Good Vibrations

The story of Leon Theremin's cosmic instrument.

By Neil Gladstone

You might not know what a theremin is, but you probably know what it sounds like: "Oooooeeeeeeoooooo." It's the characteristic sound of 1950s science fiction thrillers. In those days, no self-respecting UFO would hover without a theremin's shrill soprano flittering in the background: The Day the Earth Stood Still, Spellbound and The Bride of Frankenstein are just a few of its soundtrack credits. You might also recognize the eerie sound as the infamous hook in The Beach Boys'"Good Vibrations."

Leon Theremin invented the ethereal instrument in 1920 when he was 21 years old. The documentary Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey (which premieres at the Neighborhood Film/ Video Project on Wednesday) explains how this simple, vacuum-tube instrument was the forefather of synthesizers and why its Russian inventor was persecuted and utilized by the KGB for his genius. In 1991, filmmaker Steven M. Martin traveled to Russia to interview Theremin, and brought him back to the U.S. to document a reunion with his New York protgs. The inventor never saw the finished film — he died in 1993 at the age of 97.

Theremin did more for electronic music than anyone, says synthesizer pioneer Robert Moog in the documentary. Moog began building theremins when he was a teenager in the 1940s and continued throughout high school. The musical understanding imparted to him through those electronic experiments quickly translated into the filters and oscillators found in the early Moog synths. Moog built and sold theremins long before he invented his synthesizers. Even today, long after he's gotten out of the unprofitable synth business, Moog makes theremins out of a small factory in North Carolina.

"Once every 30 years people get them out of their closets, realize they can't play them and put them back," says Walter Sear, who's been a professional player for over 30 years and consulted director Steven M. Martin on Electronic Odyssey. After a long period of disinterest in the theremin, recent recordings by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Pere Ubu, and the Coctails have featured the instrument. Sear's recent theremin contributions include appearances with Ann Magnuson, Soul Coughing and on the soundtrack to Ed Wood.

"They were almost done with that film and they realized there wasn't any music for the closing credits," says Sear. "A friend of mine working on the film called me up and said, 'c'mon, you're the only person in New York who knows how to read music and play the theremin.'"

Sear says he studied the theremin for two years before he'd play it in public. There are no instructional books available. Ruth Greiner, a Bala Cynwyd-based theremin player, says that you have to know notes by ear since there are no reference points like a keyboard to reassure you.

The instrument, which is little more than two antennas sticking out of a wooden box, doesn't have an exact method for play. In the most common design, a vertical pitch antenna rod is located on the right hand corner of a wooden cabinet. A tubular loop for controlling volume juts out of the cabinet's left side. By moving one's hands in front of the antennas and altering their electronic fields, the instrument creates a sound similar to a bowed saw.

For example, when the player's hand is 19 inches away from the pitch antenna it should give off a pitch two and a half octaves below middle C. A note 2 1/2 octaves above middle C can be made by almost touching the vertical rod. The volume antenna works along a similar principal. The nearer one's hand to the semi-circle, the softer the sound.

One of the few players who mastered more than the basics is Clara Rockmore. She met Leon Theremin soon after he moved to New York City in 1927. Rockmore was an 18-year-old Russian violin prodigy courted by the inventor, who was then in his late '20s.

"I studied the theremin to play serious music like Bach," says Rockmore in Electronic Odyssey, scoffing at its use in sci-fi soundtracks. The theremin impresario often gave many concerts with symphonies during her professional career, including the Philadelphia Orchestra. When she plays, it appears as if she's conducting a seance. Her body remains still because any jerky motion will produce the wrong pitch. Rockmore's own sign language projects notes from her hands. Her music can be found throughout the documentary as well as the CD, The Art of the Theremin (Delos), where she's accompanied by pianist Nadia Reisenberg.

Greiner appreciates the instrument for it's heavenly qualities. She's always had an affection for distinctive instruments like the glass harp and hand bells. She puts the theremin in the same realm as a violin or cello. As a representative of the Family Christian Organization, the 64-year-old travels with her husband to churches across America and Canada, playing hymns on the theremin.

The instrument's most famous musical appearance is on the Beach Boys'"Good Vibrations." The 65-year-old Sear was a dealer of Moog-made theremins in the '60s when the California-based group bought the instrument that appears on that record.

"The Beach Boys came into the store and tried to play the theremin and all they got were burps," says the Temple graduate who moved to New York decades ago. "They said to me, 'hey we're guitar players we don't know how to play this kind of stuff, can't you make something like a guitar for us.'"

Sear gave Moog a call and relayed the group's request. Moog developed an attachment that would allow the group to change the theremin's pitch by pressing a finger to a metal strip. That feature turned out to be an important interim step between the theremin and synthesizer.

Selling theremins was always difficult, says Sear. Initially they were mass produced by RCA in 1929 and cost $600. The Depression wiped out any market the instrument might have had. Only 250 theremins were ever made by the company.

When Sear was a dealer in the late '50s and early '60s, he gave a demonstration of the instrument on Captain Kangaroo and also awarded a few as quiz show prizes to try to rustle up business. No luck. He and Moog went out of the theremin business in favor of low-end amplifiers and then synthesizers. Moog would later return to making theremins and Sear went on to open his recording studio Searsound, where he still works today.

Today, a Moog-made, professional quality theremin will cost between $2,000-$3,000. Home assembled kits can be found, costing anywhere from $100 to $400, but Sear warns against their quality.

"You just don't get the same range or depth of sound in the transistor kits that you used to get in the old tube ones," he notes. "There was a just a bit of distortion that gave the instrument its distinct quality."

The World Wide Web has over ten sites devoted to the theremin. Everything from Leo Theremin biographies to schematic plans for the instrument are available. The Theremin Enthusiasts Club International boasts 100 plus members, looking for everything from used parts to rare Jon Spencer records.

If you're interested in acquiring a theremin, you can contact PAia Electronics at 3200 Teakwood Lane, Edmond, OK 73013. They offer a kit which costs around $100. Bob Moog's company, Big Briar, will soon have a kit available that costs $229. Included with it is Clara Rockmore's CD and a videotape of Leo Theremin's niece, Lydia Kavina, playing the instrument. Big Briar is located at 554-C Riverside Dr., Asheville, NC 28801, (800) 948-1990.

Ruth Greiner will be performing with her theremin at the International House's first show of Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey on Wed., Nov. 29 at 7 p.m.