Physics of the Theremin

@article{Skeldon1998PhysicsOT,
  title={Physics of the Theremin},
  author={Kenneth D. Skeldon and Lindsay M. Reid and Viviene McInally and Brendan Dougan and Craig Fulton},
  journal={American Journal of Physics},
  year={1998},
  volume={66},
  pages={945-955}
}
We discuss some of the interesting physics behind the design and operation of the Theremin electronic musical instrument. To complement the theory we present details of a parallel effort to construct two versions of this remarkable instrument. One of these designs remains fairly faithful to the traditional beat frequency oscillator approach that first inspired Theremin’s invention, while the other contains more modern electronics that helps make more reliable the setting up and use of the… 

Optical Digital Theremin with Audio Synthesis and Graphic Interface

This paper presents the development of a digital optical theremin with an audio syn- thesis process, intuitive graphical interface, frequency antenna in the horizontal position, and linearization of the frequency-distance relationship.

Inspiring Future Engineers: Teaching Basic Electronics to Create Theremin-Based Musical Instruments

To encourage high school students’ interest in electronics and electrical engineering, team projects can be designed that involve adapting and integrating circuits to construct unique musical

FUTURIST INFLUENCES IN MUSIC AND NEW INSTRUMENTS

Although we encounter noteworthy examples of unusual sound effects starting with the Middle Ages until the end of the 20th Century, the idea of opening not only dissonance but also noise to

Leon Theremin (Lev Termen)

    P. Nikitin
    History
    IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine
  • 2012
While Leon Theremin is mostly known to a wide audience for the thereminvox, his other pioneering work is not less important and should not be forgotten. As it is clear from his biography, he spent a

Musical pitch quantization as an eigenvalue problem

How can discrete pitches and chords emerge from the continuum of sound? Using a quantum cognition model of tonal music, we prove that the associated Schrödinger equation in Fourier space is invariant

The Virtual Theremin: Designing an Interactive Digital Music Instrument for Film Scene Scoring

Abstract This paper presents a first prototype of a virtual Theremin instrument for accompanying film scenes with sound. The virtual Theremin is implemented as a hybrid application for the web. Sound

Knots, Music and DNA.

Musical gestures connect the symbolic layer of the score to the physical layer of sound. I focus here on the mathematical theory of musical gestures, and I propose its generalization to include

Body as controller

Why finding an answer to three questions about the mathematical form of the mapping function from the movement feature to the sound parameters is worthwhile is discussed and possible solutions that require further investigation are provided.

Historical Corner

    G. Pelosi
    Business
    IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine
  • 2009
This issue of the historical corner hosts a paper by Carl-Henrik Walde, Secretary of the Swedish URSI Committee. It describes a special session about ?The History of Antennas in Sweden,? which took

TheraProx: Capacitive Proximity Sensing

A novel contactless omnidirectional capacitive proximity sensor designed to be energy-efficient by means of duty-cycling the power supply and implemented using a digital potentiometer for a wide variety of potential applications, including mobile robotics and human–machine interaction.

Since Theremin's death, there has been an ever-increasing band of popular musicians that seem to have just ''rediscovered'' his instrument's value as a source of ''cult sound

    In the early twentieth century there were around seven-hundred professional Thereminists registered with the musicians' trade union. It should also be noted that Leon Theremin's great niece

      Electronics World ͑January

      • 1961

      Radio Engineers Handbook ͑McGraw-Hill

      • 1943

      A Museum Scale Ring-Laser-Gyroscope to Demonstrate the Sagnac Effect

      • 1991

      Theremin Virtuoso Clara Rockmore-Recollections of Genius,'' Keyboard Magazine ͑February

      • 1994

      Of course, this and the previous reference are only two examples from a multitude of Theremin designs spanning many decades