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What's the only musical instrument you play without touching it? The theremin! You've probably heard it in old movies whenever spooky sound effects or weird music from outer space was needed. It's that creepy 'oooo-eeee-oooo' that indicates a monster is just around the corner. But not many people know that the theremin (pronounced therr-a-minn) is the granddaddy of all electronic musical instruments.

Musical discovery
The theremin was invented in 1919 by Leon Sergeivitch Theremin. He was a scientist working for the Russian army on methods of detecting enemy radio transmitters. He was also a classically trained cellist. Part of his job was to measure gas densities at different temperatures. To do this, he enclosed an electrical capacitor and piped gas between its plates. When the gas was warmed, it expanded and the electrical capacity in the device changed. This change in electrical capacity was usually measured with a voltmeter, but Theremin tried something different. He connected his device to a pair of headphones, and heard electronic noises that changed pitch as the gas expanded and condensed. Theremin found he could also affect the pitch by moving his hands towards and away from the capacitor.

Soon he had created a unique musical instrument where the player moves his or her hands in the air between two antennae to create smooth, eerie music. One hand moves up and down to control the volume. The other moves from side to side to change the pitch of the notes.