Maybe something in the "B.R.A.S.S" principles of marksmanship will help someone starting out with ~general mechanics~ of theremining. The principles can relate to any fingering method, loop execution, instrument, or body type.

I used to be "really into" marksmanship and target practicing during the years I was a soldier. (USAF) (yes, alas, I've taken more awards, more exclamations of virtuosity, with weapons than with any theremin...)

This is something I brought to the theremin from my life and it helped me in the early theremining stages.

B Breath-

The longer you hold your breath, the more your body WILL wobble.

You can try this, by facing and standing in a corner. Hold your breath as long as you can, and watch and be aware of your body during this. Hold out your arms when you do this.

If you find yourself holding your breath getting through that "tricky theremin passage", there may be trouble. Oh, you probably will make it through those notes, but chances are you will mess up ~just after~ on the following note targets because your brain & body is shifting/adjusting to new Oxygen levels.

R Relax-

Level breathing.

Relax your shoulders by Mostly IMAGINING them being ~gently~ pulled/pressed straight down ~through~ your body to the floor. Are your knees locked or carrying too much tension? (This tension causes less blood flow to the brain and upper extremities. It will affect aim.)

A Aim -

You may be a "feeling aim" person with the theremin, one who plays the sound vector with their eyes closed. (May the Force be with you...) You may be a "visual aim" person, with a referent (a dot, the pitch antenna, that spot on the wall or floor....) Or a "mechanical fingering system" muscle memory aim person. Most are a "combo people" merging everything.

Let the composition execution dictate your body and eyes,...not your ~emotions~ dictating transitional movements. If you start getting too emotional in your body and mind ~because~ of the sound, you may be setting yourself up for non-essential and unpredictable (unplanned) movement. (oops! notes)

I saw this in videos of myself. I think the better grasp you have of exactly where in space your arms/fingers are (especially the ones that are NOT creating sound at the moment) this will help with the theremin. I think it allows you to "have more time" to plan ahead for your next resources, by knowing exactly where 'everybody' is stationed at EVERY second. Who knows? You may gain some speed along with that accuracy! ~We play space and time for sound~.

S Still-

Where your EYES go, the HEAD will follow.

It happens EVER so slightly. Some won't even be able to discern it. You may try this by quickly moving your eyes to the right or left, or up and down. It takes a little thought to do this without moving the head ~at all~. We are not robots.

Where your HEAD goes, the BODY will follow ever so slightly. You may examine yourself in a mirror with the eyes and head thing, or better yet, have someone else watch you.

It's all 'linked'.... Our eyes evolved how and where they are to ensure our survival. (aim)

Predators have eyes in front of their heads like: us, big cats, etc. Grazing and herd animals have eyes more on the sides of their heads. A fraction of an inch of movement across a distance of two football fields creates a vector a great deal away from the center of your target mass. Granted, the pitch antenna is not THAT far away; however, the idea here is ~awareness~.

The theremin is really not about being perfectly still; rather, it is being aware of When it is OK to allow yourself to move. (Leave mental bread crumbs...know exactly where you're going and how to 'get back'!)

S Sound-

Time to squeeze the shot, play the note, the sound! ~OOOOOoooEEEEeeeeeAHHHhhhh!~

If you are a good and true marksman, the SOUND of the shot will always "surprise you".

If you are a good performing thereminist, NO SOUND you create with the theremin will ever "surprise you"!!!!

Try the B.R.A.S.S. principles of marksmanship while learning your theremin.

Best of luck to you and may all your sights be true.

Hey! Thanks for spending so much time with Intissar!

 I have selected these from my “theremin journal” for your enjoyment. They might help you to “play better” too! ????

 “See ‘dem hands!”

If I was a man, and the woman was VERY well endowed, I’d likely NOT be conversing with her chest. Eye contact would be on the hands. A person’s >hands< now, have become “the eyes”, for me.

I stood before a mirror and did the “pat your head and rub your tummy” thing. I watched my hands. (My spouse watched me only for a second; instantly concluded, “this must be some sort of normal theremin-related behavior”, and casually asked me “where the TV remote was.”) (God Bless and Keep the spouse of a theremin junkie.)

I made a point to /feel/ what my hands and arms were doing.

Pat, rub, pat, rub….now reverse hands….pat, rub, pat, rub…watch, feel. Now start slowly and speed up! Speed Up! SPEED UP UP UP!!!    THERE!  That’s IT!!

If you are like most people, what can happen on this exercise is a compromise or “blending” of the two distinct motions. You get a “patrub” action. Especially when you move faster and faster.  You may learn that one set of hand selection is easier than the other.             ( “patrub”   ???    Ew.    That does not even sound like something good.)

So what?

I learned this concept of “controlled-distinct-independent-interdependent-motion”

(C D I I M)   (“see ‘dem) (hahahhahaa!) is more important on the theremin than I cared about at the time.

And it is important on a continuous nano-second level when playing.

Sometimes I “get used to” playing along, repeating, repeating a song and noticed I was slowly letting the motions of the right and left hand become blended. Oh, it is very subtle to be sure, and most people won’t have a bloody clue /what?/ I am talking about.

Let’s put it down like this:

I notice HAVING to use this CDIIM awareness the MOST for this song. “Signore, ascolta!”  (posted: “Hear me Play”)

Maybe listening, and/or even playing along with me will “show” you what I mean, even though I have not a “perfected example” to present. The concept is clearer in my MIND right now than I have the ability to manifest on the theremin.

Just doing a few silly exercises and observations may cause you to be more aware of your hands, fingers, and arms. Which is always a good thing for the thereminist.

BUT THEN….. there is a magical, mystical point you go to sometimes- where your hands and fingers are doing MORE than you physically feel them doing.

It is so cool.

It is ~beyond~ the body and the mechanics.

I think it is from the soul?

(This behavior is rare for me.)

One day, after a positively /slovenly/ 3 days of not bathing, 8 days of only being able “to look” at my theremins; and a “Final Crescendo!” of wiping my tears and blowing my nose on my >pajama top<  Suddenly, I thought!! “Hey, I’m not going to waste “all this”.

I turned on the VOX, fumbled with the recorder, played a song.

I just wanted a recording of it “as it happened” type of thing. No, it was not my best; but was my most raw.              I realized:

There is /so much / to actually ~try~ to bring to your craft. (as if theremining isn’t hard enough!) Along with “everything else”…try to “put in”/ include my suffering, joys, life, too. 

I think that is the difference between “playing a song” and “making music”.  ????

“communicating music”. ????

(now, if I could just get my >hands< to do “all that”!)

hahahaha!

I turned off the creative appliances, and went for the longest shower of my life!!!

Hahahahaha!

I thought about burning the pajamas, but instead, honored them, cleansed them, and stored them away….forever.

ENERGY HANDS

(I shared this text with other thereminists, and it proved stimulating, enjoyable.)

We bring to a new craft (in my case, theremining) what we learn from other crafts. I “did art” for several years.

I learned with visual arts…you can  “be right on” with Most elements and “get close” with a Few elements and still effectively convey your message/emotion.

I am learning--with MUSIC… getting “close” on Any element of the composition… just Can’t cut it. If ALL your elements are not “ON” the whole ‘chain’ is compromised; therefore your entire finished product ‘doesn’t cut it’; hence- the music sounds “bad”, “boring”, “amateurish”, meaningless, etc.

Hands are difficult to draw, and often “exercises” in drawing hands would be done; much like a musician would practice scales.

There are no structural skeletal differences between a male and female hand. A lady skeleton has a larger pelvis bone. (childbirth) Other than that, skeletons are pretty equal.

I believe better theremin players possess “Feminine Energy Hands”. There may be no skeletal differences, but most females do USE their hands differently than most males. One quick example: Look at your fingernails. Go ahead and look at them.  Most females will hold their hand out in front of them like a flat fan shape display.  Most males will cup their fingers together folded to their palm like a paw. (My survey on this: 50 women and 50 men of various ages, asked once: Women=41 fan, 9 paw. Men=7 fan, 43 paw.) Whether you are a ‘fan’ or a ‘paw’ for this test…says little towards possessing “Feminine Energy Hands”. Only, women on this survey did use their hands differently. Repeat surveys, your surveys, may vary.

Feminine Energy Hands are a smaller, denser “energy space” hand. Clara Rockmore probably has the most feminine energy hands going. Pamelia Kirsten has feminine energy hands. Males can have feminine energy hands. (Peter Pringle)

Why do I think this is a GOOD thing with the theremin and it’s musical expression?

Think of your pitch hand as a paintbrush or “nib” that is painting in space.

If your nib (hand) is of large Energy Volume, then you will make a wider mark. If your nib is smaller, you can create MORE DETAILS in the same amount of space (note) with the “paint”(sound). A pen can create more detail than a magic marker.

Dr. Hoffman, in my opinion, had an almost totally masculine energy hand. I hear this in his almost Consistent rate of ‘assertive’ vibrato, and the somewhat Consistent rate of volume in which he brings a note to its first awareness, and lets it vanish. The energy of the hands conveys to me “a large nib”, as evidenced by the sound – which is not exactly brimming over with individual note detail and musical nuance. Nuance!

THAT is the word, quality, lacking in the total absence of feminine energy hands.

Of course, creating ‘fantastic detail’ on the Incorrect Pitch, is….well…like being dressed up all fancy, and walking around with a stream of  toilet paper trailing from your shoe. If your sense of pitch is “improving”, you’ll KNOW it’s hanging there, but won’t be able to “reach” it (just yet) to pull it free. If your sense of pitch is “bad” and you don’t know this, you won’t know the paper is stuck there…but everyone else will.

(Knowing WHAT details to create in the first place, and what to Leave Out—AND doing it ALL correctly….ahhh, THAT is what makes someone an ARTIST in their craft, “creating music”-- rather than being just a ‘theremin player playing songs’, with some tissue stuck to their shoe!)

popcorn…3-D glasses… and now….“THE BEAST WITH FOURTEEN FEET!”

Thereminists are for the most part, self-taught. It’s just the way it turns out for most people because of many factors, and the dynamics of the instrument itself.

This section could best be described as “True Theremin Confessions”.  Things I have done along the way to teach myself this kooky kraft.

I place my theremin on a small oriental rug. Concerned I should be standing in the same place, each time; I took a black SHARPIE® magic marker and made an outline of my feet on to the rug.  “Take THAT!!” “Ha!” “Uhm….security….” “This is my map!”

Then, I realized several weeks later, that “Hey, I think I could play a little better if I stood “here”.”  Got out a >RED<  SHARPIE® and traced /that/ outline.

ON and ON this goes, in varied time increments.

Positioning.

Deciding.

Tracing.

Happy.

Sad.

Happy.

“Double Daggers of Death!"  Eventually I’m running out of magic marker colors, and have what looks to be a Kandinsky-meets-Miro rendering on my oriental rug – that now takes me a full three minutes to decipher “just exactly WHERE” the last “spot” IS-- where I SHOULD be standing.

Oh! The rug (cheapo one) is “ruined”, and I now have all these SHARPIES® cluttering up my desk, and more than that --- my personal BELIEF SYSTEM of TRAINING on this issue has been totally unseated.

Hahahahahahahaha!

Eventually I learned it doesn’t matter much exactly where I stand, and “what note” was the lowest note I could reach and play (or the highest). I got to a point where “I just knew” when it “felt right”, and knew where to be.

I still keep the rug under my Vox. I like to giggle when I see the tracings. It is an artwork that is special to me: looks like --  “progress underfoot”.     (smile)

“HEY! I can see the STRING!”

I must confess, at times I enjoy bad, cheesy movies. I don’t really go looking for it, but get a kick out of “seeing the string” that has helped the flying saucer to “fly”, or make the monster’s appendage move.

Early on in my theremin self-teaching, I was quite blind to “seeing” all these notes in the AIR.  (I am not alone on this.)

I decided to rig up a string (fishing line) with tiny beads attached to it, across the playing arc of the instrument’s “force field”. Hahahahaha! (I am not alone on this concept either.)  Doing this in such a way that would make the instrument playable took some creativity, since nothing can touch the antenna itself.

Well, that just didn’t work.  Period.   That’s all I can say about it.

So…..I began “thinking”.  Again.  “I don’t know.”  “Who knows?”  “Maybe only The Shadow Knows?”  (see next story for Plan “B”)

Plan “B”

I rigged up a spotlight in such a way whereby it would shine a light on my hands as they were moving in space. THE SHADOW of my hands would “project” across to a sheet of heavy poster board – which had an intricate “grid-note” affair drawn on it. (Yes. I got to use the abandoned SHARPIES® for this part.)

….uhm…although this was a very interesting concept, and I was thrilled I had found a new use for my SHARPIES®,  it….uhm….this didn’t “work” either.

Hahahahahahaha!

So, let’s “review”.  What have I got?

1 ea: Big Briar Etherwave Theremin.

1 ea:  Oriental rug, blemished.

6 ea: asst. colors: SHARPIES® pens, fate unknown.

16 ft: monofilament fishing line, tangled.

1 ea:  half used tube of Super Glue®, useless, since once you open it, it usually “goes bad” or something by the next time you need it.

21 ea: asst. colors: 6mm plastic beads, glued to tangled line.

1 ea: “40 x 60” Foamcore® poster board with interesting, but useless, grid design.

1 ea:  work light fixture, garage bound.

4ea:  nail holes in sheet rock wall to Spackle over.

I suppose I realized, at this point, there are “no shortcuts” to learning or playing this instrument.     Period.  It’s HARD!   Period. 

I also realize, now, that a good half of this “theremin business” is repairing the “damage” that you put there in the first place when teaching yourself on it. (Spackling Holes) With the theremin learning process, frequently, all you are left with is the process of “spackling holes”.

I find myself actually doing a lot of “un-learning”.

Learning how to do less and less while playing the instrument, while keeping “the just right” executions.

ENJOY your theremin time, theremin life!!  It is a banquet, you know!  Thank you for sitting at my table today!!

I appreciate it.

(smile)

WHAT EVERY `THEREMIN PLAYER MUST READ

This page is ONLY for those who play and practice the theremin.

THINKING on this WILL make you a better player.

It will help you "get a grip." 

It will surely make some people angry.  Oh well.... Get your OWN site and tout your own personal denomination of  "Thereminism".

       FOOD FOR THOUGHT 

They are listed in no particular order or theme.  I will add to it periodically by putting the newer blurbs at the beginning of the text, so you won't have to scroll down to find them.

You are going to be better on this instrument if you have the following:

1. excellent sense of pitch.

2. ability to remain absolutely still.

3. good manual skills and muscle memory

4. a knowledge of music learned on an instrument other than the theremin.

5. a daily block of good time, or better yet, several of them- in which to practice.

6. a method, road map of learning.

7. patience    

8. those in your midst who support your endeavors (notice I did not say "glorify" them)

9. a sense of objectivity and accuracy pertaining to your progress and level of play.

10. all of the above, and maybe then some.

A road map for learning you might try is available at  davestvox@hotmail.com.

A book written by Mrs. Rockmore (Clara Rockmore: Method for the Theremin)  to be accompanied  with the Big Briar video: "Clara Rockmore: The Greatest Theremin Virtuosa."

 The book is free.  A small donation is appreciated.  About $6.00 covers printing, postage, and handling.

Clara Rockmore brought the theremin to life. 
She brought her violin qualities to it. Hear it?

A friend of mine heard part of the CD and asked me, "Why not just play violin?'

I can further extrapolate the theremin can sound "flute like", "string like", and "voice like."

So what good is it?  Why not just leave all that to the flutes, strings, and opera singers?

Because it is 'not exactly' like any of those?  Because it can be ALL of those? Because of it's range?

I'm just munching on food here..... AND have limited observation of everything out there.

I DON'T CLAIM to have all the answers.  What do YOU want to bring to the theremin?

THE WHOLE THEREMIN THING IS A 'DIVINE MISTAKE'.

A "found" object turned into something else.

A brilliant "tekkie" and a brilliant musician MAKING "this sound" turn into a usable device for music.  Which came first? The theremin or the sound?  The sound did, and quite by accident.

VIBRATO

accomplished by movement of the forearm ONLY.

not the wrist, not the entire arm, not the fingers, not by shaking your entire body vigorously!

It is the only way it can be done accurately and maintain ever present control.

You need to POLISH, NOT POKE .

Imagine holding a q-tip in your thumb and forefinger, and that you are polishing a dime.

If you use aerial fingering, it IS a back and forth motion.

The theremin is a precision musical instrument. Probably the most responsive on the planet.

The only "MAGIC" involved is what you see from the audience when done well.

It's HARD.  What makes you think you can just stand behind it "and intuit" it?  Like handing the keys to an F-16 to a sixteen year old and saying:  "Oh yeah, take it out for a spin... just "get into" it." YOU'LL NEVER GET OFF THE GROUND - BUT THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE WILL BE 'COOL'  A PROPER REGIMEN of training and practice for a VERY LONG time is the only thing that will do it.

"Oh, but Intissar, I AM doing it!" (see Freudian Theremin)

You sure about that?  Are you REALLY creating MUSIC?   Sure, your friends and co-workers and those "easily amazed" ARE going to tell you how "good" you are-- and how "cool" that was.  Not too many people have that TRUE friend that is going to tell you in the midst of all your glory:  "That one note was a "doozey", did you hear it?  But you did well on the trill" or "I think your pitch was off on a few places here and there, let me show you what I mean."  "Keep practicing, you are on to something, but you need work on. separating the notes."  You want to be a "NOVELTY", or do you want to BE ACCOMPLISHED?  BECAUSE the instrument is still so different, and unique -- the commercial genre is quick to scoop it up -- CRAP does sell.

THE MORE 'CRAP' SELLS, THE MORE "ART" DIES.

THE LESS TRUE ARTISTS SHARE WITH THE MASSES
 THE MORE 'CRAP' SELLS.

Soon we are all wading knee deep in a STANDARD of crap…..

and endangering the very existence of ART.

Forgive me, "crap" is not a very dignified or lady like word --- but it makes me angry!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Take many frequent audio (and audio visual) checks of yourself.  LISTEN.

Better yet, invite a professional musician or music teacher to your home. Someone you've never met.  Ask them to assess the MUSIC.

Don't SHAME the theremin.  Present it on a good level.  There is so much "experimental" HOOEY out there.

SHAME ON ALL OF US!!

Technique

Sorry folks, I've tried them all and then some which probably have never before existed.

AERIAL FINGERING  (like Clara Rockmore uses) IS THE BEST METHOD.

Oh, I can hear it coming already........  What about Ms. Kavina?  SHE doesn't use that style!!!

Yeah, and (I DO have genuine empathy) I bet her hand and arm is in a state of some form of pain on a regular basis.  What "may work", may not be the most efficient for our muscles and skeleton, OR for rapid articulation etc. To "get good" at this, you are going to be giving your tendons, muscles, and skeleton a Roman Gladiator work out on a regular basis.  Some styles will LIMIT YOUR REPERTOIRE, such as an open hand style.  Some styles will work for short periods, then you feel like your arm is going to FALL OFF, ( and you WISH it would)      Choose your style wisely.  Even more carefully than a spouse.  To "get good" at theremining will take LONGER than most MARRIAGES survive.

On watching and hearing a video tape of yourself:

                If you watch in HORROR AND ANGST, this CAN  be a GOOD thing.

DAY ONE:  watch in horror, cry. Skip dinner and opt for the box of GODIVA'S on the coffee table.

DAY TWO: be cranky with everyone around you, cry at times. Do not theremin today. "I'll show you!"

DAY THREE:  re watch video over and over and over again and FIND OUT WHY you "play so badly."

DAY FOUR:  place videos in your secret hiding place known only to you. Go over your "bad  list."

DAY FIVE:  Work the list. Practice. Listen. Rework. Reposition. Retune. THINK.

DAY SIX:  Keep working, practicing.

DAY SEVEN:  Bask in the joy of the improvements you  SHALL see. These improvements are like DIAMONDS - they are small but precious.  Don't bask too long, you'll get a sunburn.  Keep practicing until the next horror show.  The NEXT horror show should be scheduled when the thought occurs "Yeah, I've been getting pretty good at this for a while now."

If you watch and think, "That was perfect!"  Chances are you have a "problem" that OTHERS CAN SEE,  but YOU cannot.    >>>>"SEND IN THE CLOWNS!">>>>>> and THEY'LL be singing "Isn't this rich!"

And now boys and girls….you've read through this far-- it is time for a bedtime story.

I dedicate this to a winter visitor from Canada.

THE THEREMIN HIGHWAY

"US Theremin Route 99"

"Are we there yet?"

Yes, I'm driving around this desert in a poky Plymouth Reliant (etherwave), totally lost. (women drivers  admit this out loud)  The kids in the back seat (fingers) are unruly, misbehaving, and don't know the proper way to act. My too high and mighty partner sitting next to me (right arm) is not doing much to help, and I'm hitting pot hole after pot hole (bad notes) in the road.  I have to adjust my car seat (playing arc, tuning) every time I turn around to scold the family, and this adds to my irritation.  Grandma (left hand/arm) just sits back there not saying a thing, she never does,  staring out the window.  (What's HER story?)  To top it off, I'm not sure I have a license to drive in the first place.(what it takes to possibly learn and present it on a competent and enjoyable level)   The radio tuner is stuck on "Your 24-hour  Calliope Station!"

The severe scenery on "US Theremin  Route 99" is strewn with the occasional horror of bleached bones, scavengers emitting sonic farts, abandoned vehicles; bland, repeating wasteland; (crap)  and the hitchhiker you'll never know.(destiny/future)  A few beautiful, blazing wild flowers crop up just to let you know that life is possible for some there.    (Clara, you desert bloom, you!)     Sign posts are rare, (instructions, "self" 'improvements')  and one fitfully learns, at times, 'not to be followed.'  Occasionally, a bus  filled with Cyber Inter Net Tekkies, Metaphysicalists, The Easily Amazed, The Unaware, and Rube Clown Clones travels by.   It has square wheels, and a requirement:  "All Bus Driver's Must Be Legally Blind."  There is no radio on board.  They create their own sounds. They have the illusion of "going very fast", because they don't know they are lost. They are a happy lot.

---- "Listen!, stop that poking!" "Are you polishing all those dimes I threw back there?"

----- "hey..hey HEY!.... You all had better quiet down back there."  "O.K., that's IT!"  "I'm stopping this car and getting  OUT."

"You're leaving us here?"

-----"Oh yes."

"What will become of us?"

-----"I've got a different ride coming (EtherVOX), and will bring  road maps & guides so I don't get lost. (books, pitch/voice training, equipment, more practice time, more horror videos of myself; whatever can help me)."

"And us, the family you created and love?"

-----"You'll probably die out here."    (saying good bye to methods, etc. that aren't working, getting a grip)

And Intissar walks away into the orange orb that is the setting sun, and meets up with the hitchhiker.

He says to her…"You may like the next ride, Intissar", (He knows my name? He knows everybody's name)

 "but just may find it will lead you to No Where."

She walks away from him, and calls back   "It's a chance I have to take."    He smiles and nods.