Apr 08
Beamz: The New Age Theramin
Over the last few days I have seen multiple stories run about this new “invention,” Beamz. See the video of it here, but it is basically a synthesizer that, instead of hitting keyboard keys and picking notes, you wave your hands through laser beams (or beamz!) and it will choose what notes make the most sense. From what I’ve seen there is mixed reaction to this new toy. Some people say it takes no creativity or musical skill, but some think it may be a pretty interesting. Personally, the first thing that I thought of was how closely it resembles the marrying of a synthesizer and a super rare and unique electrical instrument, the theramin. Below is a video of an artist (I wish I knew his name!) who took Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” and made it his own, playing it beautifully on his theramin accompanied by a drum machine, keyboard, bass guitar, and plenty of digital effects. It is pretty amazing and will embed this catchy tune back into your head after you thought (and maybe wished) you would never hear it again.
April 9th, 2008 at 8:02 am
Hah, funny– I was on an airplane the other day, looking through their primo “AirMall” magazine. This is the magazine where they sell $500 “doggy stairs” and $750 golf gadgets to improve your putt. They also happened to have this Beamz gizmo that you’ve mentioned here. Now, I suppose I shouldn’t pass judgment solely based on its placement in AirMall, but perhaps that says something about its integrity as a musical instrument. From the AirMall description, it said that harmonic chords are selected automatically, with “bad” notes filtered out. With a preface like that, it seems like more of a novelty toy than a real instrument.
I have seen this theramin before though, and it’s definitely pretty cool, especially when you realize it was invented in 1919, crazy. I wonder how it’s actually built; I bet it would make a pretty bad-ass DIY project.
April 9th, 2008 at 8:06 am
Well, I haven’t quite decided which version I like better…..the one you found, or this one
April 9th, 2008 at 8:07 am
http://www.youtube.com/v/19RJEnNUg1I&hl=en
April 9th, 2008 at 8:46 am
That video is pretty awesome. I think it’s a little ridiculous that they have the theramin mechanically controlled, but I do enjoy the robotic banging of pots and pans.