How to Make a Theremin
Musicians play theremins without physically touching the instruments. The theremin picks up magnetic fields of resistance from your hands as you move them near the antennas and converts the signal into an audible pitch. By waving your hands in different patterns, you can create different kinds of theremin music--from horror film sound effects to beautiful digital arias. Professional theremins can be very expensive, but you can make theremin kits on your own relatively cheaply. You will need lots of patience and concentration, though, and and you'll need some experience working with electronics.
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Instructions
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The Etherwave Theremin is a popular theremin kit. Choose and purchase your theremin kit. Using a kit is the best way to approach making a theremin because the kit provides everything you need, plus step-by-step instructions. The quality is not as good as professional theremins, but you still can make great sounds. A number of theremin kits are available. The Moog Etherwave Theremin Kit, around $325 as of March 2010, is one of the better quality theremin kits. A Theremax from PAiA offers decent quality at a much lower price.
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Building the theremin's circuitry. Build the theremin circuitry piece by piece by following the instructions in the theremin kit. The basic electronics of theremins are fairly similar across the board, but different kits will have different configurations and orders to building the circuits. You will need to pick out the proper electrical component and solder it in to place on the provided circuit board as detailed in the instructions, and continue this process until the circuit and interactive components are completed. This process can take a few days depending on how much time you spend each day.
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Build the housing for the theremin and complete the assembly. Depending on which kit you chose, the kit may come with a housing for the theremin, or not. If not, you can build your own according to the specifications in the instructions. Either way, the process is to follow simple wood or metal-working tasks and fit the electrical components into the housing. When everything has been put together correctly, you can begin testing your theremin.
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Tweak and customize your theremin for best quality. Besides calibrating the electrical components, you also can add modification circuitry for different effects or better performance. Many "mods" are suggested at Theremin World and other theremin forums, or directly from the theremin kit manufacturers. Beyond modifying the electronics, different antenna configurations and styles can improve the quality of the theremin sounds. Perhaps the most entertaining and significant results can be achieved by connecting the theremin through an effects pedal or electronic synthesizer. And of course, experiment with different playing techniques and styles.
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Tips & Warnings
Instead of using a kit, you can build a theremin directly from a schematic if you are comfortable working with electronics and reading schematics. This allows you to make your own custom theremin with a higher quality than you will get from theremin kits. You will need the electrical components and some kind of housing, but you can find the schematics for building many different styles of theremins, as well as specific information about each kind at ThereminWorld.com.
Always use caution when working with a soldering iron and soldering lead.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit soldering image by Bube from Fotolia.com electronics. image by Eldin Muratovic from Fotolia.com circuit image by Michael Shake from Fotolia.com
