Subj : Theremin / Mellotron
To : STEPHEN JONES
From : Martin Ridgley
Date : Thu Nov 02 2000 08:47 am
-=> STEPHEN JONES wrote to BRETT MCCOY <=-
SJ> Is the Mellotron a keyboard instrument?
Yes.
SJ> Also, is it related to the Theron (sp?) that they used to do
SJ> weird sounds like in the movie "The Day The Earth Stood Still"?
'Theremin' is the correct spelling and it's not related to the
Mellotron at all. The Theremin was one of the earliest electronic
instruments - invented around 1920, IIRC - and it's a pretty unique
electronic instrument, unlike anything else I can think of.
You can hear one on the 1966 Beach Boys hit, "Good Vibrations".
It's the instrument making the spacey, wavering sound at the very
end, as the song goes into the instrumental outro and then fades.
I don't fully understand how they work, so I'd best leave that
for someone else to explain. I *do* know that the original ones
were notoriously difficult to play with any accuracy, and that's
a big reason why the instrument didn't catch on. They were used
mainly just for sound effects - often in sci-fi movies, like the
one you mentioned.
I've noticed the Theremin showing up on a few fairly recent pop
recordings, though - most notably, Matthew Sweet's latest album,
"In Reverse" (1999) where it's used on 6 of the album's 14 tracks!
