New and somewhat confused

Hi all. Got my Moog Etherwave theremin this evening. Hooked it up and it sounds fine, sort of. The volume knob does not work however, though I wonder if I am doing something wrong.

One major question for now:

If I want to use my left hand for pitch and my right for volume, like a cellist or violinist who bows with the right hand, I assume I can turn the instrument around and play it from behind. Any issues associated with this or is there a better way? On first try this seems much more natural for me since I was a violinist in a past life.

Anyone else play this way?

[i]One major question for now:

If I want to use my left hand for pitch and my right for volume, like a cellist or violinist who bows with the right hand, I assume I can turn the instrument around and play it from behind. Any issues associated with this or is there a better way? On first try this seems much more natural for me since I was a violinist in a past life.

Anyone else play this way?[/i]

http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=ruy7zCddu0Y :-)

Well your playing it left handed. All of my theremins are built that way (with the pitch on the left)

Playing a standard one"backwards" like you want won't cause any harm. The trouble is going to be accessing trhe controll, setting zero beat, switching the tone, etc...

Andy

Welcome to Theremin World, Icarus and Senkun.

I recommend you use your dominant hand, whichever that is, for pitch, as it requires the greater amount of fine motor control.

If you are left-handed then you will need to play from the back of the theremin, as in the video of Barry Schwam.

I note in the video that Barry has flipped the volume loop upside-down so that the bulge is facing him when he plays. He could have gone a step further and affixed it to the body by the upper mounting point only, allowing him to place it at a better angle. (The volume loop should be parallel to your open hand. Imagine you were patting a penguin on the head just in front of you.)

PS - the volume knob does not control the volume - it adjusts the sensitivity of the volume field, just as the pitch knob adjusts the pitch field.

Icarus>> "The volume knob does not work however, though I wonder if I am doing something wrong."

As Gordon has mentioned, the volume knob doesn't make the theremin any louder or quieter, (the way most volume knobs do!) It adjusts the sensitivity of the volume loop. Turned one way, the theremin will go from loud to silent with the slightest of hand movements over the loop (a useful setting for staccato playing); turned the other way you'll need more sweeping movements of the entire arm to modulate volume. Some prefer this wider setting, suggesting it's easier to graduate the volume over a wider field, especially for a gradually increasing cresendo etc. Personally, I find sweeping arm movements make me less stable and effect the stability of my pitch arm ... so I prefer a setting that doesn't require too much movement.

However, if you already understand the sensitivity-function of the volume knob, but find that the theremin remains at a low volume despite moving your hand or altering the setting, there may be another more mundane possibility. I remember on my first day with the theremin, putting it on a table-top to try it out, not realising that the proximity of the table to the loop would almost silence the instrument, (sounds pretty silly now, but having no experience of theremins I guess it was an easy mistake to make ... so thought it worth mentioning ... just in case!)

I did exactly that last night - unpacking the Theremin, putting it on a table and trying vainly to make a sound!!!

I read the instructions and realize my mistake for the volume knob. It would be useful however to have that so I'll implement it in my MIDI rig with an expression pedal. After I practice a bit!