtube to help me chart the highs and (many) lows of my painfully slow theremin-learning. During that time I’ve benefited greatly from the encouraging comments and helpful advice of experienced players … but only three comments were intentionally nasty, (although one, quite possibly by the same person who upset you, destroyed my confidence so much I quit playing for almost two months; I suspect the person responsible would’ve preferred me to quit permanently). While I understand that some take their music very seriously, I don’t believe that ever justifies being intentionally hurtful – and no one has the right to validate their insults by assuming they’re the mouthpiece of Leon Theremin or Clara Rockmore.