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The theremin (or ‘thereminvox’) is one of the earliest examples of a purely electronic instrument, and enjoys the distinction of being the first instrument designed to be played with no physical contact. The theremin was invented in 1919 by Russian cellist and physicist Lev Sergeivitch Termen (Leon Theremin). Growing out of research into proximity sensors, the theremin exploits the ...

Source: The Illustrated Complete Musical Instruments Handbook, general editor Lucien Jenkins

The theremin was invented by the Franco-Russian physicist Lev Theremin (or Termen) in 1920. It is unique in the manner by which it is played, as the performer never actually touches the instrument. When the player’s hand approaches or retreats from a vertical antenna, the sound generated by two radio-frequency oscillators swings up or down. The pitch can vary ...

Source: Classical Music Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

although it was also used by Stravinsky as a compositional aid, anticipating a similar use of the sequencer by 80 years. Early electronic instruments included the telharmonium, the theremin, the ondes martenot and the trautonium, but of these only the ondes martenot enjoyed much notoriety, thanks mainly to composers such as Olivier Messiaen (1908–92) who incorporated ...

Source: The Illustrated Complete Musical Instruments Handbook, general editor Lucien Jenkins

user to programme rhythmic patterns that can be chained together into songs. Rhythm Machines The history of the drum machine dates back as far as the 1930s, when Leon Theremin (1896–1993) was commissioned by composer Henry Cowell (1897–1965) to produce the hugely complicated Rhythmicon rhythm machine. The rhythm machines of the 1960s tended to be built into electronic organs to ...

Source: The Illustrated Complete Musical Instruments Handbook, general editor Lucien Jenkins

piano in his ballet score Roses de metal; despite his interest, Varèse himself never collaborated with Bertrand in developing new electronic instruments. In 1931, Cowell collaborated with Lev Theremin on developing an electronic machine capable of playing polyrhythmic music, the ‘rhythmicon’. Cowell also wrote a concerto specially for it, performed in 1971, with a computer, ...

Source: Classical Music Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

this way, string players can use their instruments to trigger the sounds found in all MIDI synthesizer and sampler sound sources. Introduction | Electric & Electronic Instruments Instruments | Theremin | Electric & Electronic ...

Source: The Illustrated Complete Musical Instruments Handbook, general editor Lucien Jenkins

and groaning electronic hurdy-gurdy. One gramophone recording of their performance survives; the instruments themselves were destroyed in World War II. Styles & Forms | Modern Era | Classical Instruments | Theremin | Modern Era | Classical ...

Source: Classical Music Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

The ondes martenot (‘martenot waves’) was invented in 1928 by French inventor and cellist, Maurice Martenot. Martenot had met his Russian counterpart, Leon Theremin, in 1923 and the two of them had discussed possible improvements to Theremin’s eponymous instrument. In fact, Martenot’s instrument was patented under the name Perfectionnements aux instruments de musique électriques (‘improvements to electronic ...

Source: The Illustrated Complete Musical Instruments Handbook, general editor Lucien Jenkins

Futurism are still inherent in techno and electro, in which contemporary electronic styles try to define and capture the essence of the post-industrial world. By the 1920s, Leon Theremin had developed the theremin instrument, whose spooky, otherworldly sound was used in numerous Hollywood soundtracks. The rock band Led Zeppelin used it during the 1970s, and the ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music, general editor Paul Du Noyer

The lead guitarist in Radiohead, Jonny Greenwood, has straddled the line between dissonance and resonance, noise and melody. His arsenal of effects, virtuosity and unconventional phrasing have been key features in this very English band’s development. No wonder Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour is a fan. ‘They’ve done some very good things. I can see why people make ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin

America’s most successful pop group, graduating from fun-in-the-California-sun surf and hot-rod songs to multi-textured, intricately arranged numbers of exquisite harmonic structure, The Beach Boys initially achieved fame with a line-up consisting of the Wilson brothers, Brian (born 20 June 1942), Dennis (1944–83) and Carl (1946–98), together with their cousin Mike Love (born 15 March 1941) and Brian’s ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley

1959, and it also inspired Denny’s bandmate Arthur Lyman, who had a hit with ‘Yellow Bird’ in 1961. Back in 1948, Baxter had also experimented with a theremin, one of the world’s first electronic instruments, combining its eerie, otherwordly sound with a choir, rhythm section, cello and French horn. The result, an ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music, general editor Paul Du Noyer

objectivity. The Futurist manifestos of the Italian painter Luigi Russolo advocated using modern sounds for the new age. Parallel to his aesthetics and technical experiments were the development of the theremin by the Russian Lev Theremin in 1920 and the ondes martenot by the Frenchman Maurice Martenot in 1928. Modern composers have sought new sounds and often favoured the instruments least ...

Source: Classical Music Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

The early twentieth century also saw the development of the first electronic instruments. Before the famous Hammond organ in 1929 came Thaddeus Cahill’s telharmonium in 1906, Lev Theremin’s eponymous theremin in 1920 and the ondes martenot, named after its French inventor Maurice Martenot, in 1928. The latter, with its uninterrupted pitch continuum and its eerie, hollow ...

Source: Classical Music Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

a rock show to judge all other shows by. On the 11th, however, the familiar bad luck struck again when it rained on the outdoor stage and Page’s theremin broke down. Never looking to let the band enjoy a good thing for too long, the press slated the show for being the sort of dated, progressive-rock experience ...

Source: Led Zeppelin Revealed, by Jason Draper
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