[HN Gopher] Carolina Eyck, renowned superstar of the theremin
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Carolina Eyck, renowned superstar of the theremin
Author : asdefghyk
Score : 72 points
Date : 2025-05-03 23:35 UTC (2 days ago)
(HTM) web link (www.smh.com.au)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.smh.com.au)
| asdefghyk wrote:
| From the articale ....With its sci-fi antennae bristling left and
| right, Russian physicist Leon Theremin's novel invention of 1919
| remains the only musical instrument you play without touching
| anything. "Aerial fingering" was the technique devised by the
| inventor's original Lithuanian prodigy, Clara Rockmore, in the
| 1930s.
|
| ......
| brudgers wrote:
| A 00's Roland with a D-Beam (or Two!) can be played without
| touching.
| ChrisMarshallNY wrote:
| Jarre plays a laser harp: https://youtu.be/nuM2Jw78u8Y
| zimpenfish wrote:
| You could make the case that he has to "touch" (there's a
| physical interaction where his hand/glove blocks the light)
| the laser to trigger the note. I'm not even sure it would be
| that pedantic - there's a definite physicality to it that the
| theremin doesn't have.
| ChrisMarshallNY wrote:
| Good point.
|
| Many stringed instruments, the actual sound is made by
| whatever the strings are attached to, so there's a similar
| distance between touch and sound.
|
| With percussion, it's quite direct, as with many wind
| instruments.
| brudgers wrote:
| https://archive.ph/Trcww
| mitchbob wrote:
| https://archive.ph/2025.04.24-080835/https://www.smh.com.au/...
| cess11 wrote:
| She's really good. Here's an example of her covering a well known
| piece by Morricone:
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajM4vYCZMZk
|
| From the headline I kind of expected it to be about some more
| contrived apparatus, something that was built ad hoc and is
| constantly close to self-disassembling from being used, like
| Wintergatan's Marble Machine:
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvUU8joBb1Q
| croisillon wrote:
| i didn't know the marble machine, thanks for the discovery!
| asdefghyk wrote:
| 265M views! - amazing
| jacquesm wrote:
| Half of those are probably mine. She's absolutely amazing.
| srean wrote:
| "The Thing" Requires a mandatory mention [0]. Same principles and
| same designer.
|
| It was a very sophisticated covert listening device (bug) for its
| time that went undetected for a long time. It did not have a
| conventional power source such as a battery or mains connection.
|
| My first intro to this was the fascinating book The SpyCatcher.
|
| [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thing_(listening_device)
| hermitcrab wrote:
| The inventor was an interesting character. The Soviets forced
| him to work in gold mine.
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Theremin
| epizootics wrote:
| A tribute to Leon Theremin:
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6H1sLwJDQE
| jansan wrote:
| Jack White uses a theremin in "Fear of the Dark", just so you
| know that it can be used in rock music, too.
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3xPyPEOmmM
| 867-5309 wrote:
| _Dawn_ , got excited for a Maiden cover there
| jansan wrote:
| Thanks for the correction, Freud would have been be proud of
| me.
| Supernaut wrote:
| Jimmy Page was using a Theremin in a rock context in 1969!
| totikom wrote:
| Fun fact: there in was used in recording Teen Age Message to
| extraterrestrial civilizations:
| https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_Age_Message
| perilunar wrote:
| The theremin is a fully electronic instrument that could sound
| like anything at all -- so why does it sound so unpleasant?
| afandian wrote:
| Originally because it produced sound by heterodyning two sine
| waves.
|
| Modern ones (the Moog ones I saw 20 years ago) have tunable
| waveforms but still hark back to that original sound.
|
| I like the sound. In the sonic tradition of the cello.
|
| https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XdFSU8sn3mo
| Al-Khwarizmi wrote:
| Depends on which theremin, in which hands, with which effects,
| or lack thereof.
|
| Does this sound unpleasant to you?
| https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=62lT9XsZVio (maybe it's
| subjective, but it sounds very pleasant to me).
| tpm wrote:
| To me it does sound unpleasant, like out of tune in a bad way
| (and I love untuned, atonal, experimental electronic music
| and use my own modular synth often, as a point of reference).
| Like the OP, I never understood the appeal of a theremin.
| dieggsy wrote:
| I quite like the sound of a theremin played well, but that
| particular example sounds out of tune to me too.
|
| The comment in the other reply to the parent comment, as
| well as what I've heard of Carolina Eyck's playing, do
| sound pleasant to me though.
| ajb wrote:
| It was designed in _1920_ , before digital computers, and is
| made using a very small number of electronic components. So,
| they couldn't have made it sound like whatever they wanted, at
| the time.
| Finnucane wrote:
| There's a mod you can get for a Moog Etherwave that extends the
| range and smooths out the tone. I had it added to mine and it
| was totally worth it.
| shagie wrote:
| The instrument and the performer.
|
| Katica Illeny doing the Star Trek theme
| https://youtu.be/x0NVb25p1oU
| fxj wrote:
| There are still several companies who build it. Get one from
| Doepfer (German Manufacturer) here and connect it to a modular
| system or a semi-modular synth like a mini moog.
|
| https://www.thomann.de/de/doepfer_a178.htm
|
| https://doepfer.de/a178.htm
|
| live in action: https://youtu.be/1mIferngPqY
|
| or from stylophone:
|
| https://www.thomann.de/de/duebreq_stylophone_theremin.htm
|
| live in action: https://youtu.be/NNn-se0S4Ww
| tgv wrote:
| Lost Volts too: http://lostvolts.co.uk/
| Intermernet wrote:
| OpenTheremin is great. I have a v3 (which I'm trying to port to
| TinyGo for fun) but v4 is apparently awesome.
|
| https://www.gaudi.ch/OpenTheremin/
| Al-Khwarizmi wrote:
| As a now inactive theremin player (but I will go back at some
| point!) I'm sad to learn that Moog isn't making real theremins
| anymore (the theremini isn't one).
|
| The Moog Etherwave (Standard/Plus) wasn't the best theremin,
| but it was always extremely solid in terms of bang for the
| buck, a standard, easy to set up, reliable option with lots of
| other players you could ask for help, accessories (carry bag,
| mods, etc.) so it was the most logical recommendation for most
| newcomers.
|
| There were (and probably still are) great choices from smaller
| makers as well, in fact I own one in addition to my Moog, but
| they were more adventurous choices that didn't offer the
| reliability and newbie-friendliness of the Moog at a comparable
| price. Many players would have their pet underdog theremin that
| they would personally use and prefer to the Moog, but would
| still recommend the Moog to newcomers because you just couldn't
| go wrong with it, and others were either expensive, fickle,
| unsupported, inconsistent quality, difficult to set up,
| difficult to source, etc. I don't know if newer options will
| have changed this.
| av500 wrote:
| the Doepfer A187 I returned immediately, it's barely usable. I
| got the OpenTheremin instead and I love it
| lars512 wrote:
| And here I thought it would be the antagonistic
| undecagonstring...
| lproven wrote:
| TRILLIAN:
|
| Zaphod! Please take your hand off me. And the other one. Thank
| you. And the other one.
|
| ZAPHOD:
|
| I grew that one specially for you Trillian, you know that. Took
| me six months but it was worth every minute.
| opminion wrote:
| I recently watched her live, introducing to the Theremin "for
| families", with a pianist. It was ok but too verbose and dumbed
| down (probably not by her, by her hosts). I'd try to attend her
| shows for grown ups instead, even with kids.
|
| This was a case where the novelty of the instrument stood in the
| way of the performance.
| crawsome wrote:
| [flagged]
| alexjplant wrote:
| "Good Vibrations" was actually recorded using an _Electro_
| -Theremin [1] (emphasis mine). It was essentially the same but
| sported more traditional knob controls. Also if you ever hear a
| Theremin-esque noise in an Elmer Bernstein soundtrack like "Heavy
| Metal" it was actually an Ondes Martenot [2] which is distinct
| from and less similar to the classic Theremin.
|
| I'm a lot of fun at parties.
|
| [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electro-Theremin
|
| [2] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ondes_Martenot
| dr_kiszonka wrote:
| Chatting with a theremin expert would _easily_ beat the vast
| majority of my party conversations.
| CoastalCoder wrote:
| I dunno, their explanations would probably be all hand-wavy.
| BrtByte wrote:
| What stood out to me most is how personal the instrument is. The
| idea that the theremin tunes to your body and environment - that
| you become part of the instrument - feels almost mystical
| Al-Khwarizmi wrote:
| Indeed. The drawback is that it's kind of a solitary
| instrument. No one can move near you or they get you out of
| tune :)
| pdpi wrote:
| Rob Scallon did a video with Carolina a few years ago, where they
| go into a bit of detail about how you play the thing and how it
| words. If you're interested in the theremin, it's a pretty good
| watch.
|
| https://youtu.be/LYSGTkNtazo?si=wuqxx0_ojI-vfbwa
| dewster wrote:
| The "digital one" Carolina refers to is my open source D-Lev
| design: https://d-lev.com/
| dewster wrote:
| Here's Carolina playing the D-Lev:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vjJ2SG5cVA
|
| She's a super sweet person, and a consummate musician!
| dr_kiszonka wrote:
| Impressive!
|
| Do you know if there are any affordable "theremin" like MIDI
| control devices that enable free assignment of parameters to
| the antennas? For example, I could have both antennas control
| pitch, independently of each other, and amplitude would be set
| to a fixed value via a knob or on a device that the "theremin"
| sends its output to.
| dewster wrote:
| The D-Lev has a fairly extensive MIDI implementation, and you
| can control any CC with the volume hand (7 or 14 bits), so
| perhaps something like this would be possible if the synth
| it's driving is flexible enough.
|
| Manual: https://d-lev.com/support/D-Lev_Manual_2024-01-08.pdf
| Processor:
| https://d-lev.com/research/Hive_Design_2022-10-24.pdf
| dr_kiszonka wrote:
| Thank you.
| Blackthorn wrote:
| Any plan to sell kits or pieces again? The biggest barrier for
| me (dunno about others) is the faceplate/enclosure.
| dewster wrote:
| There are 50 or so kits spread out all over the world, some
| in the hands of the world's best Thereminists, which has been
| quite gratifying. But the project has been in a bit of a
| hiatus while I do more R&D, and the current tariff situation
| isn't exactly filling me with enthusiasm. Enclosures and
| antennas have been a burden for some, a wine box build is
| probably your best bet. I don't mind supplying hand-wound
| coils and any guidance you may need. My contact info is on
| the support page.
| pmags wrote:
| The synth company SOMA has an interesting new theremin-like synth
| called Flux, that uses magnetic "bows". See:
|
| https://somasynths.com/flux/
| calamity_elf wrote:
| I built a theremin in the early 80s for a school project. Had to
| get the local library to obtain books and other printed resources
| on it so I could make one. Sadly no pictures survive, and the
| device itself is long gone. Didn't think to document it at the
| time, beyond the hand in materials for the project. I was 14. I
| have wondered about getting a modern one though. They're so cool.
| davidw wrote:
| Angelo Moore from Fishbone uses one on occasion, but... IDK, not
| sure I love it compared with, say, his playing other instruments.
| phren0logy wrote:
| If the idea of "spaghetti western theremin" strikes you as at all
| interesting, check out Via Mardot!
|
| https://youtu.be/jfpYluPyP3s?si=ohiXEkdEYoJkFht0
| dang wrote:
| Related. Others? I feel sure that there have been others...
|
| (It's hard to separate music Theremin from spy Theremin so I've
| just not tried)
|
| _Show HN: iOS Theremin Simulator with Hand Tracking (Beta)_ -
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42267668 - Nov 2024 (1
| comment)
|
| _What the hell is a luminiferous theremin?_ -
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41204378 - Aug 2024 (54
| comments)
|
| _The Thing (Listening Device)_ -
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40583607 - June 2024 (1
| comment)
|
| _YouTuber recreates Theremin 's "Great Seal" spy bug [video]_ -
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36092382 - May 2023 (2
| comments)
|
| _The Thing (Listening Device)_ -
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31232681 - May 2022 (1
| comment)
|
| _The Thing (Listening Device)_ -
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27676518 - June 2021 (3
| comments)
|
| _Russian Espionage and Electromagnetic Fields: The Story of the
| Theremin (2017)_ - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23304053
| - May 2020 (24 comments)
|
| _Theremin_ - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23029127 -
| April 2020 (1 comment)
|
| _The Thing_ - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20157116 -
| June 2019 (104 comments)
|
| _Peter Theremin's haunting music, on his great-grandfather's
| invention_ - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17955295 - Sept
| 2018 (1 comment)
|
| _Theremin 's Bug: How the Soviet Union Spied on the US Embassy
| for Seven Years_ - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15498685
| - Oct 2017 (11 comments)
|
| _Three Radio Theremin: Convert Old Radios into a Theremin_ -
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11998382 - June 2016 (1
| comment)
|
| _Our Comrade the Electron_ -
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10437775 - Oct 2015 (1
| comment)
|
| _Theremin_ - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10103717 - Aug
| 2015 (39 comments)
|
| _Our Comrade the Electron_ -
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7310045 - Feb 2014 (2
| comments)
|
| _The Great Seal Bug: How Theremin Eavesdropped On US Ambassador_
| - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4191036 - July 2012 (1
| comment)
|
| _Leon Theremin: The man and the music machine_ -
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3696549 - March 2012 (1
| comment)
| Projectiboga wrote:
| I think I saw her around 1999 or 2000 w an electronic group
| Arling & Cameron w a wind player. Lots of sound from a four
| piece. There is a different player on the album but they billed
| her as a world champion theremin player.
|
| The albums from that time were Arling & Cameron Music For
| Imaginary Films
| https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP5E3f0kgIG2riT_HOfOYwoMr...
| Others were All In & Voulez Vous an EP.
| meta-meta wrote:
| This is timely, I've been listening to Carolina Eyck a lot during
| the past few weeks! I've been building a virtual theremin for the
| Meta Quest, hoping to make this instrument more accessible and
| flexible by leveraging the powers of visual overlays and motion
| controllers. Here's a basic walkthrough:
| https://youtu.be/m8xFstjNxUo?si=ss2wSk1SIG90OWCM
|
| I've been stuck waiting for Meta to verify my identity. Shortly
| after that happens, it'll be available on the Quest store.
| dtgriscom wrote:
| Watching one of her videos, you can see that her theremin has a
| pitch display, showing pitch on a hex grid of LEDs. It must make
| accurate pitch a lot easier (although in no way "easy").
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vjJ2SG5cVA
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