accompaniment

Hi folks,

I have some questions and if they've already been addressed in detail and you don't want to walk that path again, could you please guide me to the correct forum?  I searched but couldn't find anything relative to my questions.

What form of accompaniment is most compatible with the theremin? I have been using some karaoke CDs with the theremin as my voice,  and its working really well except I am stuck in front of my DVD player which is fixed into my television set. So not very portable. When you go to out play, is there a portable DVD player that you take with you in addition to the amplifier or what is the best combination?

I see that Peter Pringle uses an earpiece to help him find his pitch.  Have any of you tried this? Thoughts? He also uses a mic for some of his vocal recordings.  Do many of you sing with the theremin?

Thanks for any feedback!

Download your tunes and convert them into mp3 format and then sync them with an ipod or mp3 player. you can connect that to the amp and voila! :) I play a lot of my instrumental directly from Youtube on my amp... it works well :)

I play with a pitch preview and it is very helpful to find the first note easily. And singing along while you play the theremin is extremely hard. I sing and play the theremin, just not at the same time usually :)

Thanks Amethyste. I really don't know how to do that but I really appreciate your help.

There are websites like http://www.pianoaccompaniments.com and http://www.piano-accompaniments.com where one can buy and then download accompaniments for numerous classical works, initially written for solo voice, wind or string instrument and piano. I made the experience that having a true human professional pianist recording these accompaniments is worth the 3 or 4$ per piece. 

Once I bought a file and found that while it was well suited to accompany the flute, it was too quick for the theremin. I contacted the pianist by email and explained the problem. He recorded it again at lower speed and sent it to me only 24h later for free.

I would refrain from "ripping" audio files from the internet (youtube etc.). That is thievery.

Hi Thierry,

Thanks for the tips.  Once the music of your choice is recorded how do you use it to play for a audience? Do you have a portable cd player? Or other means to use your accompaniment? 

I use a MP3 player that I connect right to the Amp. An Apple Ipod or Itouch are examples of devices capable of playing mp3s. You can use a CD player too, if it is easier for you. :)

Amethyst, great ideas! Thank you!

There is a program called "Free Youtube Downloader".   There are thousands of Karaoke videos on Youtube and this program gives you the option to record only the MP3 sound track to your computer without the video. Then you can simply transfer the tracks to your Ipod or play directly from a laptop using the volume out jack plugged into your amplifier.  I would however suggest that you use a separate amplifier or player and not run the theremin and backing track into the same output.  I use a Sony Mp3 player. Separating the backing track sounds better and makes it much easier to concentrate on the pitch of your theremin.  

Most of the karaoke material on Youtube is tacky and not anything you would be proud to play along with, but if you weed through the crap you can actually find some good stuff!  If you are using the music for your own enjoyment there is no need to worry about copyright requirements. I have used this to try out music then purchase a professional backing track if I really like it.

Have fun and let me know if you need more information about the program should you decide to use it!

Hi Bisem,

Thanks so much for the info. I'm not very knowledgable about how to transfer music as I've never needed to do it before. So this is somewhat Chinese to me. I don't have an ipod or mp3 player as I usually listen to iheart radio via my cellphone and thru a portable speaker if I go anyplace. Or use my old faithful cd player. I'll try to do more research so I can better undrstand your method.

Thanks so much for the info!

Tami,

You could always burn the Mp3 files to a CD.   Find a computer savvy friend to help you that way you won't have to invest in any more equipment for now....good luck!

Brian