The theremin is one of the most mystical instruments of the sixties even though it was invented long before that time by Leon Theremin. (Wiki: Leon Theremin)
The most famous example of anyone playing a theremin in rock is Jimmy Page and that bit may have been the coolest a theremin performance will ever get ... but ... that's not all it does.
Leon Theremin thought it would be cool to see if he could direct music and lights from the movements of dancers. We can only try to envision what that might have looked like and then wonder why it was not continued. It seems this could still have enormous potential for expression today and, in fact, I have some firestarter nieces / nephew in Knoxville and they would be just the ones to do it.
In individual performance, I don't think a theremin would be all that cool except for something to do when you're really wasted. I don't typically get really wasted but I would be willing to sacrifice myself if I had one of these. They don't cost so much (e.g. about $125 - $150 US) so it might even happen.
When playing the instrument, you're not touching anything. This is all so gloriously intellectual but there are no sexy bits so that's a strike against it immediately. The other is that it would be a physical bitch to do it. When you're playing a physical instrument, your arms can relax at least a little bit some of the time but that won't ever happen when you hold them out in space like that.
Irrelevant Side Note:
During the Charles Manson trial, li'l Chuckie and all his li'l Mansonites assumed in the courtroom a pose of a crucifixion by holding their arms outstretched on each side of them. My ol' Dad laughed at them and said they were idiots, no-one's arms are strong enough to hold that position for long. Of course that's not what happened as the judge reacted to try to force him to stop and Chuck got all the drama he wanted.
The most famous example of anyone playing a theremin in rock is Jimmy Page and that bit may have been the coolest a theremin performance will ever get ... but ... that's not all it does.
Leon Theremin thought it would be cool to see if he could direct music and lights from the movements of dancers. We can only try to envision what that might have looked like and then wonder why it was not continued. It seems this could still have enormous potential for expression today and, in fact, I have some firestarter nieces / nephew in Knoxville and they would be just the ones to do it.
In individual performance, I don't think a theremin would be all that cool except for something to do when you're really wasted. I don't typically get really wasted but I would be willing to sacrifice myself if I had one of these. They don't cost so much (e.g. about $125 - $150 US) so it might even happen.
When playing the instrument, you're not touching anything. This is all so gloriously intellectual but there are no sexy bits so that's a strike against it immediately. The other is that it would be a physical bitch to do it. When you're playing a physical instrument, your arms can relax at least a little bit some of the time but that won't ever happen when you hold them out in space like that.
Irrelevant Side Note:
During the Charles Manson trial, li'l Chuckie and all his li'l Mansonites assumed in the courtroom a pose of a crucifixion by holding their arms outstretched on each side of them. My ol' Dad laughed at them and said they were idiots, no-one's arms are strong enough to hold that position for long. Of course that's not what happened as the judge reacted to try to force him to stop and Chuck got all the drama he wanted.
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