AETHERPHON, global theremin family

Quoting carvin knowles <carvinknowles@...>:

> My Thereministas!
>
> I don't often contribute to the discussion
> here....usually because I just don't have much to add
> to the conversation.
>
Hi Carvin!

I understand.  Glad you posted.  Interesting to hear what you and  
others are doing.
>
> When you are used
> to clubbing it, you improv and let your ears lead you.
> No thinking allowed. In the studio, you rehearse a
> part over and over and then record take after take
> until you get it like you want it.
>
Indeed!  I consider live performance and recorded performance are  
related they really are different artforms.  In a live performance, a  
less-than-perfect note or phrase just kind of "flys by" and no-one  
really notices.  However, people can listen to a recording over and  
over and any "flaw" will stick out.

I think this is the reason that there are relatively few "live albums"  
these days.
>
> Some of the songs came naturally. The parts are
> logical and supported by the arrangement and I could
> just "feel" it. Others were just noises and
> therepercussion.
>
How do you do "therepercussion"?  Are you processing the sound?  The  
best I've been able to do without processing is a fast attack but  
never a percussive sound (such as a mallet instrument).
>
> But last week, we were recording the theremin solo on
> a track with the line "Only what you do matters."
> Appropriate, no? The part is straightforward and
> follows the changes, moving up a minor chord and back
> down a diminshed. I played a long legato phrase with a
> repeat. Yet it took over 30 takes. During the course
> of recording, the tuning on my box drifted, first
> contracting by about four inches, then opening up by
> over a foot. Sometimes this would happen during the
> recording, so that the tuning on the repeat was
> different.
>
That kind of drift really shouldn't happen if the theremin is warmed  
up.  Was there someone or something interfering with your control zone?

And, yes... amazing how some melodies lend themselves to the theremin  
and others take an outrageous amount of time to learn and to get a  
decent take.
>
> The more frustrated I got, the less cooperative the
> instrument became. We took a break for about 20
> minutes, then came back to it. Then we immediately got
> two good takes which we will use doubled.
>
It is easy to get "freaked out" when trying to get a good take.

One thing that I often do is simply to record all of my rehearsal  
sessions.  Besides being able to review the recordings, to have it  
running is an antidote to "mike fright".  After a while, one doesn't  
even think about the recording.
>
> Part of my problem may have been that I recorded it
> with minimal delay. Usually, I let the delay blur the
> edges of my playing, so this was like working without
> a net. But that doesn't explain the crazy atmospheric
> changes in my induction.
>
I monitor my theremin thru a seperate speaker that is right behind my  
head with a dry signal.  In a sense, I want to hear the theremin at  
its worst when I play.  The idea is that the audience recieves an  
optimum sound and that I am able to correct little things that I can  
hear but the audience cannot.
>
> Still....on playback the part sounded agressive and
> pretty rockin! All the hard work and frustration payed
> off with some mean, hard oscillations!
>
I think that is what drives us to record.  When the music comes  
together it is very fulfilling!
>
> Just off the top of my head, I can tell you that I
> play theremin on five of the tracks on the album.
> Maybe more. We are nearing the final mix on this
> project, so it's all starting to become a blur to
> me.....
>
> I hope we can release this thing soon. I want you all
> to hear it!
>
Keep us posted.

A great day to one and all!

-- Kevin