Instructions

Game and Knowledge in Electronics-Lab
26
Have you ever seen a Theremin? It is a
musical instrument that is played without
touching it, by moving your hand more or
less closely to an antenna. Only very few
musicians can play this instrument. But you
get the chance to practice, because you can
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Optical Theremin
build a similar instrument with your micro-
controller and light sensor. Everything is the
same as in the last project, but the wire
connection to select the programme is now
between B and G.
To be able to play this instrument, you will
need to right lighting conditions. Natural
daylight works best because artificial light
flickers a little. It shouldn’t be too bright
or dark. It’s best to test your instrument in
different locations. When your hand gets
MS
MS
PROG
closer and a partial shadow falls on the
sensor, the tone changes. If you practice
long enough, you might be able to play
simple melodies. By the way, it is easier than
using a real theremin, because only tones
of a musical scale can be created and not
intermediate tones.