Moog Claravox Centennial, User Manual

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Learning How to Play
4.
Place your legs slightly apart to keep your
body as still as possible.
5.
Relax your shoulders and drop your elbows
to your waist.
6.
Hold your volume hand just above the Vol-
ume Antenna, while positioning your other
hand in a rest position, with your pointer finger
resting on your thumb.
Refer to Figure 7.
7.
Slowly raise your volume hand to hear your
Claravox Centennial. Notice that it only takes
incredibly small movements with your pitch
hand to play a range of nearby notes. Subtly
moving a knuckle or slightly extending your
pinky is all that is required to move to the next
note, while opening your fist and spreading out
your fingers can raise the pitch of your Clara-
vox Centennial a full octave.
Clara Rockmore, widely regarded as the most
skillful thereminist in history, utilized a tech-
nique with tiny knuckle extensions. She would
start with a loosely closed fist, uncurling her
pinky, ring, and middle fingers outward in small
steps while keeping her index finger resting on
the thumb. As a beginning player, this is a good
place to start.
NOTE: Avoid large, forceful hand gestures, and
focus on delicate movements. Imagine tickling
butterflies rather than clutching guitar strings.
Playing Exercises and
Techniques
The theremin has been described as one of the
most difficult instruments to play due to the lack
of a physical interface. Unlike an instrument
that provides physical feedback as to where
each note is, the thereminist must rely strictly
on their ears to determine where each note lies.
The most difficult obstacle to overcome is learn-
ing to control both the pitch and volume simul-
taneously. While each gesture by itself is quite
simple, the two motions performed at the same
time can feel a bit awkward. Fortunately, all it
takes is a little practice. If you use your hands to
hold utensils while you eat, you’ll be fine.
Playing Glissando Style
Refer to Figure 8
1.
Hum a note. Moving only your pitch hand,
try to find that same note. When you find it,
hold it steady and hum another note just a few
tones higher.
2.
Now gradually extend your fingers to raise
the pitch and ‘glide’ to the new note. This glide
is called a glissando.
3.
Now slide back down to the first note.
NOTE: You can use an instrument tuner (con-
nected to the Claravox Centennial TUNER OUT
jack) as a visual aid to help guide you, but more
importantly, listen to the change and distinct
sound of each note.