“I bought a piano but I never touch it” - “what a waste of money!” I bought a theremin but I never touch it” - “great!”

Hence the famous music quiz show quesion: "Do you strike, pluck, or blow a theremin?" "No."

@Boofin_Tobacco

5 жыл бұрын

David Willanski tfw nobody blew Theremin ):

@Himark89

5 жыл бұрын

@@Boofin_Tobacco You can't say that! P.S. my mind is so dirty.

@weirdface3838

4 жыл бұрын

None, you don't hit it because it would break. You don't pluck it because it isn't stringed. Blow? I'd love to see you blow air to have it produce sound. Go ahead, r/woooosh me :/

@EliA-mm7ul

4 жыл бұрын

You make love to it

@DragonFollower23

4 жыл бұрын

@@weirdface3838 r/wooosh

Ive made a few videos with one of these. They're crazy difficult to play.

@Donthefirst

8 жыл бұрын

+Rob Scallon ;P

@midnightheoryofatsm

8 жыл бұрын

+Rob Scallon 'Sup Rob!

@fleeb

8 жыл бұрын

+Rob Scallon Sure is. I have one of these, but never quite got the swing of it. I could play some stuff with it, but I never felt that I had it really down cold.

@immanuelrohy

8 жыл бұрын

i knew i'd find rob here...

@SoulDelSol

8 жыл бұрын

you can play guitar with 900 strings but you can't play something that you don't even need to touch? I don't believe. I challenge thee to cover metal song on theremin. ready? go!

My jaw was on the floor literally the entire video. As a mechanical engineer and a musician, this instrument tickles parts of me I never knew could be tickled.

@Unherd_Of

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you exactly its like finding out that toy u always wanted exists and makes noise.

@shizukagozen777

2 жыл бұрын

You had never heard of theremin before ? 😧

@germanjohn5626

Жыл бұрын

kzread.info/dash/bejne/no1r1bqEd73SYto.html

@sonicsupersam7793

Жыл бұрын

same, im really invested in electronics and engineering, and also music. This is brilliant.

@toringmort4231

Жыл бұрын

It's the electricity

You missed your opportunity to start the episode with the SciShow theme played on a theremin :)

@lucysmith8326

3 жыл бұрын

The Theramin was used as the music for the TV series Dark Shadows!

@colorbugoriginals4457

3 жыл бұрын

I was so disappointed when it wasn't 😂

@Mattisttam

2 жыл бұрын

Star Trek guys.

In spanish to say "play an instrument" is said the same as "touching and instrument", so the theremin is hard to explain in spanish

@Vynzent

8 жыл бұрын

+Fernando Franco Félix Hahahaha, yes indeed.

@mexicandoggos3578

5 жыл бұрын

I was thinking about this too

@VincentGonzalezVeg

5 жыл бұрын

the instrument reads where you touch the air

@veronicafleitas412

5 жыл бұрын

Yes and That's why we try to correct in Spanish saying, "ejecutar el instrumento, no tocar el instrumento"

@fernandoizaurieta7270

5 жыл бұрын

​@@veronicafleitas412 Sí, pero no faltará quien piense que llevaste el instrumento a la guillotina :D

I made a Theremin for my physics degree dissertation :D It was so much fun!

@joolzzenda

8 жыл бұрын

+joolzzenda The whole heterodyning part was a massive pain though as I had a teeny tiny variable resistor inside it which was turned with a screwdriver but touching the screwdriver to it interfered with the whole thing and changed the frequency out the output and it was SO HARD to get it right! And it needed re-doing every time you switched it on because the conditions would change!

@CWGminer

6 жыл бұрын

If I did it then I would probably end up frying my phone with stray inductance

@JpChannelOne

6 жыл бұрын

In the movie Electronic Odyssey I saw Lew Thermen calibrating his own instrument by putting the screwdriver in the vicinity of the pitch antenna :-). Its easier...

@MarkBowenPiano

5 жыл бұрын

joolzzenda You needed to use what we call a spudger. Basically a plastic screwdriver so you don't introduce any interference.

@ritzrocks98

5 жыл бұрын

@@joolzzenda I wanted to know how is the capacitance being developed, despite the hand being independent of the circuit? Is it the ground, and if yes, then why does it work even with shoes on?

Does anyone want to buy a used theremin? I haven't touched mine in years.

@jccarbon1998

8 жыл бұрын

W

@DesperateAbroad

8 жыл бұрын

How much?

@jozo496

8 жыл бұрын

Yeah that sounds cool. But how much?

@mikeo.4924

8 жыл бұрын

ba-dum-tshhhh!

@hazardousteam2899

8 жыл бұрын

Hahaha nice.

You acknowledged electro swing, this mildly pleases me.

@MAXthespicyvideomachine

8 жыл бұрын

I can't stand electro swing I feel it destroyed the whole fun of the original song

@NuclearFallout321

8 жыл бұрын

+SPICY~MAX I would argue that it makes the original songs more fun by making them more energetic!

@theoverseer393

3 жыл бұрын

@@MAXthespicyvideomachine if it’s an original song, good. But remixes annoy me

It is worth noting that you also need an inductor in combination with the capacitor in order create the oscillations. Although you didn't mention it by name, you did show an inductor in the diagram at 1:25.

@armstrong.r

8 жыл бұрын

What does the inductor do that allows the oscillations to occur?

@dennisdavis6943

8 жыл бұрын

+Physics Videos by Eugene Khutoryansky i was gonna say the same thing

@absojake

8 жыл бұрын

+Robert Armstrong If you just had a capacitor by itself the current would flow from one end to another and neutralize itself. In other words it would decay. The inductor allows the current to induce a electric field, which is changing, and that induces an opposite current in the inductor. Which means the current is now flowing the opposite way and recharges the capacitor. This keeps happening which is the oscillation.

@armstrong.r

8 жыл бұрын

absojake Why does the coil shape induce an electric field?

@dennisdavis6943

8 жыл бұрын

+Robert Armstrong the inductor resists change in current and stores energy in its magnetic field which is produced by current flowing through it. When the capacitor is fully charged there is no current in the wire, therefore no magnetic field on the incductor. but the charge wants to equalize with the other plate of the capacitor so the current starts to flow through the wire, through the inductor, and towards the other plate, this current produces a magnetic field in the inductor. once the charge on both plates is equal the current no longer wants to flow, but the inductor has stored up energy in its magnetic field and it wants to resist the current from stopping. this magnetic energy is what forces the current to continue flowing until the capacitor is fully charged again but in the opposite direction, and again the current has stopped and the inductor no longer has a magnetic field. then this process repeats over and over causing oscillation. without the inductor the charge would equalize on the capacitor and nothing would happen. i hope that made sense.

What instrument do you play Me: the router

I teach the history and functionality of electronic instruments, and have been doing so for many years. This is, hands down, the best description and explanation I have ever seen in regard to the theremin. Thank you!

@jamesjones4396

6 жыл бұрын

Yeah too bad it's just plain wrong in many parts

@MarcassCarcass

5 жыл бұрын

He left out the inductor.

@thekingoffailure9967

3 жыл бұрын

I'd hope you would keep your hands up, I came for a concert, after all!

I'm just upset you didn't play the SciShow theme with the Theramin

@ragnkja

8 жыл бұрын

+Tom Langford That would take a lot of practice for Hank.

@joebykaeby

8 жыл бұрын

+Tom Langford I know Hank's a musical genius but it is just a liiiiiitle difficult to actually play the thing.

@JoeCrush_

8 жыл бұрын

Would've been epic ; (

You forgot to mention that they were very popular in 50s and 60s sci-fi movies. Whooooohooooo

@daustin8888

5 жыл бұрын

And Mars Attacks!

I received my Theremin yesterday and it has already changed my life. I'm a lifelong musician and the ability to detach myself from touching the instrument is amazing. Keyboards, stringed instruments and others which require manipulation of knobs are limiting unless you are a specialist. The Theremin, by its non-contact nature, enables one to express one's inner self with small movements of the hands. It's an ideal instrument for contemplation and expressing one's soul.

Wow! Nice explanation! I play the theremin for 10 years now, and I still love it!

What? You didn't play the outro theme on the theremin? For shame.

@tylorbray

8 жыл бұрын

+FirstRisingSouI its not easy also i saw a cool one stuck up a beaver taxadermy

@QuillanWebster

7 жыл бұрын

FOR THE REVOLUTION

@Casey_J96

7 жыл бұрын

Quillan Webster was that a Hamilton joke? Lol

@36gamers

5 жыл бұрын

its known as the hardest instrument in the world to play. There's only like a handful of people who can really play it at all.

@MK-hj9de

4 жыл бұрын

@@QuillanWebster *for shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame*

Another great video, keep up the great work guys!

@SciShow

8 жыл бұрын

+Lwilight Thank you!

@khazarhay

8 жыл бұрын

+SciShow I never get a thank you from you

@DidYouKnowThatOfficial

8 жыл бұрын

hi i am bob, i need some support because my channel is criminally underrated :(

@DidYouKnowThatOfficial

8 жыл бұрын

thanks in advance

@sugarfrosted2005

8 жыл бұрын

+DidYouKnowThat? nope

I’ve been playing for 3 years. Currently making videos and writing theremin music! The theremin is such a wonderful instrument. Thanks for the video! ☺️

You, sir, are amazing. I have to say I didn't expect much from a four-minute video on this subject. But I follow your Crash Course videos, so when I saw you in this vid, I knew I wouldn't be disappointed. Explaining not only capacitance, but heterodyning in under 4 minutes? That's what I came here for. Well done, sir. Also, you remind me of a very young Tom Lehrer.

I didn't even know I wanted to know about this. I love this channel.

This is genius. I've listened to these; love the sound.

Best description of how a theremin works that I've seen... Thanks! 🤗

You explained in seconds how an alternating current works better than my Physics teacher has all year. Thank you so much!

I find that interesting that this was posted on the exact day I added a Theremin to an EDM song that I'm working on! ^_^ How serendipitous!

Every time I hear those things I feel like I'm at the dentist lol

Hank, your face at the end of the video: gorgeous! Just perfect. Thanks for making another wonderful video. Now I know what a Theremin is! Yay!

Darn! Just saw someone who did a wonderfully complex rendition of Long and Winding Road, and the muscle memory to play tones on that instrument so expertly is really impressive. Thanks for having this on why it works. Love SciShow -- understandable answers to very specific questions! Off to listen to some more theremin music.

Nobodyyyy knoowwwss the trouble i've seeeen Noboodyyy knowwws my sorrows.... -if you get this you get a cookie

@CanadianOptionsTrader

8 жыл бұрын

Spaceballs

@feynstein1004

8 жыл бұрын

+beargryllsfan007 Sheldon Cooper FTW

@FoxTailWhipz

8 жыл бұрын

+DrZaius YES

@metallsnubben

8 жыл бұрын

+beargryllsfan007 "...She's a bass!"

@araeside6979

8 жыл бұрын

MHM

This is actually really cool, and if you at least appreciate electromagnetism, you'll appreciate it even more.

I love your videos and they are awesomely presented, explained and easy to learn. keep up the good work

Thanks to this video I've been introduced to Acid Jazz. My life just got funky.

was hoping to see Hank perform a short SciShow DubShow lol

what about v a p o r w a v e

@IndieKiddie

8 жыл бұрын

+Terminally Capricious my thoughts exactly

@troberson3435

3 жыл бұрын

I couldn’t agree more, like not even a mention of the vapor wave. Really goes to show how little effort he actually puts into his videos.

I loved this episode. thanks hank!

Yes! I was wanting a video on this!

It sounded like hank trapped a kitten in a box 😂

I recommend listening to Bill Bailey playing the Theremin. He's really bloody good for playing an instrument that's literally impossible to play well.

Awesome! I've been wanting to learn how to play a theremin forever! :)

When I want to know something new .. SciShow and Hank come to the rescue. I've known about the theremin, but suddenly realised I thought it was magic. KZread recommendations and there you have it. Thank you so much!!

They missed out on a perfect opportunity to play the theme of SciShow with the theremin.

No mention of the Beach Boys!!!??? Gasp!

I did a class presentation on the theremin about 7 years ago and I've been in love with the instrument ever since! I own a lot of Clara Rockmore's theremin covers, what a virtuoso!! Someday I hope to at least try one out for myself or even own one!

It's interesting the theremin featured here is a Moog theremin... as in the Moog synthesizer (same manufacturer). Robert Moog sold these to help pay for the research on his synthesizer long ago, and his company continues to sell them today. The Moog synthesizer paved the way for the various electronic keyboard instruments we use today.

Wait, that would mean... MAYONNAISE CAN BE AN INSTRUMENT AFTER ALL!

@adammehdi9205

8 жыл бұрын

+blazebluebass NO PATRICK! MAYONNAISE IS NOT AN INSTRUMENT!

@blazebluebass

8 жыл бұрын

Adam Mehdi But... BUT... THEREMIN!

@Johnathonisnotcool

8 жыл бұрын

You should try and then upload your results to KZread!

@joshuahadams

8 жыл бұрын

In a recent episode of Dear Hank and John, Hank and his brother, John discuss this question.

@Torrance92

6 жыл бұрын

Disgusting ledditor

After this video I am going to search for all of those songs with the different electron dub swing styles.

@blasterbashar1

8 жыл бұрын

Exactly my thoughts

Just saw Lord Huron perform with a theremin last night in Chicago and had no idea what it was! Awesome video! Thank you!

Great Video. Im an electronic musician and in physics 2 where we just learned about capacitors and such. So WOW.

Acid Jazz? That's a new one. Time to go loss my mind.

@xxshevilxx

8 жыл бұрын

+DioOmicida Early King Crimson fits in that genre, and perhaps even Jean Luc Ponty does too. For Crimson I'd suggest Red, Starless and Bible Black, and Islands.

Was hoping you were going to play the original Star Trek theme song. Dammit Spock!

Great explanation, thank you!

Nice! Always wondered about this instrument.

Are there outtakes of you playing a sci-fi rift? Or maybe Good Vibrations?

@bkrbyex4339

7 жыл бұрын

heck Jimmy page has been playing one of these things.. just listen to the Led Zeppelin songs, "whole lotta love" and "no Quarter"

Wow I just picked up my phone and here I am 30 seconds late.

@oliverwilson8092

8 жыл бұрын

Same

@cezane

8 жыл бұрын

Lol same same.

@PharaohFluidity

8 жыл бұрын

+Canada Owns- Late to the internet?? OMG how do you deal?

This was highly informative.

Thank you! Getting a theremin from my uncle this Xmas. Was curious as to how it worked. :) Looking forward to learning.

I thought it was a wifi access point looking at the thumbnail

So if you touch it, do you get zapped?

@majest33

7 жыл бұрын

yeh i cant help but wonder when /how it gets deadly.

@ameliawright6947

6 жыл бұрын

Nah, you can. Some pieces make use of the technique, I know the third movement from Tarnow's Theremin Sonata No. 2.

@IEataTheSoup

4 жыл бұрын

You become the theremin

We went over this in my Musicianship IV class. Good video)

Oh my god, I always loved the idea of the theremin! There's one a the Science Center here. Like always, awesome video!

I'm picking up good vibrations watching this.

The *charge* doesn't change with distance, though the *capacitance* definitely does. C = eA/d; d changes when you move your hand back and forth (A can too if you turn your hand relative to the antenna, though this is a relatively small effect given the effective aperture of the antenna). The real effect though, is on the resonant frequency of the LC tank (MOST theremins include this); one portion of the C being the capacitor formed by the player's hand and the antenna. The resonant frequency of the tank is: f = 1/ (2*pi*sqrt(LC)). In theremin design there is typically a relatively large discrete resonant capacitor (100 to 1000 pF), which the player/antenna capacitor is in parallel with. The hand to antenna capacitance is tiny in comparison, maxing out at only a few pF. But that's enough! The other elements in the circuit are fixed, and a few pF of difference causes a detectable change in the resonant frequency, and thus the variations in pitch and volume which turn a simple circuit into an instrument. :-)

@bjf10

3 жыл бұрын

@T C Nope. I'm an electrical engineer. But don't believe me, look up the fundamental physics of capacitance and resonance yourself.

I was so psyched to see this! Also hell yes electro swing.

@BriWhoSaysNi

8 жыл бұрын

Yes! Electro swing is the best.

Thank you very much for your video! It was very interesting and informative:)

Was I the only screaming at the screen when higher and lower frequencies came into it until he explained that they’re switched 🥴

@paigeguthrie8486

4 жыл бұрын

nathl10 But if it has more charge, it WOULD have a higher frequency, so it doesn't make sense that they switch. I'm so confused

Is it a flux capacitor!!????

Working on this video essay. Stumbled upon this. Good insights.

Wooo! Favorite part of my day! :D

Anyone remember American Horror Story: Coven, when the witch was playing a Theremin?

@NoirChat138

4 жыл бұрын

probably not, because it's somewhat obsolete

@sapphicism

4 жыл бұрын

that’s exactly why i’m here skjsks that was such a good season and this is such a good instrument !!!!

@laurnias1516

4 жыл бұрын

Yes! She inspired me to want one! And now I finally have one

@joshuaferguson698

3 жыл бұрын

ChatNoir13th not really, that’s what brought me here

"The string of a GUITAR vibrates" *shows a bass

I have been eyeing the Moog Theremini for almost a year. I saw it on sale so I bought myself one. It arrives tomorrow. I'm so excited.

1:10 I think it's most accurate to say capacitors store a voltage. The plates store a charge sure, but it's both the plates and the gap between them which makes a capacitor.

you're playing it backwards :P

@Rachel-zm9up

4 жыл бұрын

I play the theremin and that bothered me the whole video

@metabeard3788

4 жыл бұрын

@@Rachel-zm9up You know, after I made this comment 4 years ago, I tried playing my theremin backwards and I have to admit that I prefer it this way. I'll admit, I'm not trained on the thing and couldn't accurately perform a song with it, I mainly use it for sound effects in the recording studio, but coming from a cello background I found that it was more intuitive to control pitch with my left hand and volume with my right. It's one of the Moog Etherwave kits, so I may open it up again and try to reverse the whole thing.

@Rachel-zm9up

4 жыл бұрын

@Metabeard that’s really interesting! I can see why it would be easier to control with left hand for string players. I’ll have to try that; my main instrument is violin. I mostly play classical music on the theremin, and I’m pretty used to using my right hand by now, so it might be hard to switch, but I’ll give it a try!

Electro swing.. probably the only music I find slightly enjoyable out of all the crazy weird ones

@EClaire.1073

8 жыл бұрын

+Boredness I just found Caravan Palace, and now I can't stop listening to them. I might need help.

@thedanishman10

8 жыл бұрын

Have ya tried acid jazz? Some of the stuff didn't even sound electronic

Thanks for doing this.

Kudos for getting an actual Theremin in the studio!

Anyone from Rob Scallon Theramin video?

A guy tried his hand at Britains got talent with one of these. No one could tell what he was trying to play.

@CrimsonJoker641

8 жыл бұрын

+noodles6669 Yeah I remember that!

@novakane8722

5 жыл бұрын

He also wasnt a good player

That was awesome! I saw a young lady play this Theremin live as a show opener for the Bare Naked Ladies when they played my hometown! It was pretty spectacular!

This is SUCH a cool instrument!! I got to attend this lecture on it at the Benjamin Franklin Institute in Philadelphia!

Personally, I prefer the sound of an Ondes Martenot.

Who else started looking up songs being played on the theremin?

@gregmiller9710

8 жыл бұрын

+DiscipleOf Ra check out "Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys..

@garyjones2561

5 жыл бұрын

Greg Miller and Midsomer Murders.

@masadda7

5 жыл бұрын

Whole lotta love is the most famous example

please please please keep doing music related things. I really enjoyed this video.

This is really cool

that was kind of a poor explanation of an LC oscillator +Scishow

I think Jimmy Page uses one on "Whole Lotta Love."

@troberson3435

3 жыл бұрын

Ah of course classic Jimmy and his theremin!

Amazing video !! i was wondering about how the theremin actually works!! thank you!! by the way, Leon Theremin was also a Cello player and invented a Theremin Cello AKA Fingerboard Theremin

Thanks, SciShow. Send your peeps to the music!

HOW COME I SOMETIMES SHIVER WHEN IM DONE PEEING?

@Lotharies

8 жыл бұрын

I think it's because your urine is warm so when it leaves your body it lowers your body temperature

Very misleading to talk about oscillators as needing capacitors but never mention inductors.

That's fascinating!

Very very good idea guys.

why is it so difficult to follow these explanations ☹ I want to learn but I have no idea what he's saying

@mrpiksna

8 жыл бұрын

+Emmett Del Google

@futenodeku3441

8 жыл бұрын

+Emmett Del Just take it all in slowly, and don't give up :P

@macsnafu

6 жыл бұрын

There's other videos of *actual* theremin players on the internet that show you better how to play than Hank did. Thomas Grillo, for example, provides video lessons on playing on his KZread channel.

Jimmy page, can play it better.

0:06 everything you just listed i love it

99% Invisible had a good podcast on this recently. Good episode on the history of things and how it led to encryption.

russians call it "Thereminvox" to avoid confusion. And i think it sounds a bit cooler than just "Theremin", right? :)

@jasperiscool

7 жыл бұрын

To add to the confusion, a remake of the ondes martenot is called therevox.

"Human friendly sounds" I think not

@electrolyteblend

8 жыл бұрын

+skynetswing ditto the my brother

Literally yesterday I was wondering how that thing worked please stop reading my mind for video ideas but also please continue because now I will know

I just watched a biology video that you were in during school. came home and now you're in my recommended haha