The Lev Antenna – One of Several Theremin Phenomenon

We need more entertainment, things that actually work and less technical gibberish!

Early in my theremin research I was given perfect pitch field linearity and never fully understood how it works along with Clara’s voice. I did not know what a non-linear pitch field was until I purchased my first EtherWave Standard. A properly tuned EWS can be very linear but not the excellent response the Lev Antenna demonstrates.

Looking back it is funny how several people were upset that I called something Lev (Lev Antenna) though they call all kinds of their own stuff whether it worked or not Theremin.

I use Lev Sergeyevich first name to reflect something he could have been very aware of in 1930. I use the term Clara’s Voice to reflect a sound very much from that same period. The theremin should sound like a theremin not some imaginary other instrument, especially a whistle.

Another thing I find interesting is rarely mentioned is that Lev Sergeyevich explored many ideas using much of the modern stuff we do today like transistors, etc. As an alternative source for parts he would take-things-apart he purchased from the toy department of (Detskii Mir) in Moscow. All of the parts in my Phoenix theremin design he was completely knowledgeable of and worked with.

Like the two mentioned phenomenon… I hear that whisper again saying comrade get your ass off the sofa I need you to explore something. My thought today is I need to get another shot of Scotch… I am old and tired now…can’t you find and encourage a young curious type to advance your analog theremin who realizes how it is sacred, especially in this modern day age of mind control from cheap digital gadgets?

Illustration Below: The Phoenix Pitch Board is an original theremin design with the beautiful sound of Clara and is very versatile. For the experiment below the Phoenix pcb can deliver a 5 volt square wave at 1 kHz to do this test, you need a scope. It is my belief the Lev Antenna might work by self resonating at the pitch oscillator tank frequency. The visual dimensions or math of the coiled antenna indicate there is probably a little more. If I or a budding electronic tech who has not become too anal yet and is a fluid thinker could get around to doing this test it will reveal the self resonant frequency and Q of the coil Lev Antenna... and hopefully something I am missing?

Edit: The difference of the Lev Antenna is the way the surface capacitance is distributed. Could this greatly increase the C in the LC  SRF calculation or response to the environment? This approach of pitch antenna will self correct to overcome environmental thermal drift, another fascinating property.

Christopher
Hwy79.com

That other guy snatched away my antenna's name when no one was looking, to avoid confusion he forces me to call my approach the "Becker Electrode Theremin Antenna" or "BETA Electrode" or "The β Antenna". This phenomenon will be verified in January 2019, those involved will be part of theremin history though I know they already are. I have known about this concept for 10 years, but why am I encouraged to bring focus to it now? Not sure if it is the Scotch I drink or do some people hear the whispers from an era gone by?

For years I said get a sound sample in anything you have interest, that is what makes this entertaining. I am unable to distinguish a D from an E, they sound the same to me, so will never be able to play a tune. This sound is completely Raw, yet I hear depth?

Christopher 

Am I the only one that realizes how unusual a theremin’s perfectly linear pitch field is, a human phenomenon? Am I the only sober person in the room, the designated driver?

Over the years I tried to explain to several engineers at TW about how something extraordinary happens around 900 kHz which allows a theremin to have this linear field.

"[b]Edit: [/b]The [b]Electrodeum[/b] Pitch Antenna can be folded over to the right and [b]played on it's side[/b] (I prefer this) very much like the feel of a plate antenna with excellent fingering sensitivity. I think this is a more natural arm movement and easily adapted to. Very little re-tuning if any is necessary."

Correct.

But the natural arm movement renders fingering unnecessary and when off, slight corrective wrist motion will suffice, especially if the wrist is relaxed during play.

Christopher,

That sample “Excellent.mp3” linked above is dreadful! It should have been euthanized before it ever saw the light o’ day! It is tasteless and harsh. My apologies to the late Señor Rodrigo for maiming and distorting his beautiful adagio Aranjuez theme. 

Here’s my take on plate antennas. I have played theremins with this type of antenna, and while it is fine for volume control, I did not like it for pitch control. I should add that I have also played theremins that use a vertical beam of light to detect the distance of the player’s hand from the instrument, and I didn’t like that for the same reason. Here’s why.

While a PLATE VOLUME antenna requires pretty much the same up & down movement of the volume hand as the traditional "loop", a PLATE PITCH antenna forces the thereminist to fight gravity unnecessarily.

With a vertical rod, you can balance your arm in a variety of ways and swing it like the pendulum of a metronome. With a plate, you have to play with an upward and downward motion which makes extensions of the hand, fingers and/or knuckles far more difficult. Vibrato is much harder because it must be done with an elevator motion, rather than a seesaw. 

Bob Moog designed the “Maestro” theremin with plate antennas in the early 1970’s, but favored the traditional rod and loop for instruments he manufactured himself.

"While a PLATE VOLUME antenna requires pretty much the same up & down movement of the volume hand as the traditional "loop", a PLATE PITCH antenna forces the thereminist to fight gravity unnecessarily.

With a vertical rod, you can balance your arm in a variety of ways and swing it like the pendulum of a metronome. With a plate, you have to play with an upward and downward motion which makes extensions of the hand, fingers and/or knuckles far more difficult. Vibrato is much harder because it must be done with an elevator motion, rather than a seesaw."  - coalport

I agree 100%.  What might you think of a vertical plate positioned at a comfortable height with linear response for pitch?  My feeling is that a vertical pitch plate makes a larger "soft target" for the pitch hand, so that the player doesn't need to pay quite so much attention to how it is addressed horizontally, particularly in the near field.  It's pretty non-traditional though, and I wonder how many world-class players actually depend on the horizontal response of the rod antenna for their playing technique.

Plates have a larger dC/dp than rods so they're inherently superior as body capacitance sensors.  Plates and rods can be easily linearized via digital means, but plates are fairly non-linear when used on an analog Theremin.

I have played the e-beam and the maestro theremin and neither in my opinion are musical instruments for serious play.

I have also played the Etherwave and an RCA, both difficult requiring great skill and considerable effort.

The Model 302 is easy and is a musical instrument that is a delight to play using the same skills one would use to pick something up or toss something towards a wastebasket with.

Some people prefer the difficult path and there is nothing wrong with that, but speaking with some authority and gravitas about an instrument which one has not played, remains dubious at best.

Some great thereminst in the past compared playing a theremin to "walking a tightrope" . . . 

Sidewalks are steadier.

Dewster:

The playing field can be linearized by adjusting the arc of the arm and hand so that the higher notes are addressing the corner of the plate rather than the center. By shifting to the center of the plate one can address the upper octaves which will be very tight and non-linear. No one wants to play or hear the theremin in the top register anyway. Some will complain about the lack of precision as well.

The plate antenna can be mounted vertically so it may be addressed horizontally, but really, what is an easier arm motion, side to side, back and forth or up and down from the breastbone to the antenna? I tired several variations and stuck with my current configuration - angled for seated play.

Which method allows for the body's use of angles to be more constant and precise, rather than distances which involve more processing and are naturally less precise sans a ruler.

It is difficult for anyone without previous experience playing a theremin to know what to do with all the conflicting advice coming at them from everywhere and everybody, especially since there is no established and universally accepted technique for playing the instrument. EVERYBODY IS RIGHT.

Clara Rockmore used to say that the most important thing to know before you start playing the theremin, is where you want to end up. That’s why I always tell people, when it comes to technique, to imitate as closely as possible the playing of the thereminist they most admire and to stick to it until their own style kicks in. 

For a long time, when there were fewer thereminists in the world than there are today, the name Jimmy Page would pop up most often whenever I asked someone who they thought was the greatest theremin player who ever lived.

One young lady logged on to alt.theremin players back in the 90’s with the following question: “Is someone who plays the theremin referred to as a ‘podiatrist’ “?

So Coalport, I take it that you mean I also am correct?

Don't forget "Well Tempered" . . .