You're probably familiar with the four basic types of musical instruments

strings woodwinds brass and percussion. However, is it possible to have an instrument

that doesn't fit into any one of those families? In the early 20th century Russian inventor

Leon Theraman came up with an instrument that doesn't fit into any musical family

and doesn't sound or play like any other instrument. Learn about the Theremen, the world's first electronic instrument,

on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Book your ticket to happiness with Sun Express Airlines. This episode is brought to you by Skillshare. I briefly tried playing an instrument when I was in grade school. I had a trumpet and I was horrible like really really bad

I wonder how good I could have become however if I had skill share

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premium membership or just click on the link in the show notes.

I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that there is no other instrument that has even remotely liked the Theaman.

The Theaman is an electrical instrument, but it isn't like an electric guitar or a keyboard synthesizer, which were both invented later.

The instrument consists of two antennas. One is vertical and one is horizontal.

One hand moves in and out from the vertical antenna to control pitch, the other hand moves

up and down from the horizontal antenna to control volume. That sounds really simple, but many people

consider the Theaman to be the hardest musical

instrument in the world to master.

The primary difficulty is that you don't touch anything.

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