Become a Thereminist
By Eric Hammer
Imagine playing a musical instrument without ever actually
touching it. If you can't think of anything like that, then you've
probably never seen a thereminist perform. A thereminist plays
a theremin. It's a music instrument created in the 1920s by a
Russian scientist of the same name and it is controlled by moving
your hands over the sensors on the device.
The music a theremin can create is considered to be pretty
eerie sounding, however, it is used in some classical music compositions
and it is especially popular in some movie sound tracks where
the eerie sound is appropriate.
Wikipedia describes the device as being deceptively simple
to learn how to play while being incredibly difficult to master.
The problem is that since you never touch the device, there is
no tactile sensation to know where you need to place your fingers
so that the sounds are made exactly as you want them to be made.
How Much Can You Make?
Given that the theremin is so unusual, it's impossible to
find jobs data for a thereminist. Jobs are typically offered
in concerts, working on movie sound tracks or in avante gard
music festivals. However, the average salary for a musician,
according the Bureau of Labor statistics is $23.68 per hour with
the low side approaching minimum wage and the high side being
around $59.92.
Ways to Make More | Related Opportunities
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There are precious few professional thereminits in the world
and as such, work can be difficult to come by. If you really
want to play this very unusual instrument, consider learning
another, more conventional instrument as well so that you can
find work when working on the theremin is not practical.
In all cases, be prepared to travel to wherever work is available
as it is extremely unlikely that you will be able to land a job
working as a thereminist in only one location.
Qualifications / Requirements
Bottom line, you need to know how to play the theremin. The
better you are at playing, the more likely you are to land jobs
working in this field. There are no other formal requirements.
First Steps
Start by learning to play the theremin. If you've never seen
or heard one, there is a video in our resources section which
will give you an idea of what's involved. Then, start looking
for avante gard music festivals where you can show off your talent.
Look at the other resources listed below to find out if there
are jobs available to play the instrument.
Resources
Check out these helpful resources to find out more about becoming
a thereminist:
Theremin
World - Everything you need to know about becoming a thereminist
is right here. Check the forum to ask where to find jobs.
ThereminVox
- Another website devoted to the theremin. Some great information
here too, along with a forum where you can ask more questions
from fellow devotees of this musical instrument.
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