Léon Theremin

[betteremily]

Another thread got me to thinking, how many people here actually know of the man behind the Theremin. So I made a search and was astounded to find that this topic never came up!

Léon Theremin patented, one among many inventions, the theremin in 1928 and actually toured playing the instrument.

A couple interesting facts:

"During his work at the sharashka, where he was put in charge of other workers, Theremin created the Buran eavesdropping system. A precursor to the modern laser microphone, it worked by using a low power infrared beam from a distance to detect the sound vibrations in the glass windows.[2][26] Lavrentiy Beria, the head of the secret police organization NKVD (the predecessor of the KGB), used the Buran device to spy on the U.S., British, and French embassies in Moscow. According to Galeyev, Beria also spied on Stalin; Theremin kept some of the tapes in his flat. In 1947, Theremin was awarded the Stalin prize for inventing this advance in Soviet espionage technology.

Theremin invented another listening device called The Thing. Disguised in a replica of the Great Seal of the United States carved in wood, in 1945 Soviet school children presented the concealed bug to U.S. Ambassador as a "gesture of friendship" to the USSR's World War II ally. It hung in the ambassador’s residential office in Moscow, and intercepted confidential conversations there during the first seven years of the Cold War, until it was accidentally discovered in 1952." (Wikipedia)

[Strider]

Just because there wasn't a thread doesn't mean that people here didn't know about him...there was in fact a thread about the theremin and its inventor on the old electric-magic.com board, before it morphed into the "official" Led Zeppelin site.

We just never got around to starting a new thread probably because everything had been hashed over and there was nothing new to add.

Of course, it goes without saying that a must-see regarding Léon Theremin and his instrument is Steven Martin's(no, not THAT Steve Martin ) excellent documentary "THEREMIN: An Electronic Odyssey", released in 1994 and available on dvd.

Besides Léon, you also get performance footage of Clara Rockmore...and they talk to Brian Wilson, Robert Moog, and some of the other usual suspects, but sadly, no one thought to speak to Jimmy Page, or use any footage of Jimmy using the Theremin during Whole Lotta Love.

Just imagine if they had shown some of the 1975 tour Theremin battles with Plant...like at Earl's Court.

But then, Led Zeppelin always seems to get forgotten by the academic types. I saw a documentary on the mellotron last year and they spent a lot of time on the Moody Blues, and rightly so, but NO John Paul Jones? C'mon filmmakers, think outside the box.

Edited April 23, 2011 by Strider

[betteremily]

Haha.

[spidersandsnakes]

Theremins are the essence of psychedelic music......LONG LIVE THEREMINS :)

[Joe Bloggs]

Just because there wasn't a thread doesn't mean that people here didn't know about him...there was in fact a thread about the theremin and its inventor on the old electric-magic.com board, before it morphed into the "official" Led Zeppelin site.

We just never got around to starting a new thread probably because everything had been hashed over and there was nothing new to add.

Of course, it goes without saying that a must-see regarding Léon Theremin and his instrument is Steven Martin's(no, not THAT Steve Martin ) excellent documentary "THEREMIN: An Electronic Odyssey", released in 1994 and available on dvd.

Besides Léon, you also get performance footage of Clara Rockmore...and they talk to Brian Wilson, Robert Moog, and some of the other usual suspects, but sadly, no one thought to speak to Jimmy Page, or use any footage of Jimmy using the Theremin during Whole Lotta Love.

Just imagine if they had shown some of the 1975 tour Theremin battles with Plant...like at Earl's Court.

But then, Led Zeppelin always seems to get forgotten by the academic types. I saw a documentary on the mellotron last year and they spent a lot of time on the Moody Blues, and rightly so, but NO John Paul Jones? C'mon filmmakers, think outside the box.

"The Rain Song" is probably the most beautiful Mellotron song recorded. One thing that annoys me about coverage of the theremin, is the fact most people talk about the Beach Boys. The Beach Boys strictly did not use a theremin. For the original recording of "Good Vibrations" they used a variable sine-wave generating device invented by Paul Tanner, nicknamed "Tanner's Box". It was an experimental prototype only. Tanner's invention was later renamed tannerin in his honour in 1999. With a tannerin, you touch the instrument like a keyboard, and control the pitch with a controller, unlike a hands-free theremin. Two different instruments. During later tours, the Beach Boys "cheated" and used a pre-programmed Mini Moog synthesiser to create the sound effect.

[spidersandsnakes]

I once heard a theremin connected to an autoharp........FUNtastic sound from that concoction:)

[ledzepfvr]

The theremin can make some beautiful music when played the way it was intended. This is the first time I have seen it played that way in some rock music.

Check about 2 minutes into the video the fellow behind the guitar player with the tyedye shirt

[the chase]

The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRc6f2oVdlw&feature=player_detailpage

short story..

Edited November 27, 2011 by the chase

[the chase]

leon theramin

from it might get loud

Edited November 27, 2011 by the chase