Supernatural Sound

Kip Rosser will demonstrate the magic of the theremin during a marathon performance at the David Sarnoff Library.

By: Kara Fitzpatrick

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PHOTO: KARA FITZPATRICK
Kip Rosser practices the theremin daily, and plays classical music, jazz and pop on the electrical instrument.


   With the theremin positioned in front of him, he moves his arms around it like wind. It’s an odd- looking thing, resembling a box with protruding wires balancing atop a skinny pole.
   He does not touch the instrument, but it still makes music.
   Magic?
   Kip Rosser thinks so.
   "To me it’s magical the way it happens," says Mr. Rosser, a Morrisville, Pa., resident.
   The theremin, invented in 1919 by Russian scientist Lev Termen, creates music using the power of two antennae. One, which is shaped like a loop, is responsible for controlling volume. The other, a pointy antenna just like that of a television or radio, controls the pitch.
   "A theremin only makes one sound, it is a continuous sound," explains Mr. Rosser.
   But the human hand can manipulate that sound.
   "The further you get (from the instrument) the lower the note. What the player does is move his or her hand away from the pitch antenna to make different notes," says Mr. Rosser. "Each antenna generates electromagnetic fields. Your hand interrupts those fields because they act as capacitors for the electricity — it’s like your hand is a conductor."
   The theremin uses the concept of heterodyne — two forces combining to make a third — to create a new noise.
   Seem confusing? The logic behind the theremin still baffles Mr. Rosser, who has been playing the device for seven years.
   "The real way it works is magic," says Mr. Rosser, laughing.
   Mr. Rosser will be sharing his skills April 23 as he performs for six hours (not an easy task on a theremin, he says) at the David Sarnoff Library in West Windsor.
   Those who attend can expect to hear anything from classical to jazz to popular music being radiated from the theremin — which typically acts as an accompanying instrument. With the ability to sound like the cello, the saxophone, or "a woman singing," says Mr. Rosser, the theremin is a versatile instrument.
   "You can get lots of different sounds out of this thing," Mr. Rosser says, while demonstrating its ability alongside jazz melody, "Autumn in New York."
   "I prefer a mellow sound," he adds.
   Credited as being the oldest electrical instrument in the world, the theremin was invented at a time when people were fascinated with radio — and all things electrical, for that matter.
   As a young man in his 20s, Mr. Termen was experimenting with the concept of radio and "this kind of happened by accident," says Mr. Rosser. Mr. Termen became a god-like figure in Europe after the invention of the theremin which, Mr. Rosser explains, was first dubbed the "etherphone".
   Observers who flocked to get a glimpse of him playing his revolutionary device thought he was tapping into supernatural forces to create the sounds. He played around the world, including at well-known American sites like Carnegie Hall.
   Mr. Termen "was literally thought of as some sort of magician or something," Mr. Rosser says, adding there is only one book that covers the complete history of Mr. Termen. "I’ve read it three times and I’m reading it again now."
   Now, the theremin, decades beyond its prime, has become less well known and more of a mystery.
   "The theremin has already been so famous that now people don’t know it existed, so it’s kind of a novelty," says Mr. Rosser.
   Mr. Rosser, who works as graphic designer by day and has a background in theater, began his affair with the theremin after a life-long interest in the instrument. He dabbled in playing the piano and clarinet as a child, but resented having to practice pieces demanded by his teachers.
   "My mother would get me a record of a Haydn symphony, and I would play that (instead)," he recalls.
   He purchased his first theremin through a catalog years ago and now owns four — including a nifty pocket theremin that will be at the David Sarnoff Library event, along with a full-size limited-edition digital model.
   "I actually knew before I got the theremin that I was going to be able to play it, I could just feel it," says Mr. Rosser who, despite not continuing with clarinet or piano, still believes he has an ear for music. "The one thing you need to play the theremin is a very good ear."
   And the first song he learned to play? For some reason, Mr. Rosser recalls, "I wanted to learn ‘Over the Rainbow.’" He was successful, and has since moved on to learn enough music to play for hours straight.
   The theremin, says Mr. Rosser, is typically a self-taught hobby. Aside from reading the subtitles of an instructional Russian DVD, Mr. Rosser was on his own, and it didn’t come easy.
   He likens the task to a musical version of simultaneously rubbing your belly and patting your head.
   "It’s impossible to talk while playing this thing," he says while concentrating on moving his limbs properly. Hand placement is important — a note will sound different even with movement of less than an inch.
   "I practice at least an hour to an hour and a half a day," Mr. Rosser says, adding that classical pieces can take months to learn. "It’s muscle memory, your body knows where to move."
   Even still, all of that practice doesn’t necessarily make perfect. And perfection is not something Mr. Rosser is seeking.
   "You do what any jazz musician does, you just improvise," he says.
   The sounds emitted from the instrument have the capacity to be rather eerie, if one chooses. For example, the supernatural sounds in Alfred Hitchcock’s Spellbound were made using the theremin.
   On the other hand, the device has been employed for uplifting purposes, such as to create the familiar wooahhwooo sound in the Beach Boys’ 1966 hit "Good Vibrations."
   The theremin, a temperamental instrument, will behave differently in every room. Factors like temperature and the amount of nearby electronic equipment can effect the sound — "it’s very sensitive," says Mr. Rosser.
   Observers of Saturday’s performance who are up for an experience can even try their luck on the theremin, says Mr. Rosser.
   "I just hope they have fun. That’s really why I do it," Mr. Rosser says, grinning. "I love playing the music. I’m totally obsessed with this machine."
Kip Rosser will perform at the David Sarnoff Library, 201 Washington Road, West Windsor, April 23, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The open house will feature an exhibit on the first 45 rpm record and the display of the first transistor radio. Free admission. For information, call (609) 734-2636. On the Web: www.davidsarnoff.org