Above is the trautonium, an early synthesizer which uses no keyboard, but rather something that looks like a thick tape measure without numbers. Associated with the composers Paul Hindemith and Oskar Sala, it was invented in 1929 in Germany. Kind of an awkward time, given the near future. The Nazis were (among other things) kind of sticks in the mud when it came to new art, which an instrument that ranged from plaintive caterwauling to harsh electronic noise certainly counted as.
The Beach Boys famously used a Theremin for "Good Vibrations" and Radiohead went through a whole Ondes Martenot phase, but I'm not aware of any rock artist incorporating the trautonium into their sound. Seems like a missed opportunity.
2 comments:
It has something of the sound of wind instruments about it but I didn't hear the sounds it was capable of making long enough to decide. You're right that it's interesting. When we saw Cornelius he played a theremin - actually he got somebody from the audience and used him to actually play it.
I don't play anything but if I did it would have to be something that made sounds easily.. like a gong, for instance (good for someone who can't keep time).
The video emphasizes the milder sounds it makes, I think. I mean, it's an instrument that appealed to German Dadaists, for whatever that tells you. The Cornelius show sounds fascinating. I mean, that takes audience participation to a pretty high level.
By habit I'm a non-musician as well. I hope there's no great talent that I've squandered. Still, it can be fun to make different kinds of sounds.
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