Theremin

By Annette Rey

What does a musical instrument, the Big Bang Theory, and a murder mystery TV show have in common ?

• An inventor by the name of Leon Theremin (1896-1993) invented a musical instrument that produces sound without a person touching it. It is known as the theremin (uncapitalized).
• Sheldon Cooper, a character on the Big Bang Theory, played a theremin on one of the episodes.
• BBC programming offers a TV drama called Midsomer Murders (I’m a fan) and the eerie music that accompanies it comes from a theremin.

Simply stated, the theremin has two antennas that sense the position of the operator’s hands as he waves them in the air above the unit.

And you get another new word as a bonus. The operator of the theremin is called a thereminist.

Have fun researching new words and experiment using them in your writing.