The inspiring instrument-inventing Soviet Spy
Monday Motion: Leon Theremin: Inventing a New Instrument
How often do you get the chance to invent your own instrument?
Leon Theremin did, and the spooky world of this hands-free device has been haunting us ever since.
Born in the Russian Empire, he would create a listening system for later Soviet espionage.
He would also invent a signature eponymously-named instrument that was played by plucking the air in the range above it.
The podcast Imaginary Worlds does a wonderful job covering the history of this invention.
This creation of Theremin’s was a trailblazing moment in electronic music.
Sure, it has since been largely relegated to B-movie horror scores.
But it’s a moment and a sign post showing a new realm of possibility.
Plus, if someone came along with an original vision, I’m pretty sure you could come up with an original and non-cliched take on its other-worldly sound.
Theremin created an electrical instrument. But just imagine the different analog options you still have to invent instruments.
And where better to look than to the craft of foley to inspire thought about it.
(When talking about foley and instrumentation meeting, the shekere comes to mind.)
Foley artists, those noble enterprisers, offer so much to us as they work to capture the perfect sounds for their productions.
There’s likely no better place to start when beginning to think about crafting sound than with the craft of a foley artist.
And as any jug band appreciator knows, the most pedestrian — or at least, pedestrian in a bygone era — items can be turned into a composite sound: jugs, washboards, combs, etc.
These also played a hand in shaping what would be called “skiffle.”
There are sounds to be harnessed everywhere.
I’m not ashamed to admit that I find myself playing the glass cups when washing the dishes by hand.
And a partly filled pan bwamped against the side of the sink produces a wonderful piece of SFX that would suit the score of any film that includes a Theremin.
There’s infinite potential in the world of electronic sound.
Pieces of the real world can be plucked up and transformed via sound design.
You can record a sound and play it back in any modulation.
There are infinite combinations.
Where would you begin?