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AETHERPHON, global theremin family

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Message

Re: What y'all up to? (was Re: [Aetherphon] told you so

2010-08-25 by rupert chappelle

Hi,
 
I probably should start posting here again since I think the bad ones prefer 
their pit of shame and badmouthing other thereminists. The idea that someone 
gets ripped off and then gets attacked for saying something about it sort of 
grinds my gears - especially when the same people who banned me are involved 
playing the same games that  they played with me. I also rather like Pamelia 
Kurstin and Shueh-li, both of whom have been trash talked by the same people who 
banned me from Levnet.
 
Well, getting banned by them types did have a positive effect on my attitude and 
playing. I decided to become the best theremin player ever - at least until 
Pamelia, Lydia and Carolyn switch to the Model 302.
 
This summer I started using the ZOOM R-16 digital recorder and after noticing 
the horrible noise that my dd-20 delay/looper was adding to the mix, I decided 
to set it aside. All the playing with it had increased my skill far more than I 
had thought possible so this is the result:
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q72tCpzA-b8&feature=PlayList&p=EE47B27D7CAC12EF&index=0&playnext=1

 
Except for the last one, which pertains to the reason I got banned from levnet. 
 
The reason I can play scales, arpeggios, riffs and everything else so easily and 
accurately is due to the Model 302's plate antennas. Sorry to break this news to 
everyone, but doing that with a pole antenna requires too much effort and 
concentration which eludes all but the rare few and I like to play, not work and 
strain when I do music. 

 
Using a pole antenna to play notes is like using a screwdriver to hammer in a 
nail. It IS an antenna, but that is not for broadcasting or receiving radio 
signals. The antenna is actually a "plate" of a capacitor, with the earth being 
the ground and a rod makes for a very lousy plate and an even worse sensor. I 
guess they thought radio and ether required an antenna rather than a plate and 
the crook and staff of the Pharoah was in vogue at the time, so very 
symbolically male and female. 

 
The standard antenna is cool looking, but awful for playing notes which WHY the 
theremin is pretty much always associated with excessive vibrato, which is how 
you hide the fact that it is difficult to hit and hold a note steady.
 
Due to the width and depth of the plate antenna, inadvertent hand motions do not 
cause significant changes in pitch as is true of all pole antenna theremins.
 
So, if anyone wants to play theremin better than I, get a Model 302 and blow me 
down! The wind on Twin Peaks already has proved that to be fairly easy to do. 
 
 



________________________________
From: David V <porphyrous@...>
To: aetherphon@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wed, August 25, 2010 5:03:19 PM
Subject: What y'all up to? (was Re: [Aetherphon] told you so

  
Yes, but we don't seem to be as talkative. :-)

I admit, I'm guilty.....the way life has been lately, I haven't had time 
to enjoy the chewy caramel center of theremin music other than Sunday 
nights for about an hour before the program.....

Me, I'm slowly crawling out of the rafters and getting my feet on the 
floor again. I decided I like what I'm doing and I'm not going to 
change jobs in the foreseeable future. I got an A in my grad school 
class over the summer, and I only have 3 to go until I graduate. The 
kids have started school -- Eric starts 5th grade and Maggie starts 1st 
grade. I'm tempted to reinstall my music software, but I need to get a 
MIDI interface for my laptop. I have so much more I need to do, but 
lately I seem to end up frittering all my time away on teh interwebs.

Musicwise....I have the ZenTherStick CD in my car and Contact Light by 
Chris Conway in the bedroom.

So what have y'all been up to?

David V

On 8/25/2010 9:25 AM, rupert chappelle wrote:
> Dear Richard Ramey,
> 
> Levnet is all about insults, lies and trash talking people that are not in the
> clique of "precision" blowhard sycophants.
>
> Peter Pringle and Charles Richard Lester think that stealling Final Cut Pro
> software is an appropriate subject for posting at levnet. They banned me 
>because
>
> I disagreed - as well as them hating both my music and me.
>
> If you like playing with psychopaths and trolls, keep posting at levnet.
>
> You are now what I was to them - a target for abuse.
>
> One thing I have learned from playing the theremin is that the instrument is a
> better teacher and tool for learning than any of those blowhards, liars, 
trolls
> and scumbags.
> 
> I had to come up with the word ThereminNAZIs to describe these clowns and
> hypocrites.
> 
> How stupid does one have to be to hate someone becuase they don't like your
> theremin playing?
>
> Levnut Stupid.
> 
> How stupid does one have to be to hate someone becuase they don't like being
> ripped off and insulted for complaining?
> 
> Levnut Stupid.
> 
> Try Aetherphone - I was posting there until one of the levnutters made a post
> and then I stopped because I didn't want to deal with that trash talking crew.
> The person who runs that forum is a decent human being - not like Levnet or
> Thereminworld. As long as I don't post there anymore I am certain that they 
>will
> stay away.
>
> Rupert Chappelle
> 
> PS - coincerning the CC list - DAVIDWEA and Steve Sherman can fill you in on
> this because they are decent people - so is Olivia Mattis but she was unaware 
>of
> what was going on at the time and I included her because I feel she should 
know
> hwat kind of people have taken over the forum. As for the rest on the CC list 
-
> I wouldn't want to say anythingh behind their back without them knowing about
> it.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> AETHERPHON, the global thereminist community
>
> To contact the moderator, e-mail porphyrous@...
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

-- 
-----
DAVID V -- synthetic music for humans
-----
Spellbound, a brief program of music for theremin
Sunday 10PM-12AM http://spellbound.purplenote.com
FamilyWii -- For Gaming Families and Families of Gamers
Visit http://www.familywii.org for reviews and info



I swear, it is as easy as walking or humming a tune. Using the angling technique 
of play, you simply "pitch" your hand forward until you hit the right PITCH. Get 
it? Your body works on angles, not distances and not fingering mudras and just 
as easy as it is to put your foot on the right step on a staircase, so is it 
just as easy to to play scales, intervals and arpeggios.

If you place your elbow on a steady surface, the notes stay where they should. 
with the Etherwave I used a tripod to rest my elbow and with the Model 302, I 
prefer playing seated and resting my elbow on my knee or on the arm of a chair.

Keep in mind that this is coming from someone who NEVER practices.

That grinds the gears of some people. They like the idea of it being difficult.

Playing the theremin should be fun, not work.

Happy Theremining!

Rupert


      

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