The theremin is an instrument invented by Leon Theremin in 1928. It has two metal antennae, and you play it not by touching it, but by moving your hands in the air between the antennae to control the pitch and volume of the sound. It takes a lot of practice to play the theremin, so in the 1950s, trombonist Paul Tanner and an amateur inventor named Bob Whitsell made an instrument that made sounds similar to Leon Theremins creation, but made it a lot simpler for non-experts to hit specific notes and control the volume. Tanners instrument — like the theremin — was used in science fiction films and a very popular television show from the early 1960s called My Favorite Martian. Tanner featured it on his 1958 album, Music for Heavenly Bodies. The few people who bought The Beach Boys Pet Sounds when it came out in May of 1966 (as popular as it is now, the album wasnt a huge seller on release) would have heard Tanners instrument on the song I Just Wasnt Made For These Times. But in the autumn of that year, every American teenager heard that weird sci-fi sound on every AM pop radio station, when Paul Tanner performed his electrotheremin with The Beach Boys on Good Vibrations.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 22:22:39 +0000