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Is the Theremin a Musical Instrument?

2 Responses (Add) | Friday, October 17th, 2008 at 8:06am


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This is the Thereminator for the iPhone. You can find it in the App Store. The interface isn’t so hot looking, but it sounds great. Simply drag your finger across the field, and you have a Theremin. You can change wavelengths and much more.

Theremin is an oscillator-based instrument controlled by gesture, invented by Leon Theremin in 1919. Commonly regarded as the first synthesizer, it works by the principle of additive synthesis, where the output from a fixed oscillator is mixed with a VFO. The VFO is controlled by the amount of capacitance in the circuit, which in turn is controlled by the distance of the musician’s hand from a dedicated antenna. Another antenna is provided in most versions to control the volume.

Thereminator is a theremin simulator for the iPhone, controlled by touch. Very simply put, the user controls pitch by moving the finger horizontally (right hand on the traditional theremin), while adjusting the volume moving the finger up and down. It provides four basic waveforms and two sound effects to slightly expand on the standard theremin. Additionally, it has scroll and zoom features to control frequency range and resolution.

It’s a lot of fun, and addictive. It’s only $3.00 in the AppStore, so well worth the money. Spend hours annoying your friends, and enjoying yourself!

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2 Comments

The Frugal Geek

October 18th, 2008
at 2:54pm

Chris Pirillo Insert Image Here: Photoshop! How Does This Sound to You? Is Document Annotation Software Still Necessary? How Many Words Per Minute can You Read?Is the Theremin a Musical Instrument?

FazzMunkle

October 17th, 2008
at 2:12pm

Well considering that the real theremin has been used as one in scary movies and Twilight Zone shows I’d say it is. :)

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