New Forum: Theremin Technique

I started this forum as a place to discuss various playing techniques. For example, vibrato styles, how you hold your pitch hand, how to play walking bass lines like Pamelia, etc.

Enjoy!

Since getting my E-Pro, I've been using a plucking technique derived from Kurstin's volume antena technique. But I must say that touching the volume antena with the back of my fingers, then tapping them to my thumb the way she does feels completely unnatural to me. More often than not, I'll use my first two fingers, putting them on the antena one at a time and pulling them upward sharply. It's easy to then dip them into the loop a little bit to decrease volume. I'm trying to learn to do walking bass lines, but am also just really into the pulsing sound this volume antena technique gives you.

A lot of the tiki exotica stuff I listen to (Martin Denny, etc) has pizzicato, or plucked, string sections in it. So I started doing that. Now, I'm using it as a technique to seperate phrases. It's as if that particular shortcoming-- which I always took for granted with the theremin-- has ceased to exist.

I start out turning my volume knob all the way up, then back it off a little bit so I can get some variation with the voicing. With just a tiny bit of reverb/slapback echo to give it some sustain, it reminds me of an alien string instrument that can also sing. Very cool stuff!