In the Theremin, the performer’s hand movements, detected by two antennas, control the pitch and volume of the generated sound. The TheremUS builds on this concept by using ultrasonic sensing for hand position detection and processing all signals digitally, a distinct advantage in terms of versatility. Not only can different sound synthesis algorithms be programmed directly on the instrument but also it can be easily connected to other digital sound synthesis or multimedia devices; a MIDI interface was included for this purpose. The TheremUS also features translucent panels lit by controllable RGB LED devices. This makes it possible to specify sound-colour mappings in the spirit of the legendary Ocular Harpsichord by Castel.

Authors: Gomes, André; Albuquerque, Daniel; Campos, Guilherme; Vieira, José
Affiliations: Globaltronic-Electrónica e Telecomunicaçoes, Águeda, Portugal; University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal(See document for exact affiliation information.)
AES Convention: 127 (October 2009) Paper Number: 7860
Publication Date: October 1, 2009
Subject: Production and Analysis of Musical Sounds

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