You're watching an old scary movie late at night and your hear a strange sound in the movie's soundtrack.
Even if you're not familiar with the musical instrument called the theremin, chances are you've heard its ghostly sound.
Waterphone has been used to create spooky sounds in many of the best horror movies. Used to create spooky sounds in many of the best horror movies to date, the waterphone creates sounds like those of dolphins and whales.
The sound of the theremin has been described as "a purified and magnified saxophone" [source: Beckerman] and "a cross between an amplified child's slide whistle, a human voice and the squawks that emanated from early radio speakers" [source: Taub].
A thereminist and his theremin – an almost century-old musical instrument, a box with two antennas. You play it by moving your hands in the air, through the antennas' invisible electromagnetic fields.
Religious leaders in the 19th century called the fiddle “The Devil's Instrument,” since it was often played at weddings, dances and gatherings where food, drink and merriment ensued.
Participants judged the human voice as the most frequently used sad instrument, with the 'cello, viola, violin and piano completing the top five. The triangle was judged the instrument least used for sadness, along with the cymbal, tambourine, wood block, and glockenspiel.
The Basics of Playing the Theremin. While playing a theremin, moving your hand near the vertical antenna alters pitch, while moving your hand near the horizontal antenna alters volume. The theremin works without the slightest touch.
'Whole Lotta Love' – Led Zeppelin
Jimmy Page decided to use the instrument during the 'freakout' section of their iconic tune after hearing the band Spirit use one. The theremin can be heard to great effect in Zeppelin's Royal Albert Hall performance.
A zulkoon was a wind musical instrument that functioned like a portable pump organ.
Sound Effects
For example, distant creepy movements and eerie haunting winds that are played in the background are what build up the spooky atmosphere. Sound effects that mimic human fear, including pulsing heartbeats and slow and heavy breathing, also increases the level of scariness.
Living up to its present-day nickname, “the world's deadliest instrument,” Franklin's glass armonica allegedly began killing people. The complexity of the armonica overstimulated the brain, which ultimately caused dizziness, nervousness, hallucinations, and cramps amongst performers.
The science of making a sound truly scary often lies in the frequency. Frequency is essentially the pitch or tone of a sound. A higher-frequency sound is high in pitch, sometimes squeaky or shrill, and lower-frequency sounds are tones that rumble, drone, or cannot be heard at all.
A playback singer, also known as a ghost singer, is a singer whose singing is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras; the actual singer does not appear on the screen.
Trumpet. The sound of a high-pitched brass instruments played by blowing air through almost-closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound that starts a standing wave vibration in the air column inside the instrument.
The cost of an unassembled theremin kit will usually be around $100-$200, while most preassembled theremins will be $200-$500.
After a flurry of interest in America following the end of the Second World War, the theremin soon fell into disuse with serious musicians, mainly because newer electronic instruments were introduced that were easier to play.
How long does it take to learn the theremin? For playing the theremin it is important to have a good sense of your body and hearing, and to work on a precise playing technique. At the best you can learn a scale in 2 hours with professional guidance. Thus the theremin is not harder to learn than any other instrument.
This medication is a multivitamin product used to treat or prevent vitamin deficiency due to poor diet, certain illnesses, or during pregnancy. Vitamins are important building blocks of the body and help keep you in good health.
HOUSTON — The most curious quality of the theremin, one of the oldest electronic instruments, is how its eerie and ethereal sound is manipulated without the performer actually touching it.
Clara Rockmore is widely regarded as the greatest Theremin player to have ever lived. A child prodigy born in Vilnius, Lithuania, Clara began her musical career as a violinist studying with Leopold Auer, but gave up the instrument in her teens due to an arthritic condition in her bow arm.
The violin is also widely regarded as one of the most difficult instruments to learn. One of the reasons behind this is that there are no guides on the violin for finger placement.
Whatever the limit the ukulele reigns as the “world's happiest instrument ” laughs Hanner.