I love it! I believe Matt Bellamy has one built into one of his guitars.

That sound reminds me of when I had tinnitus for a week; it's kind of like having a theremin playing 24/7 in your brain!

The ideal instrument for those with enormous flappy hands.

Hmmm - just seems a wee bit sad to me...

Sad? Surely not! Was in a music shop and they had a big one on display and you can tell everyone was itching to have a go but for some reason they didn’t dare. I did dare, and despite not having played it before, I delighted the entire shop and before I knew it everyone was queuing up to have a go on it. Everyone was in their element. The Theremin has the power to unite all.

The sound doesn't improve when you pull those constipated looks.



Not only is the thremin used on selected science fiction movies (not all). It is also used as the theme tune to Midsomer Murders.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTZK9FNgK74

And to prove the good doctor right, I give you Portishead's Mysterons!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3baifH7bhI&feature=fvsr

Matt Bellamy actually has a Kaoss pad built into his guitar. It would seem the combination of glorious sunshine and hair oil has had a detrimental effect on The Good Doktor's state of mind.

This is so funny. Probably one of the most random videos the good Dr. has ever made! This sounds just like my 'sci-fi' entitled theme on my iphone :D On another note, I want to know what Mark thought of scream 4! Or... SCRE4M???

Kermode, I think that you were hearing something different than what was recorded. Theremins are usually much deeper. here's a pro playing "The Swan"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d899b_Dwb4

Watch this Mark, should make you smile

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyF_UN8g9f0

I think both Theremins and Mark Kermode are fantastic. However, on this occasion one of you is definitely broken.

HAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!!!



This just solidifies that Mark Kermode is the greatest film critic alive.

Bravo and Encore.

My favorite Kermodian instrumental blog post:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/markkermode/2010/03/moon_music.html

Mark is like a kid with a toy in this video. hahaha It's so funny.

@ #11: That is hilarious!

"The greatest musical instrument ever invented"? Really? Greater even than the washboard?

It's probably too late to change it but the film guide shown at 0:40 has Walter Pidgeon's surname spelt incorrectly.

I went to see PJ Harvey live, I'm sure she had one of these. I've definately seen Bill Bailey playing one.

You're lucky to have seen PJ Harvey live. I'd love to see Mark Kermode co-host with PJ Harvey, since she's acted too.

Or even better: Mark Kermode and the Dodge Brothers performing live with PJ Harvey at some concert or for the scoring session of a feature film.



Please make this happen, somebody.

Love to see the good Dr finally getting jiggy with his Theremin. Have seen Bill Bailey play it when he hosted the Empire Awards a few years ago. What a fantastic instrument. A perfect accompaniment to Dr K's hands.



Love all the Theremin video links as well. Makes me want to seek one out and have a go.

I think the sun has gone to your head Dr M

mmm Bonkers!

"You're playing all the wrong notes!"



Andrew Preview

Well, very nice, but I prefer the sound of the Ondes Martenot... *goes to shoot self in face with a pretentiousness gun*

Fair enough Mr Kermode, great blog haha :)

I can't wait for part 2 of this blog when Dr K nails the intro to 'Good Vibrations'.

Doctor Mark Kermode: Master of Variable Oscillation



Would maybe have worked better if the mic was a little nearer?

Rubber? Theremin? Time to to do some proper work

following the sci-fi theme and the speed at which it gets dated these days, eg: being as yesterday (19th april 2011)was the day Skynet was activated, and this thursday is the day it decides to attack humanity (apparently), which Sci-fi do you think has stood the test of time best ?

Dr K is like a kid who got THE BEST PRESENT EVER with his Theremin there. Just look at the playful joy he had when he recreates a 50's B-Movie UFO attack. Although like some things in like the bigger your instrument the better it is, I saw a Theremin almost as tall as me (it was nearly 6ft) in a science museum (I can't remember where, I think it was in Manchester) and the range of pitch and bassline it could make was spine-tingling.

The theremin wasn't just used for sci-fi. Miklos Rozsa used it in Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend to convey the notion of a delirium tremens. Another early electronic instrument without a keyboard was the trautonium, used in Hitchcock's The Birds.

@Chris_Page Yes he does - the red spangly one and one of the black ones, but one of his earlier models had a theramin built into the headstock. Don't think he uses it much now.



Let's not forget of course - Jimmy Page!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_Rlr0FgSVc



Or how about this:-



https://www.youtube.com/user/ooo6#p/u/7/mW0B1sipLBI

And if you want a laugh, here's the deliriously funny madman John Otway showing off his Theremin skills: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsJtVi-5H8U (be patient, the Theremin doesn't appear until 1:20).



Also check out his version of "Crazy Horses".

An interesting note about Mr. Theremin ... he also developed what's considered a precursor of RFID, called "The Thing". It was a listening/eavesdropping device that could be turned on and off remotely (thus bug sweeps couldn't pick it up unless it was activated). One was discovered embedded in a replica of the Great Seal of the US, which was presented to the US Ambassador in Moscow by a group of school children as a gift, and the Ambassador had hung it in his office. It was only discovered by accident after hanging in the office for 7 years in 1952.

(off topic) Has it got to this stage.

https://www.2d-glasses.com/

Kermode goes avant garde. There'll be a Scott Walker fan made of him yet. could someone give him a hurdy gurdy for next year?=]



Seriously tho Mark, if you need a suggestion consider this as an instrument. They're expensive but sound mesmerising, the Hangdrum.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQXn5ba0aT8

Greatest ever Theremin video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9bew2Wdhzc&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

I've never seen the famous flappy hands move so fast!



You need some lessons from Bill Bailey Dr K.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AerCCx7Fas



Also my fave theremin clip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0zQHNmz0gU

The Theremin is the definitive sound of cinematic Sci-Fi. Until you consider the Ondes Martenot. Or the ubiquitous Synthesizer score of the 80's Star Wars clone.



You've kicked a hornet's nest with this one, Dr Flappy Hands!



Bernard Herrmann's Theremin versus Barry Grays' Ondes Martenot.



https://www.containsmoderateperil.com/2011/04/theremin-versus-ondes-martenot.html

I'm reminded of The Good Doctor's review of Little Children. You know, where the artists' piece isn't nearly as strong as they think it is, and so they have to fall back on telling their story via an incredibly dodgy narration.

This Theremin looks homemade,No? It sounds a little tame though. It could be the amp, maybe it has a low signal or possibly its the fact that he's outside. It's definitely a useful instrument or tool. which ever you prefer.

As interesting as its use in early science fiction is, Roque Baños uses the theremin wonderfully with accompanying strings in the soundtrack to "the machinist". Ties in well with the film both haunting and beautiful. Homage to Bernard Herrmann i might add, but thats no bad thing. Definitely check it out.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3YWkgy6-Lk

I love music, films and Dr. K, but this blog seemed a bit pointless and irritating...sorry. :/

Geordie Lennon, fair enough. I think its meant to be lighthearted, but at the same time it points to something so simple as having such an impact on how early sci-fi was experinced and remembered. In other words that sound from a simple antenna and circut has become instantly associated with them early sci-fi films. A lot of these early films have more longevity than some modern sci-fi where a lot more time and money is spent on sound design.

watching that video would make anyone believe that the good doctor had lost the plot

My fave Theremin riff has to be the Star Trek theme. And was that the Wal Mart Theremin in your video?



The real thing has not only a vertical aerial responding to the right hand but a horizontal loop sticking out on the left controlled by the other. So the player raises and lowers the left hand for loudness and brings the right hand in and out for pitch. And as others have said, you should get some deep tones as well from a decent model.

The dog just rolled over and died!



Next week the Moog? (I need to get rid of the cat and a bin is out of the question!)

Actually Léon Theremin first conceived of the instrument as a home security device of all things. Personally, I would love to see in action.



Later Léon Theremin came to see it as an instrument but it was Clara Rockmore who really pioneered the instrument and tried to have it canonised as a serious classical instrument. Unfortunately that was never to be (as Kermode rightfully said, it was notoriously difficult to play) and it was the sci-fi genre that became the final resting place for the instrument.



For more history and to listen to the Theremin played to classical music, check out the podcast www.technicallyclassical.com

The theremin always reminds me of the musical saw, with its fluid, keening sound, which in turn reminds me of Delicatessen. Maybe the good Doctor can learn that next year.

Now hang on dr K - the first lesson in theremin playing is surely that you can play it with *any* part of your body. so putting it on your leg, causing that constant whine, was surely not a great idea. you'd get a larger range of pitches by moving it slightly further away from you...

I'm pretty sure that at the end of 'Good Vibrations' by the Beach Boys has a theremin, am I right?

Mark, several years ago the Beeb did a programme on the Theramin - on BBC2 - it had a lady on who knew Theramin and also was a performer and she played it on the programme - I think it may have been the wonderful Arena programme that I have not seen around for years - oh another good thing cancelled perchance - anyway get Auntie to dig it out and show it on BBC4 its worth another look!

I'm a big 50's sci-fi fan, in film and radio, this reminded me of the public domain Dimension X which is the best radio programme I've ever listened to. The Theremin gets a use in the majority of the programming. I highly reccomend seeking this out to those interested in the sci-fi genre as it has many of the authors who were just coming into fame at the time. An example is a lot of Isaac Asimov on the show. Another interesting quirk is hearing the declaration of war upon Korea in one episode.



Anyway just a friendly tip to those interested in the old practical use of the instrument.

The best Theremin player I have ever seen was a traveling evangelist (a Baptist preacher) who could play any hymn. https://www.setlinc.com/webb/

@Touchfinder I'm sorry, as you can see from my username, I'm a bit of a Muse fan and I'm afraid I have to correct you on that point.



He does not have a theremin sensor in any of his guitars. As someone else pointed out, on his later guitars he has a Kaoss pad but that requires you to actually touch the pad. The most theremin like device he has built in is a Wah Probe, which is a proximity sensor and adds a wah-wah sound to the notes. It can be seen being put to use at the very beginning of this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMWPDtr93sM&feature=fvsr

I heard the famous Good Vibrations Theramin solo was created by a different electronic instrument but not the Theramin.

Thank you for this wonderful post that will surely interest people into the delights of the Theremin. It's good to see you acknowledging such films as 'the Day the Earth Stood still' and indirectly 'Forbidden Planet' which was the 1st electronic music commission for film.

Theremin was a genius in more than one way. From motion detection to the electronic orchestra, but also the predecessor of RFID and wireless devices can be linked to this man. He was widely known, but many mysteries surrounding him remain unresolved. Theremin's life is more interesting than a James Bond movie at its best!!! In 1938 he was kidnapped by the KGB and returned to the USSR. His kidnapping is surrounded by mystery. At the time he was working on new inventions such as a simple video/TV monitoring system and laser type electronics to detect sound vibrations in glass. Helas much of his genius was twisted by the powerful & cruel.



His musical invention - the Theremin - is still very much alive! As a composer and Theremin player I was inspired by Leon Theremin's ideas for Theremin Orchestra and composed a suite for Theremin Ensemble - a video clip of the title song can be found at https://www.colouroftime.com/jamie/emptyplaces. Enjoy!



Jamie O'Callaghan

Nice 3D specs mark