h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi. has anyone come across a progam called pctheramin? It was featured several years ago on the bbc science for chidrens' page and offered a download for a desktop theramin which was quite amusing. Using your mouse you could change pitch, volume, and play various sound fxs by rolling over some comical graphics.. Sadly it has been lost when we changed pcs but the boys would love to have it back.

Hi, there.

Is this it?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/playground/theremin1.shtml

JTG

Spot on John! Thanks, that will keep the boys happy.
I've never built a genuine theramin, but back when I was a kid we used to build short wave receivers with a feedback reaction control and by advancing this the set would oscillate and hand capacitance would allow you to get the same effect, but without the volume control. I'd always thought the ondes martineau was just the french name for the theramin.
slightly off-thread but this site is interesting if anyone likes strange sound installations www.resoundings.org site of Bill Fontana. Thanks once again.

My pleasure.

does anybody happen to have this file and be willing to share it (email it)? The link above now returns a 404, sadly, and I'm way too curious to just let it go!
Thanks

Sorry I've not replyed as I've not been on the site for ages! I do have a zip file of the pctheramin - it's around 780 K though. I could send it as an e-mail att.(take ages!) or if you have aim as a file.brian

I too had lost the the PC Theremin and was disappointed not to find it at the BBC Website. I did some searching and found it at Theremin World along with some other very interesting links:

http://www.thereminworld.com/software.asp

PC Theremin link:
http://www.humboldtmusic.com/eldingreen/theremin.html

The children, and I, are happy once again!

I too had lost the the PC Theremin and was disappointed not to find it at the BBC Website. I did some searching and found it at Theremin World along with some other very interesting links:

http://www.thereminworld.com/software.asp

PC Theremin link:
http://www.humboldtmusic.com/eldingreen/theremin.html

The children, and I, are happy once again!

Apparently, Lenin considered the theramin to be the people's instrument of the future, as (theoretically) any musically illiterate member of the proletariat could simply wave and make music without having to train or understand anything about its underlying principles. He ordered them manufactured in large quantities.

What led to the demise of the theramin, supposedly, was simply that it took too much physical effort to hold your arms out under precise control for long periods at a time.

There is a free plugin VST intsrument called Mysteron which is a theremin emulator. It's very good and is controllable by midi as well as a mouse. It's a plugin which means it needs a host sequencer in which to run. This too is available as freeware, but it's all maybe a little complicated for the casual user. I can post some links if anyone is interested.