Theremin - A Playlist

Introduction

The theremin is an unconventional electronic instrument, named after its Soviet inventor Léon Theremin in 1928, and which doesn't require any contact to be operated. The fruit of research into proximity sensors, the theremin's setup is usually consisting of two metal antennas that sense the distance to the player's hands and react accordingly, one controlling the volume of the sound, and the other controlling the frequency and therefore the pitch. By moving both hands in the air and changing the distance to the antennas, musicians produce an eerie electronic sound.

This introduction is taken from the site which goes into much more detail. The playlist is inspired by a Classic FM Meme which is the lead image

So without further ado will share some examples of the use of theremins in music. It had been used to make eerie noises in science fiction movies and you actually download pseudo theremins for your phone and tablet.

Mikeydred - "Plasma Sound"

So first up is me messing with Plasma Sound on my Amazon Kindle. You can download it here.

Bonzo Dog Band - "Noises For The Leg"

This is a new take on "Noises For The Leg" so you can see it working, but the studio version from "Keynsham" is below, and that is where I first heard this.

Louis And Bebe Barron - "Main Titles (Overture) from 'Forbidden Planet'"

"Forbidden Planet" was the first completely electronic film soundtrack and you can hear noises that I am certain were generated by a theremin. If not, I apologize but it still sounds impressive despite being made almost seventy years ago. A retelling of "The Tempest" by Willam Shakespeare which you can read more about below.

Led Zeppelin - "Whole Lotta Love"

This video is just ninety seconds of Jimmy Page playing the theremin which was used in "Whole Lotta Love". There is a lot more on the original and live versions of the song.

Beach Boys - Good Vibrations

Though the instrument in "Good Vibrations" sounds like a theremin, it isn't but I include this for illustrative purposes so people don't wonder why I didn't include it.

It takes a lot of practice to play the theremin, so in the 1950s, trombonist Paul Tanner and an amateur inventor named Bob Whitsell made an instrument that made sounds similar to Leon Theremin's creation but made it a lot simpler for non-experts to hit specific notes and control the volume.

Tanner's instrument — like the theremin — was used in science fiction films

Portishead - "Mysterons"

I always felt Portishead sounded mysterious anyway and the addition of the theremin just makes this song even more mysterious and threatening.

Garbage - "Cup Of Coffee"

This opens with a theremin sequence and is there and the piano fade out as well for this wonderful atmospheric song.

Pixies - "Velouria"

This has a particularly vicious intro , not sure if it is the theremin from the studio versions but any electronic device can be treated to sound the way that you want.

Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band - "Electricity"

I found a live take of this but Don Van Vliet (Captain Beefheart) made noises himself. In the studio version, the use of the theremin is extremely upfront.

Supergrass - "Richard III"

This is a good song to close this playlist with, so I hope that you have enjoyed at least some of the songs that I have shared.

In the live takes of this, the theremin part is played by a keyboard, but the promotional video has a lot of a guy playing the theremin so you can see that it is there for real.

Conclusion

These are just a few of the songs that use a theremin but if you search on Google you can find a lot more. Let me know what you think and the ones that I have missed.