AETHERPHON, global theremin family

Hello David and Spellbound-I.....

As you mentioned, the world's best thereminists are hard to come by, so here are my 
thoughts on learning the theremin.  

One can find Clara Rockmore's method for theremin online.  Since you have some sort of 
sequencing device David you could program the exercises in, and have them played back 
to you.  If one does not have a sequencer maybe that person could find a piano playing 
friend or some such and practice with that person.

The hand positions are included by number.

I had been practicing this way, and then I had a lesson with Lydia Kavina at Ethermusic 
2005, and she recommended a similar course of practice anyway.  The biggest thing she 
emphasized to me was that I was not going changing from zero position (fingers together) 
to the point where my fingers were fully extended.  The online version of the book doesn't 
emphasize this point enough.

That's all I've got to say about that.

-Chris Accornero



--- In spellbound-l@yahoogroups.com, David V <porphyrous@...> wrote:
>
> Hello all,
> 
> I got to thinking about this recently, after reading some comments 
> on-line, and I thought I'd tap you guys to see if you had any thoughts.
> 
> Who gives theremin lessons?  And who that give theremin lessons are 
> worth spending the time on?
> 
> Lydia Kavina does, provided you can be where she is.  (Takeuchi-san had 
> to move to Moscow and learn Russian...not very practical with a day 
> job.)  Pamelia Kurstin used to.  Her web site still claims that she 
> does.  No one I have communicated with indicate she even answers e-mails 
> at the moment, so clearly she has too much stuff going on to be an 
> option.  I have not personally inquired to Peter Pringle, but several 
> people have indicated that he does not give lessons.
> 
> Takeuchi Masami might, but he's in Tokyo.  Again, not practical. 
> Others, I have no idea.  But there have been enough comments out there 
> of thereminists who are teaching others who have no business teaching 
> that it would appear at least some demand exists but there's no way to 
> judge the quality of the instruction.
> 
> Right now in the state of theremin performance education, it reminds me 
> a great deal of the state of things in the early days of Neo-Pagan 
> religions, from the 1950's through the 1980's.  All the early 
> practitioners were self-taught or knew someone personally who was 
> already a practitioner.  Many wrote books, and many of those books 
> contradicted each other.  A handful of people were "known" but there 
> were so few that there wasn't enough time to go around to teach everyone 
> who desired instruction.  So the vast majority taught themselves, mostly 
> from books, and those people went on themselves to write books and to 
> teach others.  Now with a second generation of Neo-Pagans, there is 
> beginning to be a critical mass of agreement on knowledge, content, and 
> approach, and there are enough knowledgeable teachers to service those 
> who desire to learn.
> 
> Are we at that point with the theremin?  There just aren't enough 
> instructors to go around, and many of them contradict each other?  Peter 
> Pringle once wrote that it was a grave mistake to attempt to pick and 
> choose techniques among theremin playing, that it was important to 
> select a "method", if you will, and stick with it.
> 
> What are your thoughts on this topic?
> -- 
> -----
> DAVID VESEL -- synthetic music for humans
> http://davidv.purplenote.com
> porphyrous@...
> -----
> The Purple Note Radio Network:
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> Spellbound, music for theremin, 11PM Suns http://spellbound.purplenote.com
> -----
>