Which is the the first musical instrument played without being touched?
by Sanju[ Edit ] 2008-11-03 19:02:36
Theremin
The theremin is one of the oldest electronic instruments, and the only one known that you play without touching. It is also known as an aetherphone.
To play, the player moves his or her hands around the antennas, controlling frequency (pitch) and amplitude (volume).
The instrument was invented by a young Russian physicist named Lev Sergeivich Termen (known in the West as Leon Theremin) in 1919 after the outbreak of the Russian civil war.
Pop music
Theremins and theremin-like sounds started to be incorporated into popular music from the end of the 1940s and this continued, with varying popularity, to the present.
Film music
The Russian Dmitri Shostakovich was one of the first composers to include parts for the theremin in orchestral pieces, including a use in his score for the 1931 film Odna.
Video games
Composer Garry Schyman used a Theremin for the musical score of the cult classic videogame.
