Wii Theremin - How It Works
Homemade Wiimote-powered Theremin. The technology links a Wiimote controller, infrared LED gloves and a Roland JV-1080 synthesizer to create Theremin-like sounds (sine wave) or a nearly endless world of bizarre sounds (let’s hear a Theremin do that!). For more information and demos visit www.kenmooredesign.com
Tags: works, roland jv 1080, Theremin, endless world, Wii
@riomigz1305 Thank you! Well, it wasn’t as much of a discovery as a lot of tedious hacking and studying the different technologies I stitched together. Glad you enjoyed it.
wow man, you’re so brilliant! Did discover it yourself?
I say youv’e done a great job :)
@kthxbainao In an effort to perfect the accuracy of my simulator I bought a real Theremin to analyze its waveforms and interactions. Unexpectedly I fell in love with the instrument and am now an avid student! A recent version of my software indicates which pitch is being played, but it’s clear to me that playing by vision alone can never come close to the musicality one can achieve when playing by ear. It’d be like trying to create a masterpiece using a paint-by-numbers kit. :)
Have you considered writing a program for achieving “sheet music” of sorts? The theremin is notoriously played only by ear, but since you have the hand positions displayed on your monitor, you could theoretically display place-markers onscreen at the points where you are producing the desired note. Having that as a guide you could move your hands to that point in the future. Or even just markers indicating where semitones are. That way you could maintain a level of tonal consistency.
That’s a great idea. Given how tough it is to actually play notes in tune on a Theremin I’m sure adding a 2nd dimension would require serious ninja skills to perfect :) Still, for sound effects that could be pretty powerful.
Very clever & interesting, indeed.
But… Why stick to theremin configuration? (right back & forth is pitch and left up and down is volume)?
It could be very interesting by involving right hand up & down for filter cutoff frequency and left hand right & left as modulation wheel, for example ?
Let’s keep in touch, will you?
Thx a looooooot !
Are you a genius?
Neat. It might be a bit tricky to calibrate but, since you already have it set up to show your hand position on screen, you might be able to add some sort of grid to help show what note you’re playing.
dude sell that thing to nintendo
pretty cool
@forensics098 Hm, I’ve seen reports that the Theremin was invented in 1919, and others that say 1920… what’s your source? (I’d love to know the actual date).
it was invented in 1917
you lost me at “this is a theremin”lol
you are brilliant!
You know you can purchase an *actual* theremin kit, right? Also - you should write this up and send it to O’Reilly’s Make Magazine. It’s right up their alley. Don’t let anyone say you’re too geeky - my husband hacked our Roomba to be operated remotely via a web interface and webcam mounted to the top of it. He can spy on me from work while simultaneously vacuuming… LOL.
LOL. It’s the lighting. Look at the light at the bottom left, it’s doing the same thing.
AWESOME!! Perfect for controlling those analog beasts I’ve been hanging onto for years now… :)
Nice one
i would love it if its possible to use the speaker inside the wiimote
your out of control man!
Wow!
You kinda remind me of Data from Startrek, Think it’s the way you talk. Watch this 3 times in a row can’t get enough!
You Rock!
God, you are such a nerd! That’s a compliment, I’m really jealous and I want one of those. Five stars for awesome.
Sadly, I have a rare condition where my forehead vibrates quickly when I talk about the Theremin.