Boston Pops gig

[Rob Schwimmer]

First rehearsal yesterday... Pitch preview worked great! I was VERY glad to be using it on this gig particularly.

Finding entrance notes easily and quietly while surrounded by a wide and loud thicket of notes is a tough proposition.

Rob

[Uncle Howie]

Rob:
 Can you expand on this cryptic posting, such as ...what gig, and how, and into what was the pitch preview installed, and by whom?
 I am glad the preview worked well for you, anyhow.
 Uncle Howie
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[Rob Schwimmer]

Hi, Uncle Howie--

Playing a concert on Friday with The Boston Pops at Symphony Hall doing a new soundtrack (a collaboration with Berklee) to Murnau's classic silent film Nosferatu

Using the Hobbs theremin w. the pitch preview set up by Charlie so that it doesn't crossfade. I found this confusing when I was doing soft entrances whether I was really hearing it out of the speaker or in my ear. even w. earbud in left ear and speaker on the right. He adjusted it so it's silent for a very small space between ear and speaker so it's just right (for me anyway) that I know where the note is coming from (in times of high stress) but the silent area is small enough that your entrance note won't be off

Rob

[Uncle Howie]

Rob:
 Wow, what a great opportunity to use the theremin, in not only for an interesting application, and at a propitious time, but in a outstanding venue.
Nosferatu is one of the creepiest silent films ever made, along with the Somnambulist (Conrad Veidt) both of which are in my video collection.
 It would be a tragedy to colorize any old silent film, but I would be wild about the re-releasing of both of them with a sound track of your performance in the first one mentioned and the other at a later date.
  Rob, please tell us if this engagement of yours will be available somewhere on the internet at a later date.
 Give Charlie all our best regards, and assure him we think he put his precious instrument in the best of hands for this engagement..
 Uncle Howie
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[Peter Pringle]

Rob, your opinion of the crossfading pitch preview confirms what I always suspected - it confuses the ear of the thereminist. What I have done is to train my ear to hear selectively so my brain ignores the preview when I don’t need it. 

You should always play with a preview, and don’t worry, you will not become dependent on it. You will always be able to play WITHOUT it just as well as you can WITH it. It just makes things a whole lot easier and you are always ready for the unexpected.

There have been gigs (like the Cirque du Soleil) where I have been surrounded by so much NOISE that I have had to use the preview as a monitor! Without it, I would not have been able to hear myself even though my speaker was six inches behind my head and BLARING loudly.

That was the nightmare gig from hell where a Chinese tumbler accidentally kicked my Ethervox off the stage. I vowed I would never play publicly again - and I haven’t. That was 2004.

[Rob Schwimmer]

Hey, Peter--

What I have done is to train my ear to take what you say with a grain of salt

Seriously though I don see the advantage of the cross fade. Please explain why you think it's better than what I've described. I know you've been using it for a long time so I really am curious if I'm understanding you correctly. Aaaand... Action!

Rob

Sent from my iPhone

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[mpic...@earthlink.net]

Rob,

The subscope can be set so that you get that window of silence before the theremin kicks in. What is nice about the cross fade is the closer you get to the volune antenna the louder it gets so depending on need,  you can hear it as loud as you need to.

Thierry is working on one for my Etherwave standard .

Sarah

[Peter Pringle]

Rob, I think you misunderstood what I meant. I didn’t express it very clearly. 

What I should have written is: “your opinion of the crossfading pitch preview confirms what I always suspected - it confuses the ear of the thereminist. I use a continuous pitch audio preview (which is what you use) and I have trained my ear to hear it selectively, so my brain ignores the tone when I don’t need it - but it’s always there.”

As I recall, the crossfading preview was a concept first explored by thereminist Roger Ballenger who had Bob Moog design one for him. Many people liked the idea of a preview but felt that the continuous pitch buzzing incessantly in their ear, was an annoyance that kept them from being able to merge with the music and become “one” with it. 

I think I may have been the first person to use an audio preview. It came from the visual preview that the late Robert Sexton recommended for the Etherwave in his book METHOD FOR THE THEREMIN (published 1996). I installed the visual preview on my Etherwave, just as Sexton instructed, and hated it! It was much too slow and far too distracting.

Just for fun, one afternoon I plugged headphones into the jack and my troubles were over!

The RCA does not need a jack because it leaks so much signal that all you need is a matchbox amp placed strategically on the music rail to get a tone. You can adjust the volume of the preview simply by moving the matchbox slightly to the left or right.

Thereminists who “flow” intuitively with the music are usually not very good. In order to play well, the instrument requires your complete concentration and there is no room “let go” the way there is with other instruments. 

To an audience, it may look as if trapeze artists are flying effortlessly and joyfully through the air, but the fact is they are counting and calculating every second. 

Thereminists are the trapeze artists of music ! 

[Rob Schwimmer]

Aha! Now I gotcha. Thanks

Sent from my iPhone

[Rob Schwimmer]

Peter, I did misunderstand but maybe I wasn't so clear myself. Let's say there's 3 options, not 2. You like 1) constant 2) some like cross fade and 3) I like... what should we call it for clarity--non fade?

Yes? No? Maybe?

Rob

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 29, 2015, at 7:29 AM, Peter Pringle <peterp...@cgocable.ca> wrote:

[Rob Schwimmer]

As a newbie to pitch preview I should say this is my current inexperienced preference. That could certainly change but the non fade feels intuitive at this point

Sent from my iPhone

[Peter Pringle]

On Thursday, 29 October 2015 08:24:09 UTC-4, Rob Schwimmer wrote:

As a newbie to pitch preview I should say this is my current inexperienced preference. That could certainly change but the non fade feels intuitive at this point.

Rob, what is the difference between “non-fade” and “constant”?

Ain’t it the same thang? 

[Rob Schwimmer]

I could call it non cross fade. The sound is out in the earbud before it hits the speaker as opposed to still hearing the headphone fading as sound in the speaker is getting louder. That's what I find confusing. When they're both quiet I couldn't tell sometimes how loud the speaker actually was

Sent from my iPhone

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[Charlie Hobbs]

Rob- Been meaning to check in to see how it was working for you.   Glad to hear that you are happy and stoked that you'll be playing my theremin for such a big gig!    Best!

Uncle Howie- Thanks!

[Charlie Hobbs]

** I'm stoked...

[Rob Schwimmer]

Hey, Charlie! Your baby is working and sounding great!

Rob

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 29, 2015, at 5:51 PM, Charlie Hobbs <cha...@gmail.com> wrote:

Rob- Been meaning to check in to see how it was working for you.   Glad to hear that you are happy and stoked that you'll be playing my theremin for such a big gig!    Best!

Uncle Howie- Thanks!

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[Peter Pringle]

Rob rote: "When they're both quiet I couldn't tell sometimes how loud the speaker actually was."

Rob, if you used a continuous tone audio preview all the time, you would very quickly adapt and you would always know what you were hearing. It's when we use the preview occasionally, when it is absolutely necessary, that the sounds get mixed up. 

Then there is the fact that a continuous preview, once you are an experienced user, will do a lot to improve your theremin playing OTHER than just allowing you to find your starting note. 

 

[Rob Schwimmer]

Hey, Peter--

Thanks for the info. It went very well with the non crossfade earpiece method for my first time... I did wind up adjusting in ear volume as I went as there were cues where the orchestra was quite loud as well as tacet cues where I didn't want any sound.

I'll try your suggestion but I can't say I'm dissatisfied with what I used... at least for the moment. But as I said you've been using the gizmo for a long time

No further orchestral gigs coming up for the moment but The Boston Pops want to do some other programs with me so that's very good news

Rob

-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Pringle <peterp...@cgocable.ca>
To: LevNet <lev...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Fri, Oct 30, 2015 5:16 pm
Subject: Re: [levnet] Boston Pops gig

[mpic...@earthlink.net]

Congratulations Rob. I am really happy for you.

Sarah

[Rob Schwimmer]

Thanks, Sarah! It was really nice--Wish you could have been there

Rob

[mpic...@earthlink.net]

I would have loved to have heard it live, but was still cheering you on in spirit.

S