•[ Rowland Lee wrote in 080419 MMDigest: > I feel that it is theoretically possible to create an automatic > or automaton Theremin, using Aeolian-style accordion bellows > to control two "hands". Has anyone out there ever tried this? Yes, there already is a self-playing Theremin. See the video: http...

•Andrew Barrett wrote: > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19RJEnNUg1I > They sure picked an appropriate tune! Excellent! However the tune on this video clip is not "Crazy". It sounds like "O, Death", from 'O Brother Where Art Thou' -- definitely a minor key, which "Crazy" is not. Claudine Jones ...

•Andrew Barrett wrote: > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19RJEnNUg1I > They sure picked an appropriate tune! Hi, actually the song played is a modern pop tune. I knew it would take a kid to figure this one out! :) The song is by Gnarls Barkley and is called "Crazy". Hear the original music here: http...

•The song played by the mechanical Theremin is definitely "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley. Ms. Jones may be confusing the tune "Crazy" by Britney Spears, which is much more of a major key than this song is. That machine is quite ingenious too, by the way! M. B. Miller

•So how does the self-playing Theremin operate? If it isn't roll operated in the video, can it be roll operated ? Bruce Grimes [ A pneumatic mechanism to wave the hand that plays the Theremin [ might be similar to the self-playing Swanee Whistle (a slide [ whistle, also called Lotus Flute) player fe...

•Lots of different versions of "Crazy", clearly, but the only one that registers for me is Patsy Cline's. (Britney Spears -- ugh!) There is another YouTube video that does play Patsy's "Crazy" (horribly out of tune) but the one that was first mentioned on MMD struck me immediately as "O, Death", reg...

•For the best information on Theremins nowadays, talk with Mr. Robert Moog, the first builder of Theremins in the USA. Other than Leon Theremin, Bob Moog is currently _the_ expert and resource. Visit the website at http://www.bigbriar.com John Lanphere

•You could use "Indian Love Call" and just play along with it. I have a working Theremin and it sounds fine with that roll. Now if you want something really exciting and can free-compose, try Danse Macabre -- you can play counter melodies and really leave your listeners in awe! Greg Filardo ...

•Hello MMD readers, I am writing to ask if anyone has information about the late Michael L. Kitner's (1944-2000) RCA Theremin(s). I recently purchased a 1929 RCA Theremin (#200082) which I believe was formerly owned by him. A piece of paper accompanying the instrument named Michael L. Kitner as the ...

•Bruce Grimes asks about Theremin accompaniment rolls in MMDigest 080413 and suggests that there were such rolls for Ampico. The "Complete Catalog of Ampico Reproducing Piano Rolls", by Elaine Obenchain, lists accompaniment rolls for cello, violin, voice and piano duet, but none specifically for The...

•Hello MMD readers, Thereminist Roger Ballenger wrote about his recent performance in "Levnet", the Internet Digest for this ethereal instrument. On July 18th he appeared with an ensemble (the Community Band) in an outdoor concert playing "O Mio Babbino Caro" and several other melodies. The performa...

•This might be of interest to MMD readers: Bob Moog (of synthesizer and Theremin fame) has created a MIDI retrofit "Vorsetzer" that senses [key] velocity, a quick way to transcribe reproducing rolls to MIDI. I can't vouch for its accuracy, but $1199 introductory price seems pretty reasonable. I exch...

•I often pass the time while cooking or cleaning by putting on my CD of Clara Rockmore playing the Theremin. She was such a virtuoso player that people often mistake the sound for a singer or perhaps a musical saw. What is particularly striking is her ability to play the ultimate legato instrument i...

•I'm new to this list, and mainly interested in antique or obscure musical instruments, such as the calliope and Theremin. I'm more interested in recordings of them, rather than actually buying an instrument or the technical details of how to automate them. There's also something called a Chamberlin...

•Thanks to A. B. Bonds for the correction regarding the Theremin-like sounds in the film "Forbidden Planet." I got my "facts" from a story on a Theremin web site and from a movie magazine piece from long ago. Also enjoyed Mark Kinsler's note about the film's story line tracking that of Will Shakespe...

•The "Ondes Marthenot" is an electronic musical instrument, based on a high-frequency generator. It was invented by the French engineer Maurice Marthenot in 1928, four years after the introduction of Theremin's "Aeoliphone". While Theremin (a man of Russian origin, who went back to Stalin's Soviet U...

•Several years back I met a fellow who collected and restored unusual musical instruments in addition to being an amateur organ builder. As an example he claimed to have two Theremins and an "Ondes Martenot". He passed away soon after that first contact and I never found out what an "Ondes Martenot"...

•In addition to the Mechanical Music Digest, there are other Internet newsgroup resources that may be more or less "technocratic", e.g.: alt.music.makers.electric-piano - discussion of electro-mechanical pianos rec.music.makers.piano - Piano music, performing, composing, learning, styles. rec.music...

•Hi Folks, Thought I'd jump on the tail end of this thread before it disappears for a while. Returning home satiated and renewed from the AMICA Convention, my eyes fell unavoidably upon some beautiful but square-footage-robbing objects doing a good job of blocking the hallway. Last November I was fo...

•Aeolian first made accompaniment rolls for the Orchestrelle and continued this with the Duo-Art. The Galley Orchestrone, a large organette, sold a set of rolls to teach voice in the 1880s. I've seen other rolls apparently designed to accompany phonograph records. I recall Mike Kitner using a violin...