This is worth posting for this line alone:

“Who needs a Natal when you’ve got a theremin!”

(If you don’t know what he’s talking about, see here.)

Yes, in case you’re looking for a creative way to practice your Theremin playing, here you go. Now, where’s our Theremin Hero game? From the description by Glasgow-based YouTuber conquerearth, previously seen using the Theremin to play “Still Alive.”

This is even more fun with two people playing! One person controls left/right, the other controls jump.

Its not just limited to the theremin. Its even possible to hook up a microphone and use your voice to control the game! Or a guitar! Or a violin!

Heres how it works:
The sound from the theremin is split into its frequency and amplitude components in real time, which are then mapped to values in a linear scale representing the X and Y axis. Pitch becomes horizontal control, and Volume becomes vertical control.
The X and Y scales are then cut up into different zones. In this case, Left; Right and dead zones for the horizontal, and a single trigger and dead zone for the vertical.

The trigger zones are then mapped onto a virtual joystick hooked into an emulator.

The end result is a fairly usable input control for playing games like mario. The bars give the much needed visual feedback as to how “in tune” you are, so you have a better feel of where the trigger points are.

I’m sure there’s a deeper meaning I could extract about gestural controllers, expressive musical instruments, and the meaning of life, but it’s Friday and it’s lunch break time. If you can do my job, feel free – add in comments. (If your cat walks across your keyboard, it’ll still probably come across as more intelligent than an average YouTube comment, so have at it!)

Based on work with the Oblong g-speak “spatial operating environment” gestural system – research that inspired the film Minority Report – our friend Trey Harrison has been doing some wonderful work with new Theremin-style interfaces. He writes:

I have been working with Oblong Industries (http://oblong.com) and
took some of my
spare time to combine their technology with my Salvation project
(http://slvtn.com)
and build a theremin-like instrument.

There are three degrees of control:

• Pitch is adjusted by moving hands left and right.
• Volume is adjusted by moving hands up and down.
• Vibrato is adjusted by moving hands foward and backward.

Many players and hands are possible, and the control can be applied to any MIDI instrument.

I like the fact that two hands are only the beginning — invite friends for collaborative sessions and get an octo-armed version! The pitch scaling certainly makes it easier to hit the notes, although it does remove some of the expressive pitch bends of the original Theremin. It’d be nice if an additional gesture (pinching, perhaps?) could allow you to warp between scale degrees.

I love the project; I hope we get to see more.

Score one for “old school” on the Theremin – minus one for “old school” on the Minimoog keyboard.

There’s plenty of debate about whether or not you can justify splurging on the extra cash for the Moog name on synths and effects – no one questions Moog’s quality, but there is other great boutique gear out there that gets far less attention. But one area where the Moog line is unquestionably superior is on the Theremin. And the Etherwave Plus at US$519 is an instrument you can really sink your musical teeth into over a period of years. With the addition of a Control Voltage output, you can control other instruments and effects, too. (Reader velocipede checked out a demo with Theremin controlling a guitar filter.) CV outs for pitch and volume are separated, so each hand gets isolated control. It’s a lovely setup, and I wouldn’t hesitate to get the Plus version.

Etherwave Plus Theremin [Moog Music]

So, the Theremin gets a little more old school with the Etherwave Plus. But meanwhile, Moog Music has announced they’re building only 200 more units of the Minimoog Voyager Old School model, which we admired at last year’s NAMM. This keyboard added retro wood-paneled styling, but took “old school” literally by eliminating patch memory and MIDI – the very features added to the Voyager that gave it more modern appeal. I expect the Old School may never have been intended for a longer run, but I’m not sure any of our readers will mourn its loss – the response to losing MIDI was a resounding “huh?”, and the Old School still costs US$2595.

Minimoog Voyager Old School

Still, you have to give props to the Old School for having the best slogan ever, even if it was only used internally: “Got Balls?”

How many products dare you to use them based on features they don’t have? (Too bad Moog didn’t use this as the official slogan, suggesting their answer was “Nope.” Well, at least as far as marketing. They’re no Synthi.)

I’d still love to see a Moog product that’s not an effects unit but does bring a little something to bargain-minded synth lovers. Maybe a NanoPhatty?

Handmade Music, the regular series of DIY music tech parties CDM hosts with Etsy.com and Make Magazine in New York, is back. And it’s back in a big way: the event has a new home in Bushwick and will be held on an actual schedule monthly. The first event is next Thursday, December 11. After the December debut, it’ll be every third Thursday of the month, starting with January 15, 2009. We’ve got a spacious, new home at the hip galleries and workshops of 3rd Ward in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn. We want to see your projects, from simple first-time creations to advanced hacks, from software patches in Pd/Reaktor/Max etc. to hardware and electronics. See the call for works below.

RSVP + Event Details on Facebook

Bonus – Make Your Own Beep-It Optical Theremin. For the cost of parts (about $10), Mike Una is giving a workshop – no experience required, and you’ll leave with your own Beep-It. (Space is limited!)

Workshop RSVP

Double Bonus – You! We’re looking for hardware and software projects to share.

Call for Works Form [Google Docs]

Not in New York? Stay tuned – we’ll have some ways to join up live online with both the CDM community and the Etsy community.

If you are in New York:

Beep-it from Michael Una on Vimeo.

Cast your shadow, shine a light, make a square wave synth make noise.

Michael Una is at it again. This time, he’s created something called the Beep-It. It’s a wonderfully elegant design for a light-controller soundmaker, an optical Theremin. He describes it to CDM thusly:

This minimalist electronic musical instrument eschews esoteric interface in favor of intuitive, expressive control.  One button turns the device on or off, which can produce a continuous tone or a rhythmic sequence.  One sensor varies pitch of the output waveform in response to ambient light.  The resulting system encourages playfulness and body movement.

You can buy all this goodness in hand-built, signed form for US$25 from Mike’s Etsy store, and he’s made the whole project open-source.

Beep-It @ Etsy

If you’re luck enough to be in Chicago, Michael is part of an art show called “Electrify” with more of these sorts of creations. You can buy your own Beep-It from the man himself, while soaking up the live musical stylings of Moment Sound. Electricity isn’t just for electronics: these artists will interpret the theme in the form of “painting, photography, sculpture, stencil, collage, and video.”

Electrify, November 15 @ Deadline Projects (Saturday 6-11p)

Schematics, images, explanation

Straight out of Michael’s notebook / brain: