User's Manual

26
PITCH HAND EXERCISES
1) Hum a note, any note. Moving
only your pitch hand, try to find
that same note. When you find
it, hold it steady and hum another
note just a few tones higher.
2) Now gradually extend your
fingers to raise the pitch and
‘glide’ to the new note. This
glide is called a glissando.
3) Now slide back down to
the first note.
NOTE: You can use the Theremini’s built-in tuner as a visual aid to help guide you,
but more importantly, listen to the change and distinct sound of each note.
4) Now hum a third note that is slightly higher than the second. Play
the first note, slide to the second, pause, and then glide to the third.
5) Start at the third note and then play down to the first.
Practice this a bit, going up and down, making sure to hit the same three
notes. Gradually speed up, while keeping your movements smooth and
graceful. Pay attention to how much movement is needed to reach each
note. Try to repeat the same movements and finger positions.
When you can consistently glide back and forth across three notes, try this:
Start at the first note again, but rather than gliding up, make a quick jump
to the second note. This will require ‘snapping’ your hand into the second
note position with an abrupt change. This creates the stepped sound of two
distinct notes. Playing notes together like this, with no space in between, is
referred to as “legato”. Practice snapping the three notes in order, up and
down; then, try larger jumps— snapping from note 1 to note 3. Experiment
by mixing combinations of legato and glissando.