Number 14

You've heard it countless times in Sci-Fi films of the 50s to the point it became a cliché of clichés. It is mimicked by many to this day to denote something mysterious, unexplained or creepy; most probably in a campy way: "Ooo-Wooooo-Oooo"! The theremin is that haunting, elusive electronic instrument, invented by Russian physicist Leon Theremin (Lev Sergeivich Termen) in 1919.  That's Theremin pictured left with his theremin. Sounds redundant doesn't it?!

First used in film by Soviet composers such as Dmitri Shostakovich, the theremin would later appear in Hollywood, most notably in Miklos Rozsa's scores for Spellbound and The Lost Weekend. It wasn't until the 1950s however, with the new found popularity of the Sci-Fi film genre, that the theremin made its indelible mark in film scores and ultimately pop culture.

The first notable use of the theremin in a 50s Sci-Fi film was by Ferde Grofe for Rocketship X-M in 1950. Grofe composed an extended musical sequence to underscore the mysteries of Mars using the theremin extensively. Following Rocketship X-M, the next year Bernard Herrmann propelled the theremin to Sci-Fi musical stardom with his score for the classic The Day the Earth Stood Still, which utilized two of the instruments prominently. This is one of Herrmann's finest, most atmospheric scores and a landmark of the genre.

Following the success of The Day the Earth Stood Still and its innovative score, the floodgates opened for the theremin in Sci-Fi and to some extent horror films. For a while you couldn't throw a rock without hitting a Sci-Fi film that used the theremin. In fact as time went by and its use became more clichéd, the theremin came to be identified more with the cheesier, low budget "B" entries into the genre and was used more as a sound effect than it was as part of a musical score. This continued into the early 60s and eventually the overly used cliché of the wailing theremin sound pretty much doomed it to extinction in films. It was later to make a comeback however, in spoofs of old Sci-Fi movies as well as being central to Howard Shore's Ed Wood score.

Because of the difficulties in mastering the theremin and thus finding a competent musician to play it, other instruments began to take over its role. Most notably, the ondes Martenot, which was used by composers such as Elmer Bernstein and Maurice Jarre, albeit usually in a different capacity. Although it was a more musically manageable instrument, it lacked the rougher, wild-eyed sound of the theremin and didn't so much replace the instrument as provide a similar, alternate sound. It never could capture that "Ooo-Wooooo-Oooo" sound in quite the same way!

Outside of film scores there have been a few concert works written for the theremin, most notably in its birthplace, the former Soviet Union. In the Space Age Pop world, Harry Revel composed music for the theremin for three albums conducted by Les Baxter and Billy May: Music Out of The Moon, Perfume Set To Music and Music For Peace Of Mind. Dr. Samuel Hoffman, who played the instrument on both the The Day the Earth Stood Still and Rocketship X-M scores, did the duties here as well. Several rock groups have used the theremin from time to time over the years, including the theremin sound-alike electro-theremin for The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations". Project: Pimento, a group that bills itself as a "theremin lounge band", features the instrument in its two albums which include versions of TV/film themes and songs such as Star Trek (with the Roddenberry lyrics), Peter Gunn, Barbarella, Moon River, You Only Live Twice, A Shot in the Dark and Charade.  

Left is a photo of an Etherwave Theremin designed by the late Robert Moog and built from a kit manufactured by his Moog Music company (formerly Big Briar, Inc.). I built one of these about 10 years ago and haul it out every Halloween on my front porch to blast those eerie sounds down the street for all the trick-or-treaters. I set it up once at a Halloween party for adults and it seemed like no one could keep their hands off it, although in reality, you don't actually touch it! The vertical antenna on the right controls the pitch. The closer your hand gets to it, the higher the pitch. The horizontal loop antenna on the left controls the volume. The further your hand moves away from it, the louder the sound. The dials control elements such as waveform and brightness to alter timbre. I had always wanted a theremin since I was a kid and I've had a blast playing mine, although more as a toy than a musical instrument. I just haven't devoted the time it takes to try to master this wily beast.

Anyway, "Ooo-Woooo-Oooo"!!!