Theremotion

👐 Theremotion is a virtual instrument inspired by the Theremin.

Just like a Theremin, the position of your hand in the air controls the pitch and volume of the sound. However, instead of being controlled with a pure analog signal, the Theremotion is controled through digital hand tracking. This enables additional dimensions to control the sound. With specific hand motions, you can control a low pass filter, a guitar sound, make a chord. You can even make the instrument snap to a scale, making it easier to control than a Theremin.

The Theremotion cannot replace a Theremin but it is intended to be a twist around the idea of the Theremin that is more fun and maybe easier to learn. It is however not as sensitive as a Theremin, and usual Theremin finger techniques don’t apply to the Theremotion.

⚠️ The motions have changed since this video, don’t rely on it to learn how to play.

Features

• 👈 Move up left hand to control the volume.
• 👉 Move your right hand horizontally closer or further away from a virtual antenna to control the pitch.
• 👋 Move your left hand on the horizontal plane to control the filter.
• 👋 Move up your right hand to play a chord.
• 👌 Pinch with your right hand to snap to a scale.
• 🎸 Pinch with your left hand, and rotate it to play guitar.
• 👊 Close your right fist and rotate it to play a drone.

A left handed mode is also included.

Installation

In order to play with Theremotion you need a Leap Motion Controller and a compatible Windows PC.

First of all, install the Gemini version of Ultraleap’s tracking software.

Lastly, download and install Theremotion from the link at the top of the page. For alternative downloads, refer to the latest release page.

Tools

The hand tracking is provided by Ultraleap’s Leap Motion Controller.

The sound generation is created with Grame’s Faust.

The program is built with Rust.