This project is based on the idea of my buddy Matthias over at Visual Phi Events. The idea is simple: “Let’s do something with a Theremin controlling visuals. That’d be cool.”. Well, it surely is…
Fortunately we didn’t have to buy an original Theremin (for the price of an original Theremin) but could base our idea on the work of the Open Theremin Uno project.
Adding Midi to the Theremin circuit is as easy as soldering 3 wires to the board. Since it’s all based on the Arduino Uno it’s easier to link to the article on the Arduino website than writing it down myself.
For the first basic tests I connected the Theremin to a simple zoom-effect in VDMX:
The finished project was set up at the Sabinchenfest in Treuenbrietzen.
The two possible Midi data-streams (one corresponding to the Theremin tone’s pitch, the other one to the volume) were connected with a simple Quartz-Composer patch, controlling the angles of a cube. That was cool.
