The Theremin was one of the first electronic instruments and the only musical instrument that is played without being touched. The looping antenna on the left controls volume, and the straight antenna on the right controls pitch.

When you move your hand closer to the pitch antenna, the sound will rise from a low tone to a high tone, releasing a deafening squeal should you touch it. For the volume antenna, moving your hand closer will soften the sound in amplitude and touching it will cut the sound off entirely. Knobs typically control things like the tuning of the instrument and timbre of the sound (sine wave or triangle wave). For futher clarification, take a look at this short youtube demo.

The device was invented by Russian scientist, Léon Theremin, in 1919 and has enjoyed a life of relative novelty, often relegated to scary sounds records and sci-fi movie soundtracks. It was notably used in the soundtrack of movies such as Spellbound and The Day The Earth Stood Still performed by Dr. Samuel Hoffmann. Other artists have fully exploited the instrument’s expressive range, similar to that of a cello or violin, in classical music (see Clara Rockmore below).

For many years, theremins were available as DIY kits in the back pages of boy scout magazines and music tech rags and thankfully they are still widely available. Robert Moog has long championed this simple electronic instrument and over the years has produced many of the most beautiful models, in completed or kit form.

For those interested in the theremin, electronic music, or great films in general, I cannot recommend the 1993 documentary Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey enough. It is more than the details of an electronic instrument but a story about love, devotion, and art. Highly recommended.

Examples
The most common example of the theremin’s use in pop music is actually not a real theremin. Paul Tanner performed the memorable “theremin” lines on his Tannerin or electro-theremin which was a mechanically controlled oscillator that shared a similar sound to the theremin, but was considerably easier to play. Matched with cellos digging out hard triplets, the Tannerin helped create one of the most interestingly produced choruses in pop history:

The Beach Boys – Good Vibrations

For Between The Buttons, Brian Jones brought some very basic theremin, reminiscent of amplifier feedback, to this pounding Stones track:

The Rolling Stones – Please Go Home

The same Dr. Hoffman mentioned above performed theremin for two tracks on Capt. Beefheart’s debut. P.S. if you dig this track don’t miss these videos containing spectacular live footage of the Magic Band.

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band – Electricity

And now, the best for last.
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This is that thin wild sound. The one and only instrument to associate with terms like Byrdsian and jangly. An unmatched guitar in design, craftmanship, innovation, and sound. Rickenbacker makes a fine guitar with six strings, but 12 is the magic number.

Playing a 12-string guitar doesn’t mean you have to learn how to play with six more strings, it’s just that the strings are set in pairs. It’s played exactly the same as a regular guitar, but your finger is pressing down two strings at once, each tuned to different octaves.

Opposed to acoustic 12-string guitars (and mandolins, which are similarly designed with 4 pairs of strings), Rickenbackers are designed with the lower string on top of the high string, lending to its characteristic sound.

One of the lesser known features of these guitars is the Ric-O-Sound kit, which allows the pickups to split the signal of the guitar to two different outputs. Imagine plugging into a rich Fender Twin Reverb and patching the 2nd line through a Space Echo or a cheap old fuzzbox. The effect is like having two distinct guitar tones playing in exact synchronicity.

Lastly, just look at the thing. Damn beautiful. The twisted and tech-looking headstock, modernist slash f-hole, tiered white pick guard, and the signature “R” in the bridge. Pictured is the classic red Fireglo color scheme, one of many often changing themes in the Rickenbacker legacy, the other more famous colors being Mapleglo (Byrds) and Jetglo (Lennon).

Examples
George Harrison got his hands on the 2nd 12-string Rickenbacker ever made. The Beatles had access to every instrument their imaginations could conjure up so it’s no surprise they’re on top of the classic gear front again. Leads like the one in Hard Day’s Night tuned everybody in to the Rick’s wild sound:

The Beatles – A Hard Day’s Night

Pete Townshend was an avid Rickenbacker user and one of the best rhythm guitarists of all time. This is a full example of the raucous rhythmic power of the 12er, with an excellently brief solo. The Who’s debut is too great for words:

The Who – I Can’t Explain

The Byrds are the quintessential Rick band. Roger McGuinn is widely known as the king of the Rickenbacker 12-string. John Coltrane’s saxophone was inspiration to the devastating solo on this classic Byrds cut. Is he using the Ric-O-Sound on this one?

The Byrds – Eight Miles High

The Byrds may have owned the gleaming mercury sound of this guitar (actually a key component in defining the word ‘jangle‘), but they didn’t trademark it, dammit! Let’s dive back under the radar with a great song from Instant Orange’s excellent 1973 lp:

Instant Orange – Plight of The Marie Celeste