AETHERPHON, global theremin family

> Who gives theremin lessons?>

I do, also. For a while, I was posting segments of my methodology in 
response to people asking about study and technique, and the 
segments can be found in various forum topics on Thereminworld. I 
stopped after a while because the majority of responses usually 
expressed disbelief and skepticism.

I'm tickled by folks who engender doubts about the value of lessons 
while putting out their own DVDs and instruction books. This past 
year has seen THREE new books on how to play the theremin published 
and purchased. All of them essentially impart the same information 
with variations on fingering along with scale and interval training. 
My personal opinion is that there is much more beyond this to 
explore.

My approach is much less conventional than the books currently on 
the market. It  uses exercises that move beyond the isolated 
mechanics required for playing into techniques that promote
understanding of body awareness, techniques designed to enhance 
unconscious physiological and neurological processes that are 
happening while one plays. There is also performance approach, 
exercises that help make the leap from simple mechnical techniques 
to interpretive skill, and (horror of horrors) I MAKE IT FUN!! Many 
of the exercises and techniques ARE weird, but students are 
definitely responding well.

Once someone buys a theremin, the instrument is so accessible and so 
responsive, that the natural tendency is to jump right in start to 
play. This is great – it's a very liberating process. Some people 
are quickly able to discern the basics of playing songs (playing 
using definite pitches to accurately interpret an existing piece of 
music) and others go wild with sonic textures, effects, etc. It's 
all good! Some can read music, others have yet to learn how. My two 
newest students are a husband and wife. They are both vastly 
different in terms of their musical abilities and goals. They 
clearly learn at different rates and respond to different 
procedures. The teaching is always adapted to fit the needs of each 
individual student.