I was reading one of my favorite blogs and came across a reference to an amazing instrument called a Theremin. I had never heard of it so, being the curious person I am, I followed the link to a You Tube file and was totally amazed. It's an instrument you play without touching it.
The controlling section usually consists of two metal antennas which sense the position of the player's hands and control oscillator(s) for frequency with one hand, and amplitude (volume) with the other. The electric signals from the theremin are amplified and sent to a loudspeaker.
Invented in 1928 by Leon Theremin, it was also used by the Russians in the war for espionage. I don't know how they did that, but would be curious to find out. What an amazing invention. I can barely play an instrument while touching it, I can't imagine the skill of these people that learned to "play" the theremin where the sound is effected by the movement of your hand in thin air.
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