How to position your arms/elbow when playing...

I hope what I will be typing makes some sort of sense!

When I posted my video displaying such sloppy playing of Pie Jesu, a lot of comments I received were pointing out that my theremin's height was too high for me.

so I took its legs off and put my theremin on tables that had different heights and I am still a little inconclusive in the results...

I don't recall who said that or if I read it in the archives here that ideal playing would be in the realm of the middle of the pitch antennae. Ok that makes some sense, but then the other question is how much your elbows be bent to maximise playing time and accuracy without getting physically tired ?

90 degree? 45 degree? Some move their elbows on the side and some leave them down. Some leave their arms close to their body and bring their body closer to the Theremin. I know it is all about preference but it seems that I cannot find my own preference yet. I keep changing and I am annoying myself doing that lol.

Thanks for reading my rambling mind... :)

Too high a playing height exacerbated a LH elbow injury I had to full blown tennis elbow, which required 3 months of physical therapy to correct.

You volume arm should be above the loop when the forearm is horizontal.

Your arms should not be tense. Your pitch hand should be close to the body. Lydia K. told me this at Etherfest 2008 when I was just about over the tennis elbow.

Peter P. uses a martial arts stance.

If you are in a correct stance you can play for a long time. Pain is an indication that something isn't right. Stop playing if it hurts and examine what is wrong.

Philip Neidlinger

I'm the one who (most recently) mentioned that playing to the middle of the pitch rod will yield the most consistant results.

The more relaxed and efficient your technique is, the more endurance you will have and the more fluid your playing will be.

We can't tell you what works best for you. Only you can decide that. If nothing else, for those who don't quit in a very short time, the theremin teaches (and demands) patience. Unless you are one of the very few extremely gifted people, learning to play the theremin will be a marathon - not a sprint.

"All good things to those who wait." From what we've heard so far, I don't think you'll have to wait all that long.

Thank you both for replying...
I am not really tired when I play, I just wanted to bounce some thoughts with all of you on the position of the elbow cause I don't want to get tired when I play :)

Actually practice was awesome tonight. I think I am getting somewhere :) I keep my pitch arm close to my body - it feels more natural for me :)

Awww Jeff - you are so sweet - I'll be marathoning for a while, that's for sure :)

Awww, shucks. *blushing*

I base that prediction partly on the fact that you already have (as far as I can tell) excellent pitch perception - judging by your vocal abilities. That's at least half of the battle.

FWIW - (Just for reference.)
I know I used to play with my pitch elbow about 45 degrees or more from my side. Now, both arms hang *loosely* at my side. My left arm will rise when I want to play really loud. My right (pitch) arm will move up slightly depending on what I ask of it.

Take that for what it's worth since , as coalport says, no one (except he and a couple of other people) have ever heard me play anything.

Amey,

Let's focus on just one thing at a time.

I notice from your PIE JESU video that you are not taking full advantage of the volume control on your theremin. Your volume hand is either muting the instrument, or at a uniform height above the loop (about 45 degrees to the ground) throughout the performance. There is no "shading" of the expression. Your right arm (in your case, your volume arm) hovers above the loop in more or less the same spot all the time (except when you are either on your way to, or from, mute) so your overall volume level is more or less the same.

You don't sing like that, so why are you playing the theremin that way?

With the theremin, we only have two ways to communicate our musical intention: volume and pitch. You must use them to their fullest. In the case of volume, you must vary the intensity according to the dictates of the music. If you remain constantly at "mezzo forte" you are depriving yourself of one of the only two resources we have with the instrument.

Your volume hand seems wooden and paddle-like. It does not move in a fluid and "flowing" way and there is no flexibility at all in the wrist. Consequently, your expression suffers because it is not fluid, flowing or flexible either.

This may be a deliberate creative choice on your part. If it is, I would urge you to reconsider the wisdom of it.

"You don't sing like that, so why are you playing the theremin that way?"

Hmmmmm... Maybe because I've only been playing for a couple of months and I am still learning? :(I am not an expert such as many of you on this forum and that is why I post on here and try to get better. To sing like I am doing right now, took me years of trying this and trying that until I found something that worked for me. There is a wide road with many obstacles and room for goof offs. To leave my pitch arm like this was not a decision to play that way, so I'll work on it more.

I did notice that my volume arm was rather stiff, the fact that my theremin was way too high for my height probably didn't help me to convey emotions for the piece I was playing. It's another thing that I will have to work on, mostly to relax my arm and relax my whole self. I don't like to video myself, I was nervous!

I'll practice more on that!

coalport,

I spent a lot of time watching your youtube video last night and was noticing that your pitch hand never really fully extend the fngers in the other direction that you have them. You move to the higher note rather than extending your 3 fingers to the note. Seems so much more fluid that way...

:)

"Let's focus on just one thing at a time." - coalport

Yes, that actually explains why Amey's playing is not so expressive in the video. I believe most people learning to play the theremin follow more or less the same progression. For most people, each step can take a great deal of time.

First is the process of finding the right technique for playing pitch and and playing in tune. This can take the most time and, for some people, we may never be entirely successful. During this period, the brain is so overwhelmed by simply trying to play in tune that the volume/expression hand is almost entirely forgotten. I believe this is quite natural and frankly necessary.

After one becomes comfortable with playing the pitch rod, it then becomes possible to add more expression to one's playing. At first, most people probably fall into the bad habit of "pumping" the volume in an attempt to accentuate each note. It can take a while to wean one's self from of doing this, but it can be done with practice.

Learning to play the theremin is a largely a unique experience for all of us. We all may face the same hurtles, but we may approach them in different ways and in our own time.

[And let's face it - coalport is not "most people".]

Jeff S typed: "During this period, the brain is so overwhelmed by simply trying to play in tune that the volume/expression hand is almost entirely forgotten. I believe this is quite natural and frankly necessary."

Jeff - you put in words what I was trying to say, but so much better. I was so focused on being on pitch, my arm became a robot! But it wa a good thing to video tape myself, I was able to recognize that I was R2D2's sister!