Theremin: How science fiction got its sound

In this radio commentary, Bill discusses the theremin, and how it lead to one the music industry's most fundamental assets, the electronic synthesizer.

[dogdaysunris]

wow i didn't know Moog started his career by finding Theremin's plans. Good video!

[Stratocoaster]

I'll always love the story of Mark Mothersbaugh pestering Bob Moog consistently about sending him the first Moog Theremin upon its completion. Annoyed at Mark's constant calling and checking in on the Theremin's development, which was delayed significantly from early projected completion, that Bob sent him his newly developed 'Memorymoog' from his personal collection. Here! Hopefully this incredibly advanced 3-oscillator voiced, 6-voice polyphonic analog synthesizer, with 100-preset patch storage will hold you over until the Theremin is finished! XD ...I'm very much a music-geek and audiophile...so stories like this fascinate me, probably more than most people... lol

[peterbrownwastaken]

I enjoy your videos immensely. Thanks to all who contribute to their creation.

[Ovni]

There's a Shop near where I live called Moog Audio, they sell professionnal audio items. I always go there to play with the Theremin they have close to the entrance. I now know where they got their name. Thanks for this great video.

[ernestmoney]

The theremin is not merely a step on the way to the synthesizer or a source of creepy background music to science fiction movies, In the right hands it is a highly expressive instrument in its own right. Check out Katica Illényi's performance of the soprano aria "O Mio Babbino Caro".

[robertromero]

You omitted the contribution of Bebe and Louis Barron. They are credited with writing the first electronic music for magnetic tape, and the first entirely electronic film score for the MGM movie Forbidden Planet.

[RyanJensenEE]

As a synthesizer enthusiast, I really love this kind of stuff. Thanks, Bill.

[steveobhave]

Bill - thank you for doing these videos - It's for this kind of content that I keep returning to YouTube.

[swsephy]

Thanks for uploading these. They're fantastic.

[snnyburnett]

So now I know who thank for all my music. Electronic music in all it's glory, from Kraftwerk to New Order and OMD, New Wave, Synthpop and Trance. All the cool aural sounds from my childhood to present.

[gabriel]

I've heard that they were trying to make presence detectors and the research lead to the theremin.

[Ubuntu]

But.. How does it work, how did it evolve, some examples of what you can do with it?
This video left me with more questions than answers

[waaos]

Hi, Very interesting story..

I have an off topic question..A few years ago, you did an interesting video on fiber optics. I have an application where I would like to remote blacklight ftom a single source. Can I transmit blacklight over fiber optic line? The distance is less than a foot but in two opposite directions.
Thanks,
Glenn

[yam-ingtonjr]

thats great but how exactly does the sythesizer work?

[sysexstudio]

Nice to see the newer Eurorack modular synth at the end. No mention of Don Buchla's contribution to synthesizers? I suppose this episode was about the Theramin to begin with. Truly Moog and Buchla and even Theramin himself are the pioneers of the equipment that produces the popular EDM music of today.

[csolisr]

Is there a way to find as many replacement pictures without the NC restriction as possible for the next iterations? The video cannot be accepted in Wikimedia Commons (and several other free cultural archives) unless the video as a whole can be licensed at least CC-By-SA.

[tiny]

The Theremin is part of Radiohead's regular setup during live sessions.

[DaveVelo]

A modified Theremin created by Paul Tanner, was used in the Beach Boys hit, "Good Vibrations".

[DavidFowlerEngineer]

Great video! You mentioned an album at the end but I was not able to catch the name clearly.  What was the name?

[EdwinDekker]

0:59 earth always stands still; it's level and stationary, not a wobbly waterball in a vacuum