Theremin, the untouchable music | Pamelia Kurstin
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- Опубліковано 27 сер 2024
- www.ted.com Virtuoso Pamelia Kurstin plays and discusses her theremin, the not-just-for-sci-fi electronic instrument that is played without being touched. Songs include the classic "Autumn Leaves," Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life" and a composition by David Mash, "Listen: the Words Are Gone." Piano: Makoto Ozone.
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She really gets the pitch right. Most other people I have seen on UA-cam don't stay very in tune and it doesn't sound as good. She really has control!
She has perfect pitch. Saw her several times.
that's an understatement
Really? I think it's all over the place. She often plays quite flat, especially in the Autumn Leaves.
She was in a definite flow state those first few minutes. :D
Saw her in Lillehammer in Norway with the alternative banb Ulver. Shaked hands with her after the concert to thank her for one of the best artistic experience i ever had. Her smile melted me completely..:)
I think she's the most gifted thereminist I've ever heard.
I'd say skilled. She worked hard for that gift ;-)
I love the awsome piano play by Makoto Ozone!!!
She is so genuine and cozy, something that is extremely rare these days, a wonderful human being!
I love this introduction to the theremin. Such an interesting thing. I do think, though, the pianist is so underrated here.
She is soooo awesome. I love the way she's so quirky
She is Real/Authentic about what's going on, that is SO Charming! Innocence/No Shame, like a child.
One of my favourite musicians to have seen live. A true talent.
Jesus, 2:47 just redefined the whole damn instrument for me. Don't think I've ever seen anyone lay it down like that on a theremin before
for the "first note" question, i would guess that she has a spatial/muscle memory combo that allows her to remember approximate locations of notes. it's probably pretty difficult to estimate the pitch exactly, so she must correct her notes very rapidly. i'm a jazz bass player and another commenter seemed to insinuate that she had a background in jazz bass - so that makes sense to me, because on both instruments the player must make split-second pitch corrections.
It's believable, that in todays world, the real gifted and talented are so under appreciated.
True
Yep...and it's getting worse...
This woman is amazing.
Left-handed theremin. She said she was using her left hand for pitch and her right for volume.
Met her twice. She is very talented for sure. She has a very good album, Gymnopedie, that is worth getting for sure.
Especially enjoy the bass line starting near 2:40
She is frickin brilliant!! The theremin is SOOO hard and she makes it look so easy! Bravo!! and her versatility!! fantastic!!
And cute as a button to boot!
There are amazing people in the world
This is my music teachers ex student and she's absolutely incredible wow!
Mr.A?
Wow!
20 minutes of brilliance!
I'm so amazed by this.So beautiful .I'd love to some day learn this musical instrument 😍
She's adorable! You can tell it's not often she talks to an audience. Well, using words, anyway. What a brilliant musician.
the sounds you can get from this instrument keep amazing me
Pamela - Brava
I simply adore the sound of the theremin which seems to be most difficult to play.
You have special talent.
Regards and respect-John
She really does😎💞😎💞
She needs her own album asap😎💞😎💞
She is so Cute! In and Inside and Outside Way! I know the feeling of Being Beyond Words, it's hard to snap right out of it.
Ms Kurstin, thanks for sharing your love and your talent!
It's interesting to think about, being a guitar player. The sound production, vibrating strings, is traditionally done with the dominant hand by strumming and changing the pitch, fretting the strings, is done by the non-dominant hand. So, from my perspective as a guitar player, the "left-handed theremin" is the correct way to play it.
Yeah, with a lot of string instrument, you use the left hand for the pitch. As a guitarist I wasn't surprised when I saw it.
I watched many videos after found out about this instrument. This is the amazing video yet!!!
First time I saw her was at the Bath festival in 2008.
It was totally hypnotizing.
It was he by herself and a bunch of gadget, looper, distortion etc, putting layer upon layer, sometimes with baroque counterpoint lines and sometimes more abstract.
She seemed to lose her sense of time about, asking out loud how much she got, the lady who organized the festival said:"20 minutes."
"Great! I can do one more!"
her: Did you play my theremin?
random guy: No, I didn't even touch it!
her: What?
random guy: What?
She is adorable, hehe, Plus, she is extremely talented, This could not be an easy instrument to play. Very nice vid.
Absolutly amazing! Love the sensitivity and musicality she has!
Forget Forbidden Planet, this is real skill on a real instrument. Theremin and analog monotone synth are the last genuine creators of raw musical sound, without presets modifying performance. And yes, she's quite loveably geeky.
+Andrew M The Theramin wasn't used in Forbidden Planet. It's just, as the credits describe, "Electronic Tonalities."
As a violinist, I agree. If your dominant hand is the right hand, you use it to control the bow, and with that volume, expression and much more. Of course 'left violins' don't exist, whilst 'left guitars' do.
I'd like to see a theremin player play a quick staccato scale. I think this is only possible on a 'left theremin' - after long practice, like violinists have to practice bow techniques.
That being said, indeed, Pamelia Kurstin is a virtuoso.
You are so GOOD to play.I moved.I do want to have a Theremin!!
Beautiful! And to think I found her googling my first name. Pamelia.
Do you know what the origins of that spelling are?
I heard her play in a bar about three years ago. She was really great. She did a lot of looping.. and she was very personable and funny..
Wots72... when she started playing the bass bit, even though I had seen your comment before watching the video, it took me a couple of seconds to realise that the bass sound was coming from Pamelia's theremin, and not from a bass. Her staccato technique is simply mindblowing! She is amazing...
WOW! That was truly magnificent!!
incredible!
incredible, groundbreaking theremin playing. but let's also give it up for the incredible piano player while we're at it!
Makoto Ozone
This is so amazing I am literally getting the chills while listening. It's so beautiful sounding. I hope she is still using this instrument. I never want to listen to anybody else play it ever again now.
Check out Clara Rockmore if you haven’t 😉
I posted a record - John La Duca Wurlitzer 4500/4502/4300 last year, on it he plays Autumn Leaves. In the 60's Wurlitzer and Lowrey both added what is called 'pedal glide' to their organs. It is a lever on the upper left of the volume (swell) pedal. When you push the lever it bends the notes you are holding 1/2 step flat ( or to the pitch of the key(s) to the immediate left. Go ahead and listen to both sides of the record because it's that entertaining. Listen to pedal glide on Autumn Leaves:)
that really depends.. because what makes the Theremin "sound" is the vibrato you make with the most sensitive-skilful hand (pitch antenna), which is for most of us the right hand.
I'm right-handed and play as Pamelia plays.. left hand on pitch... heaving problem with the vibrato, my right hand stared play the vibrato on volume antenna :)
I probably play wrong, but I like it that way.. because you can play bassy sounds easier :)
Excellent!!!!!
Just realized that this is probably not her channel and she probably never sees any of the comments and questions. Too bad:( Because this is my favorite of the theremin vids so far!
I think I'm in love.
DAT WALKING BASS LINE 👌
The pianist should get the applause.
The most amazing piece!!
So beautiful! I just love it!
She's awesome, so much tenderness!
What a pure soul.
Simply marvelous. 5 stars.
she is sooo adorable..i love her
Absolutely Beautiful.She is amazing .A Great Musician!!!!!
Wonderful playing!
Outstanding! Specially with an instrument with such a difficult interface!
Incredible talent.
wow, that is awesome. I have never seen theremin played that way before. My favorite experiences are seeing something that really surprises me :)
Theremin is so GOOD!!I do want to have this.I know this song in japanese KAREHA.
listen with headphones or out of legitimate speakers and you'll hear what resembles a standup bass
Bum notes on a theremin is very easy to do. I've tried. I'm being harsh but, to my ears, there were some karaoke verbs in there. This is a serious instrument when played totally accurately
Really nice jazz Theremin playing - even imitating a Jazz Bass!
Великолепно играет на терменвоксе-Virtuoso Pamelia Kurstin !!!!!!!!
Theremin is the perfect instrument for autumn leaves and pretty much any jazz ballad
Thank-you Theo9952, I completely agree-absolutely incredible. I was fortunate enough to see Pamelia play with the Flecktones at Beacon Theatre in New York. It was one of the most impressive concerts that I have ever been to.
Just discovered...she is great...like really
This sound is...touches u inside..in very strange ways....
Hit hats awsome.not just the fact she knows how to play the theremin.shes funnie
there are no limits neo
"Autumn Leaves" is derived from the 1945 piece "Les feuilles mortes" composed by Joseph Kosma, with lyrics by Jacques Prévert. English lyrics were written in 1947 by Johnny Mercer. Wonderful work, Pamelia!
yes!! i could not remember the composers name
great show of Pamelia Kurstin!excellent!
She's so passionate about her music, and absolutely adorable :p
I believe it, excellent performance!
I want one of these sooooo bad!!
The first jazzy song is just beautiful
She's definitely adorable.
Amazing. I could imagine having one those in the car with me, rocking out to a favorite song😎💗😎💗😎💗😎
This woman is a true virtuoso. What an incredibly difficult instrument to play. I know...I've tried.
The look of sheer concentration on her face says it all.
Pure Genious.
And the occasional imperfect note she sometimes plays is never *cringingly* painful, as it can be with most theremin performances. In it way, it only adds to the "human" quality of its' imperfections, when Kursten plays it. Bravo.
Awesome walking bass & solo!!!!
Thanks!!!!
Thank you...
I've tried one of those once, I never thought you could get sounds like that from it. Very cool instrument
Qué sonido más maravilloso !
Pamelia started as a violinist, which probably helped a lot: She got accustomed to playing an instrument with a continuous fingerboard, where you have to find the pitches by ear and the difference between magnificent and intolerable can be about 1/64-inch of finger placement. I believe Clara Rockmore also started on violin. Lydia Kavina, though, apparently didn't.
@gertietheduck you're right, lydia kavina and leon theremin himself are the few theremin players who look more natural to me. when i entered the conservatorium as an organist, first thing they taught me was moving with the music, which i'd never done before and which totally changed my making music and is a great help to me as i'm singing opera now. rigidness and stiffness is never a good thing in music, never. well, that's my opinion. but thx for reminding me of lydia kavina! :)
Pamelia certainly is amazing. I wonder, how does she get the first note right? Do you have to have absolute hearing to play this instrument? (Or absolute spacial control!?)
I only heard the theremin from UA-cam. Many players use a lot of vibrato. I guess that has to do with the fact that pitch is hard to control. In that respect Pamelia is great. She is able to play a steady well-pitched note, and only uses vibrato when musical expression requires it. She masters the instrument.
Just when you thought you've seen (heard) it all: 2:45
very nice great
That, and she, are awesome!
Is she actually playing bass on that thing? Holy moley!!!!
Beautiful instrument! Thanks for posting!
Beautiful! I really hope I can buy a theremin and take the to learn it some day!
amazing -
i love how at 5:03 the pianist is just like SMACK
wow first video i've seen where there's actual legitimate tone and not just sharper or flatter noise
Very surreal to hear the noise, see the movement and yet there's no physical interaction.
I would love to play with one of these things
Just amazing economy of movement in her left hand. I notice she's playing in reverse, left hand is pitch, right on the volume antenna.
@withoutnameorplace Have you ever played any kind of instrument? No matter what instrument - I play acoustic bass - the player's body is "trapped". For stringed instruments, for example, pewcise finger placement on the strings are required for notes and precise right hand - for bowing or pizz - is required for sounds. All of this requires wrist, hand, shoulder, elbow movements. Fingering notes in 1st position require a different body position from 4th or 5th position. Then breathing.
What a cute person she is! Her playing is heartfelt too. I wanna play with a theremin now!
Extraordinary. I can't believe she can play 'string bass' with a theramin. Her intonation is better than most bass players!
Awesome performance!
Thanks for posting this great video.
Love the sound u,ptious sound on Lush LIFE