DIRECTORY / SANDBOXES / THEREMIN.OPTICAL

OPTICAL WEBAUDIO THEREMIN

Modern optical reinterpretation of Leon Theremin's 1920 instrument powered by Web Audio API.

OPTICAL THEREMIN HUD

STANDBY

// MUSICAL SCALE

// WAVEFORM

PORTAMENTO GLIDE 40ms

TAPE DELAY FEEDBACK 50%

NOTE: --- FREQ: --- Hz

💡 TIP: Horizontal axis modulates frequency; vertical axis controls master gain.

📚

Continuous pitch heterodyning, low-pass filter resonance, and velocity tape delay.

ACADEMIC & ALGORITHMIC REFERENCE

// HISTORICAL ORIGINS

Leon Theremin invented the electronic theremin in 1920 as the world's first gestural electronic instrument played without physical contact.

// GOVERNING EQUATIONS

f(x) = f_{min} \cdot \left(\frac{f_{max}}{f_{min}}\right)^x, \quad y(t) = x(t) + g \cdot y(t - \tau)

// BROWSER IMPLEMENTATION

Maps 2D pointer coordinates exponentially to oscillator frequencies and biquad filter cutoffs with WebAudio feedback delay lines.

// GUIDED EXPERIMENTS TO TRY IN THIS SANDBOXNORMAL

1Hirajoshi Tape Echo

🎯 Action:Select 'Hirajoshi (Japan)', set Delay to 75%, and move pointer in rapid circles.

✨ Observe:Generate haunting, evolving pentatonic ambient soundscapes with analog-style delay trails.

// CURATED PAPERS, RFCS & RESOURCES

Historical engineering analysis of LC oscillator beat-frequency heterodyning.