Hello and a question

Hello everyone...

Great website and links which should be subtitled 'Everything I Ever Wanted to Know About the Theremin, but was afraid to ask!

Anyway done the soulsearching and agonising and the 'Moorg Ethernet Standard' looks like the best bet for a beginner...any ideas beyond this?

Secondly I am self taught on Guitar, but have no formal musical training. I never see myself at the Royal Albert Hall ( I never would look good in a Dinner Jacket or Concert Gown anyway) and recognise the importance of long practice in any instrument I have used, but some say that formal music training is essential, while others are more open on the subject and I wondered what you people thought?

Thanks for reading
Regards

The ethernet standard? That's the one with wifi, isn't it?

Welcome to Theremin World, Chriskit. :-)

Classical training? That's certainly the standard advice from classical thereminists, and as I'm not exactly over-qualified in the classical department I'm not going to contradict it. Particularly as the majority of excellent thereminists [i]are[/i] classically trained.

I'm at the other extreme! No previous experience apart from a few piano lessons when I was a nipper, and an abhorrence of rote. So I face a different challenge - choosing not to worry overly about pitch means bucking a trend that is thousands of years old and severely limiting what music I can play. Just original compositions with a fair deal of improvisation - mostly just me, my etherwave and some effects pedals (especially echo - echo is great with theremin!) It's fine by me - I enjoy the sounds I make sufficiently to listen to my own recordings for pleasure. (So do a few other people (help is available) - everyone else here is too lovely and polite to say anything untoward about it.)

Hello Chriskit,
Although a good musical background is certainly very helpful, I don't think it would guarantee a person success with learning to play the theremin. Although starting out with an obvious advantage, some classically trained musicians simply might not "take" to the theremin; others might. Perhaps those who have played glissando-ish instruments (like the trombone) have a slight edge over those only used to playing the "set" notes of instruments with keys/valves/frets.

It's possible that some with with no formal "classical" training at all (but a natural internal sense of intonation and note-spacing) might take to the theremin - however ... I AM convinced that few will cope with the unique challenge of the theremin as their FIRST instrument; far better to learn the musical basics on a less demanding instrument, and bring that experience with you to the theremin. Think of it like learning to drive; it's best to learn the basics in a reliable little Ford Fiesta before trying to drive a HGV or a double-decker bus! Well, that's what I think, anyway!

Thanks both of you for replying.

Taking on board what you have both said (and both replies reflect the variety of the instrument) I think I will learn a little music theory - there are loads of educational software resources out there) and incorporate this into my guitar playing and practice and adapt on the theremin. When I've played in informal groups before, my friends say I have a good musical ear for pitch, and have been playing the rhythmn guitar for years, but feel that a little enhancement in musical basics will pay off in the long run..


I can always take a few formal lessons if I find myself lacking.
Thank you again

Chriskit

P.S. can anyone recomend some good (but not too expensive music theory software out there?

Completely free and online: http://www.musictheory.net

Thanks for that and hello...

Working through that as I speak :)

Hiya and an update...

Getting into the keyboard and basic melody now. Received my Etherwave Standard Yesterday. Still coming to terms with the pitch tuning and which finger method to use (I will experiment for a while but not get too bogged down with it, better to begin and stick to a method)...but really impressed with the quality of the instrument.

Anyone any simple tips on tuning? Also waveform and brightness controls had minimal effect at the moment... About to buy a stand tomorrow...it is the 5/8 Mic standard connection I believe?

Thanks for your patience before in answering my questions and I look forward to the hours of practice and gradual improvement that I can hopefully gain on this marvelous little instrument.

Chriskit

The waveform and brightness controls depend a bit one from the other, so that there may be positions of the brightness pot where the waveform variations will have a less noticeable effect than for others.

All depends on the amplifier: if it has a poor sound with not much overtones you will also not hear lots of variations in the Etherwaves waveforms. Guitar or bass amplifiers tend generally to produce a darker sound with the Etherwave as a keyboard amp with more linear frequency response would do.

Not been able to reply earlier because not been online.

Thanks again:)

Chriskit