Want to learn a ........ conventional instrument too

Well!

As far as I am concerned, the theremin is THE instrument, however, I want, and have wanted, to learn a conventional instrument.

I've tried guitar, clarinet, trumpet(!), ukulele, you name it, and last weekend I built my theremin.

Yesterday, I turned in my clarinet and told my teacher, Sorry, but well, you know how it is when you discover the theremin..... he didn't know how it is, hehe I wonder if he'll stay awake now wondering if he'll be put out of business by this demonic multi-oscillator'ed device....

Anyway. Today I went back to the long-suffering music store and rented me a FLUTE.

And, well, getting a note, piece of cake! In fact, getting all kinds of notes, piece of cake, really. I need to get the book the band kids study because there are more keys than I have fingers so just pressing stuff at random, my scales go all over the place, hehe they're New Math scales.

But, could this be, a conventional instrument that might almost be kind of as good when I don't have my Theremin handy?

all instruments are when you don't have your theremin! However, they really wont do you much good for learning theremin, except for ear training. And for christ sakes get a flute book and learn it right\. Unlike a theremin there is a proper way to play other things!

Andy ... but have fun....

yes, going to get the Excellence in Band or Excellence in Method or whatever it's called book........ it's what the kids are using, I'm also not averse to taking lessons other than the cost, if the flute and I get along well enough, I should be able to "busk" enough to make lesson money.

well if you played the clarinet, that fingering is kind of and you don't have to worry about that pesky 9th/octive key

Andy

The only problem with the flute is that it's a bit. . . well. . . . pathetic, really. I can't think of any famous concerti for flute, and even in 'Die Zauberflote' (practically the only famous flute-related piece that springs to mind) all the nicest lines are carried by instruments other than the flute.

Having said that though, Mozart's hardly famed for famous motivic material. As nice as his later works are, the vast majority of his themes are waffly and instantly forgettable.

Learn the piano. Or the harp. Or the organ. Or the viol. Those are real instruments.

The flute is as "real" as any instrument, and it has the benefits of being relatively easy to maintain and very portable. Try deciding to take a piano on a backpacking trip...

The Theremin is a niche instrument, which has been stereotyped into schpooky noises for scifi and horror movies. As we fight to bring it back the recognition that Clara worked so hard to get it as a serious instrument for real music, I hope we can remember not to stereotype other instruments along the way.

I decided I needed to pick up another instrument so I'd be able to record my own backing tracks to practice against, because Peter Pringle advised me that practicing in silence was likely my problem. I figured if my main instrument was the Theremin, I better get the world's easiest instrument as my secondary, so I got an autoharp. The autoharp is stereotyped as being for American country music, but in fact it was invented in Germany and was briefly the most popular instrument in the world, used for all manner of popular music in its day. I play broadway and pop tunes on mine and enjoy it immensely. (In fact, I have to admit I've been enjoying it so much that it sidetracked me from the theremin for a good while.)

As thereminists we have a unique opportunity to appreciate the value of weird instruments, or to appreciate the underappreciated virtues of common instruments. Perhaps someday I'll even get around to writing a piece for theremin, glass armonica, and concert grand autoharp. I'll call it "the unplayable piece". :-D

http://www.tiny.cc/portablepiano

There's a shop in Bristol that sells those. I've bought a lot of gear from there. Not gonna buy one of those though.

I'm holding out for a pianet. That way I can get Fender Rhodes sounds and a broken spine in a tiny package.

OK here are my thoughts .....

I was just starting on the clarinet, playing stuff like "down at the station" lol. So, I didn't learn a lot of clarinet stuff to either transfer over or unlearn lol.

Secondly, I agree, for musicianship, the piano/keyboard is probably the king, violinists and singers normally take piano too, it's considered sort of the foundation of Western music.

The flute is as "real" as any other instrument, I agree, violin and piano have more stuff written for 'em.

But! The flute sings for me. And, I can't get over how nice and neat and small that case is, and how much neat sound can be gotten out of this small (and beautiful) thing.

It's also a bit of a safety net for me - I'm self-employed, work hellacious hours, am not building up any real security or capitol or anything, and I often comment that I don't know which will get me first, the heart attack or the nervous breakdown. Flute could well save my ass.

Save my ass? How? #1, as something that's NOT work, #2 as a good street-musician axe, #3 flute requires BREATHING, as a typical 70-hour-a-week American you'd not believe what a forbiddin fruit any kind of exercise is - simply playing the thing helps my body.

Sigh.

I just had a run-in with the punk kid next door and his punk friends - the uncle who rented the place is out, and the kids decided to party, and threaten me. On the 3rd call the cops took 'em away or friends did or something. They are gone. They have been "cited" so I'm not sure if they're spending the night in the "greybar motel" or just fuming all weekend at some friend's or parent's place over their citations.

In either case this kind of thing could have me more screwed than if I just worked at K-mart. Because, if they burn me out, that's tons of sales stock gone and essentially kills my business. Tons of things could go wrong like this, altercation with psycho neighbors, robbery/breakin (which psycho neighbors tried last night at 5AM) health problem, etc.

Digressing a bit, this utter lack of a safety net is a feature of American life. I wish I had the URL but there's a very good site with an interview of a guy who's a trained acoustician who realized, in his words, that security doesn't lie in working for a large company and all that, security is to be found in learning the play the banjo.

God I love Theremin! But, if push comes to shove, I'd grab that little silver stick first.

just beat the crap out of them with your flute

Andy