Instrument That Can Be Played Without Touching: Theremin – Webtekno

Instrument types are divided into five groups: percussion, wind, string, string and wind. But imagine such an instrument that You can play it without even touching it. Moreover, it makes the sounds we are familiar with and does not sound like anything. does not require contact.

Leon Theremin invented by purely by chance which has the same name as its inventor theremin We will focus on the instrument named. How does this interesting instrument, which can produce the sounds we hear in many places without touching it, work?

First, let’s take a look at the history of the instrument.

A Russian physicist named Léon Theremin was doing research on proximity sensors for the Russian government in 1920. Then in a room gas density He was working on a gas meter to measure. of gas intensity A device that measures and detects electrical signals oscillator He continued his work with.

When you approach the meter while continuing to measure interesting sounds coming out Léon Theremin noticed that these sounds diminished and disappeared when he moved away from the device. Realizing that the sounds suddenly appeared and disappeared while repeating these movements, Léon put a button on the device. sound signal Decided to add.

After adding the audio signals, Léon saw that the device was making louder sounds, influenced by the relative movements of the body, and within minutes different melodies started producing. Then, with great enthusiasm, he used the device. To Vladimir Lenin showing Léon caught his attention and Lenin both as a musician and a spy He sent him on a European tour.

Being a spy, an inventor and a musician? Three in one with Léon Theremin.

Lenin asked Léon to perform in 1922, and Léon subsequently performed in various places in Europe. “Ether-Wave” He gave concerts and performed under the name and this interesting device attracted the attention of many people. Because Léon was waving his hands over the device as if he was doing magic, and interesting melodies were emerging. Abracadabra!

Lenin did not want to be content with just Europe and sent Léon for intelligence He sent it to America in 1928. However, living in this devil’s triangle cost him dearly and at that time It caught the attention of the FBI. Léon, who was on the FBI’s watch list, escaped from the USA without leaving a trace and returned to Russia, where he died in 1993.

In fact, behind the spread of this invention lies another hero, not Léon.

Léon was not instrumental in spreading the instrument. Only when collecting information for intelligence in Europe and the USA with his concerts was recognized. However, after Léon’s escape from America, the theremin was orphaned and no one wanted to take care of it. Gift of jewelry Robert Moog Until it was rediscovered by an American engineer named.

Robert Moog, Electronic Worlds He built a theremin instrument with the information left over from copies of a magazine called. Moog to this instrument He was so amazed This admiration of his made the instrument more well-known.

Another hero is a giant radio company: Radio Corporation of America (RCA) bought the licensing rights to the instrument.

Shortly after the instrument arrived in the United States, its fame spread and Radio Corporation of America (RCA) It was quickly licensed by. Relying on their licenses, RCA wanted to express that anyone could invent a theremin and made this available to consumers. like it’s so easy marketed. But the truth was not like that at all.

Theremin is quite different from traditional instruments. wire, curtain, It has no keys or any tuning. Playing instruments that we can easily obtain becomes easy after a few training sessions, but the theremin is quite complicated. It had a complicated structure. This put him in a very different place in the music world.

Why didn’t it become popular at that time, despite the intervention of the Big American Radio Company?

Playing the theremin was very difficult at that time for those who wanted to try something new other than traditional instruments. Because extraordinary It was a musical instrument and everyone who saw it was in a small shock. Since it does not have any strings, frets or keys, it sometimes Even agile hand movements are insufficient was staying.

Unfortunately theremin, Due to its complicated structure It could not appeal to large audiences and did not reach the expected popularity. this musical instrument It was incredibly difficult to control, People did not prefer to play theremin instead of playing instruments such as guitar and violin.

However, thanks to avant-garde composers, the theremin’s face suddenly started to smile.

“Thereminvox” After its patent was obtained, this patent contributed to the sound of the instrument. Next Joseph Schillenger like avant-garde composers, tThey immediately recognized the potential of the heremin device, and in 1929 Schillenger “First Airphonic Suite” It premiered in New York. Thus, theremin soloist Léon Theremin became the talk of the town.

RCA, Thereminvox production rights quickly took hold and was designed to sell a theremin for every living room in the country. advertising campaign started it. Although the theremin was considered a commercial failure due to RCA’s move, it is still world’s first electronic instrument It is referred to as.

Everything is ok so far. So how does Theremin work?

Theremin, electromagnetic noise It works by creating . At the beginning of our content, Léon Theremin an oscillator We mentioned that he worked with . The human body is a is a capacitor, That is, our body can store and conduct electricity. Just like when we rub an inflated balloon on our hair, our hair becomes frizzy due to the electricity generated.

Each of the two antennas on the instrument is connected to circuits that oscillate at radio frequencies. Frequency of an oscillator still, the other is It is variable. The human body, which conducts electricity in this electromagnetic field, measures the difference between fixed and variable oscillators when it moves and transmits this difference to a screen.

Each different hand movement activates different frequencies. A sound is produced that is reflected on the screen. This is how the accidentally discovered theremin instrument works. Although it seems easy, it is actually a very difficult instrument to use.

You can watch this video to see how it is played:

For those who don’t know preserving its mystery, In our content, where we tried to remove the question marks in the minds of those who know it and opened the curtain of mystery, we touched upon points that may be curious about theremin. This instrument, which is as difficult to play as it is to survive until today, has become a popular instrument for many people. It still attracts his interest and attention.

If you were given the opportunity to play theremin, what song would you play? Don’t forget to mention it in the comments.

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