The terpsitone was an

electronic musical instrument An electronic musical instrument or electrophone is a musical instrument that produces sound using electronic circuitry. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical, electronic or digital audio signal that ultimately is plugged into ...

, invented by

Léon Theremin Leon Theremin (born Lev Sergeyevich Termen rus, Лев Сергеевич Термéн, p=ˈlʲef sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvʲɪtɕ tɨrˈmʲen; – 3 November 1993) was a Russian and Soviet inventor, most famous for his invention of the theremin, one o ...

, which consisted of a platform fitted with space-controlling antennae, through and around which a dancer would control the musical performance. By most accounts, the instrument was nearly impossible to control. Of the three instruments built, only the last one, made by Theremin in 1978 for

Lydia Kavina Lydia Evgenevna Kavina (; born 8 September 1967) is a Russian-British theremin player, based in Oxfordshire, UK. The granddaughter of Léon Theremin's first cousin, Soviet anthropologist and primatologisMikhail Nesturkh Kavina was born in Mosco ...

, survives today. The instrument was named after the Greek muse of dance,

Terpsichore In Greek mythology, Terpsichore (; grc-gre, Τερψιχόρη, "delight in dancing") is one of the nine Muses and goddess of dance and chorus. She lends her name to the word " terpsichorean" which means "of or relating to dance". Appearance ...

(from the Greek words τέρπω, "delight", and χoρός, "dance").

References

*Mason, C. P. (1936)
Theremin "Terpsitone" A New Electronic Novelty
in ''Radio Craft'', Dec. 1936, p.365 *Saggini, Valerio (2004)
The Last Terpsitone on Earth
Inventions by Léon Theremin Electronic musical instruments Continuous pitch instruments Russian electronic musical instruments {{Electronic-musical-instrument-stub

See also

References