Would it be possible to create a wooden notched “fret board” that could be placed in front of the pitch antenna of a theremin, in order to aid a beginning player to approach and identify pitches more easily?
Does the antenna sense any object in front of it (ie a wooden pitch board), or would it only be affected by a human grounded hand/body?
In principle, yes. You could have some tool made of plastic or something, and glide your hand along.
I *really* doubt it would be of any use though. The spacing changes based on the tuning of the instrument (tuning: the single most important thing a beginner should learn. And perform before every session). And the tuning changes based on each player’s capacitance, arm length, fingers length, proximity of walls, name it.
The tool you refer to would therefore be approximate at best; and there’s already plenty of ways of picking up bad habits with the theremin.
I’m not sure there’s a shortcut to getting that muscle memory going.
You mean like my theremin on the far right? https://youtu.be/O3djVZI8Xso
You do not want frets, that is what a keyboard is for, you want to be alive & fluid. Though I have retired from theremin design here is my analog theremin performed in Saint Petersburg Russia by Valery Shamarin in 2020. Listen to my analog sound as it seems to express an innocent sadness today. Let us not lose touch with the classic theremin sound of nature and where it came from.
The new EtherWave looks to have a temperature stabilizing vent hole on top, a very good idea!
Christopher
Re frets: I disagree that you definitively don’t want them period. It’s just for your stated purposes that they’re impractical. The upside of having them is you can play fast and in tune although to a somewhat imaginary scale as a different moment (which is practical esp if you’re engaging in free improv) and just lift up when ready to go back to regular theremin playing.
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