AETHERPHON, global theremin family

The sequenced version I play with is based on Derbyshire's  
arrangement. It's the least "dense" arrangement, so it lends itself  
to pure electronic sounds and leaves some "space" around it for the  
melody line. I like the new version but it's really meant to be fully  
orchestrated.


On Feb 25, 2009, at 8:37 AM, <dbohn@...> wrote:

> It might be a theremin on the current incarnation, but
> I'm pretty certain the original version did not use
> a theremin-- I don't think that the BBC Radiophonic
> Workshop had one, and my understanding from a book
> (I don't have it at work) is that each note was individually
> recorded and then edited together by Delia Derbyshire.
>
> David Bohn
>
> --- j.swails@... wrote:
>
> From: Joseph Swails <j.swails@...>
> To: aetherphon@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [Aetherphon] Re:Hands Off 2009 - Big News
> Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2009 08:24:45 -0800
>
>
> On Feb 25, 2009, at 2:01 AM, carvin knowles wrote:
>
>> Whatup Joseph!
>>
>> Great Gig in the Sky was one of the tracks I performed at the HOB.
>> Love that song and it's perfectly suited for Theremin.
>>
>> Damn, you just gave away one of my secret weapons. Don't tell
>> anyone else!.
>
> The Doctor Who theme is a real crowd pleaser too, especially since
> the new revival series. Besides "Good Vibrations" (which everyone
> thinks is a theremin but isn't.) it's the track most people identify
> with a theremin.
>
>
>
>
>>
>> --- On Tue, 2/24/09, Joseph Swails <j.swails@...> wrote:
>> From: Joseph Swails <j.swails@...>
>> Subject: Re: [Aetherphon] Re:Hands Off 2009 - Big News
>> To: aetherphon@yahoogroups.com
>> Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2009, 10:03 PM
>>
>> Thanks for the props, folks. It's nice to know I'm not alone with
>> this way of thinking.
>>
>> Like Gordon, I *can* play in tune - I've got a pretty good ear - but
>> I take my inspiration from improvisational jazz solos and free-form
>> vocal riffs like Pink Floyd's "Great Gig in the Sky", instead of
>>
>> Debussy nocturnes.   One of the first things I learned to play on my
>> theremin was the theme from "Doctor Who."  (And as far as the violin
>>
>> goes, it was my first instrument - though I stopped playing when I
>> was 11 years old.)
>>
>> Like Carvin, I jam with my DJ friends, and create my own sequenced
>> ambient grooves and play melody lines over them. I've got a Burns B3
>> Deluxe and it has a great low end sound - swooping down from high
>> wobbles to a floor rattling bass note gets a great crowd reaction! I
>> flick the pitch antenna with my finger to get "laser shots", which
>> would probably make Clara Rockmore scowl at me.
>>
>> Jamming with DJs is great fun, especially with Trance, Ambient and
>> Deep Bass grooves. That's a good way we "middle ground" theremin
>>
>> players can get out there and be heard by an audience.
>>
>>
>> On Feb 24, 2009, at 6:11 PM, Gordon Charlton wrote:
>>
>>> Carvin - that is the perfect call to arms! Thank you. :-)
>>>
>>> Also great to hear your story - when people write about stuff that
>>> genuinely excites them it comes through and its a bit contagious.
>>>
>>> Gordon
>>>
>>> On 25 Feb 2009, at 01:21, carvin knowles wrote:
>>>
>>>> Yeah, you can count me into that "Middle Field" space too.
>>>>
>>>> I'm glad for all you classical Thereminist, who help ad that kind
>>>> of validity to our instrument. To be certain, you guys help ensure
>>>> that the instrument will be studied by the "serious music"
>>>> community. I started out my life as a "serious" composer,
>> with a
>>>> back-catalogue of dissonant orchestral works, so I get it.
>>>>
>>>> But when I took up the theremin, it was to use an instrument where
>>>> I had no classical technique, to play something appropriate with my
>>>> DJ friends, while they played Drum and Bass and House and Electro.
>>>> Sure, I can play in tune, but my technique would make Clara
>>>> Rockmore cringe. I play melodies. Riffs. Motifs. Fragments of
>>>> suggested orchestrations that trace the chord changes in some
>>>> dramatic way. I use long sweeps to carry one mix into another, I
>>>> create trills that widen into several octaves, I make bleeps and
>>>> noises that would make George Crumb proud.
>>>>
>>>> (Speaking of Crumb, some of you classical-heads should arrange a
>>>> performance of "Vox Bellanae" sometime. It is sure to bring
>> our art
>>>> forward, if you use it in such a "modernist" ensemble)
>>>>
>>>> But my point is that as a Middle Field Thereminista, my style would
>>>> probably be called Electronic Jazz (a few years back I even played
>>>> at the House of Blues, New Orleans). I think I 'm with that part
>> of
>>>> the Middle Field which makes the theremin socially relevant. The
>>>> way that Eric Satie performed in the Salons of Paris. The way that
>>>> Jazz took root in the brothels and underground dance clubs of New
>>>> Orleans and New York before it went mainstream.
>>>>
>>>> And yes, I also love the classical guys...and the novelties and the
>>>> academics and the headbangers. I can't get enough theremin, pretty
>>>> or ugly or funny. Just play the damn thing.
>>>>
>>>> And that is kinda the deal with a convention of this sort. The
>>>> "Middle Field" needs to show up and represent. It's you
>> guys who
>>>> should be putting together the afterparties. The Jam sessions.
>> It's
>>>> a convention, so bust out your cool stuff. Besides, if you learn
>>>> anything from the classical guys, you'll want to use it right
>> away.
>>>>
>>>> Peace
>>>>
>>>> Carvin
>>>
>>>
>>> ------------------------------------
>>>
>>> AETHERPHON, the global thereminist community
>>>
>>> To contact the moderator, e-mail porphyrous@...
>>>
>>>
>>> Yahoo! Groups Links
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------
>>
>> AETHERPHON, the global thereminist community
>>
>> To contact the moderator, e-mail porphyrous@...
>>
>>
>> Yahoo! Groups Links
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>>
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------
>>
>> AETHERPHON, the global thereminist community
>>
>> To contact the moderator, e-mail porphyrous@...
>>
>>
>> Yahoo! Groups Links
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> AETHERPHON, the global thereminist community
>
> To contact the moderator, e-mail porphyrous@...
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> AETHERPHON, the global thereminist community
>
> To contact the moderator, e-mail porphyrous@...
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>