Rediscovering Leon Theremin

Tempo ◽  
1991 ◽  
pp. 18-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Montague
Keyword(s):  
Electromagnetic Field ◽  
The Other ◽  
Electronic Instrument ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Vertical Antenna ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
Concert Halls ◽  
The Right

In the early 1920s and 30s a strange electronic instrument found its way from Russia into some of the more fashionable ballrooms, night clubs, and concert halls in Europe and America. This exotic new invention, called the ‘theremin’ or ‘thereminvox’, caused a considerable stir. Part of the interest was its unusual sound (like a musical saw mated with a light soprano), but its most dramatic feature was that the performer never actually touched the instrument. He or she simply waved graceful hands near the two antennae (one set vertically, the other looped horizontally) to coax out seamless, melifluous melodies. The proximity of the right hand to the vertical antenna changed the ultrasonic electromagnetic field, thus changing the pitch over about a six-octave range. The left hand (or sometimes a foot pedal) controlled the volume. By gently shaking the right hand at the antenna a vibrato could be achieved, giving performances a little more musical (not to mention choreographic) interest. Fashionable women dressed in long gowns seemed to be favourite photographic subjects of the period as performers, as well as the inventor himself, poised ‘playing the rods’ in full dress tails, arms outstretched like a great conductor–or perhaps sorcerer.

scholarly journals Handedness results from complementary hemispheric dominance, not global hemispheric dominance: evidence from mechanically coupled bilateral movements

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 729-740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth J. Woytowicz ◽  
Kelly P. Westlake ◽  
Jill Whitall ◽  
Robert L. Sainburg
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Dynamic Control ◽  
The Other ◽  
Hemispheric Dominance ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Task Component ◽  
The Right

Two contrasting views of handedness can be described as 1) complementary dominance, in which each hemisphere is specialized for different aspects of motor control, and 2) global dominance, in which the hemisphere contralateral to the dominant arm is specialized for all aspects of motor control. The present study sought to determine which motor lateralization hypothesis best predicts motor performance during common bilateral task of stabilizing an object (e.g., bread) with one hand while applying forces to the object (e.g., slicing) using the other hand. We designed an experimental equivalent of this task, performed in a virtual environment with the unseen arms supported by frictionless air-sleds. The hands were connected by a spring, and the task was to maintain the position of one hand while moving the other hand to a target. Thus the reaching hand was required to take account of the spring load to make smooth and accurate trajectories, while the stabilizer hand was required to impede the spring load to keep a constant position. Right-handed subjects performed two task sessions (right-hand reach and left-hand stabilize; left-hand reach and right-hand stabilize) with the order of the sessions counterbalanced between groups. Our results indicate a hand by task-component interaction such that the right hand showed straighter reaching performance whereas the left hand showed more stable holding performance. These findings provide support for the complementary dominance hypothesis and suggest that the specializations of each cerebral hemisphere for impedance and dynamic control mechanisms are expressed during bilateral interactive tasks. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We provide evidence for interlimb differences in bilateral coordination of reaching and stabilizing functions, demonstrating an advantage for the dominant and nondominant arms for distinct features of control. These results provide the first evidence for complementary specializations of each limb-hemisphere system for different aspects of control within the context of a complementary bilateral task.

Failure to Sing the Left-Hand Part of the Score during Piano Performance: Loss of the Pitch and Stroop Vocalizations

1989 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yves Guiard
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Vocal Response ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Performance Loss ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
Hand Part ◽  
Continuous Regime ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Right

An experiment compared the ability of classical pianists to sing, during keyboard performance, the right- and the left-hand part of the score being played. Upon instructions requiring them to "sing" one or the other voice of the score, the subjects spontaneously chose to sing and name the notes simultaneously, in keeping with the French traditional way of reading music, thus producing a two- dimensional tonal and verbal vocal act in response to each visual stimulus. Singing the right-hand part of the music, whether in unison with or in place of the right hand, while concurrently playing the left-hand part was judged easy by all subjects, and performance, typically, was correct in all respects. The other task, consisting of singing the left-hand part of the music, was judged more difficult by all subjects, and performance, more often than not, was poor. Careful inspection of the many errors that were recorded in the latter task revealed a few clear-cut regularities. Failures were vocal, but not manual. More specifically, vocal failures took place on the tonal dimension of the vocal response, but not on its verbal dimension: The song, but not the naming of the notes, was prone to fail, with either a loss of the pitch, or a systematic trend toward singing unduly—albeit accurately—the notes of the right-hand part. A number of subjects were found to display this intriguing tonal/verbal dissociation—naming a note at a pitch corresponding to another note—in a continuous regime. It is emphasized that this phenomenon amounts to the spontaneous production of musical events that belong to the Stroop category.

scholarly journals Synchronization Error of Drum Kit Playing with a Metronome at Different Tempi by Professional Drummers

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 491-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinya Fujii ◽  
Masaya Hirashima ◽  
Kazutoshi Kudo ◽  
Tatsuyuki Ohtsuki ◽  
Yoshihiko Nakamura ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
The Other ◽  
Synchronization Error ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Snare Drum ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
The Right

the present study examined the synchronization error (SE) of drum kit playing by professional drummers with an auditory metronome, focusing on the effects of motor effectors and tempi. Fifteen professional drummers attempted to synchronize a basic drumming pattern with a metronome as precisely as possible at tempi of 60, 120, and 200 beats per minute (bpm). In the 60 and 120 bpm conditions, the right hand (high-hat cymbals) showed small mean SE (∼2 ms), whereas the left hand (snare drum) and right foot (bass drum) preceded the metronome by about 10 ms. In the 200 bpm condition, the right hand was delayed by about 10 ms relative to the metronome, whereas the left hand and right foot showed small SE (∼1 ms). The absolute values of SE were smaller than those reported in previous tapping studies. In addition, the time series of SE were significantly correlated across the motor effectors, suggesting that each limb synchronized in relation to the other limbs rather than independently with the metronome.

Greek Vases in the Otago Museum

1936 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-236
Author(s):  
A. D. Trendall
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Fifth Century ◽  
The Other ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
Greek Vases ◽  
The Right

Of the recent acquisitions to the Classical Collection of the Otago Museum (Dunedin, New Zealand) the most noteworthy is a particularly fine Attic white ground lekythos of about the middle of the fifth century (Plate XIV). It stands 38 cm. high and is in an excellent state of preservation, having been most carefully repaired with a minimum of repainting, which has affected only the breast of the woman, the right hand of the warrior, and some details of the small figure on top of the stele.The design represents a stele scene of the sort so popular with lekythos artists of this period. To the left stands a woman wearing a sleeved chiton, so thin that it clearly allows her bowed legs to be seen through it; with her left hand she points downward to the base of the stele, which is adorned with a fillet and a wreath. On the other side stands a hoplite with his shield and spear;

Interaction of Vision and Movement via a Mirror

Perception ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 34 (9) ◽  
pp. 1153-1155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Lewin Altschuler
Keyword(s):  
Visual Feedback ◽  
Sensory Input ◽  
Motor Output ◽  
The Other ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
The Right ◽  
Striking Effect

I have noticed a striking effect that vision can have on movement: when a person makes circular motions with both hands, clockwise with the left hand, counterclockwise with the right hand, while watching the reflection of one hand in a parasagitally placed mirror, if one arm makes a vertical excursion, the other arm tends to make the same vertical excursion, but not typically if the excursing arm is viewed in plain vision. This observation may help in understanding how visual feedback via a mirror may be beneficial for rehabilitation of some patients with movement deficits secondary to certain neurologic conditions, and illustrates that the traditional division of neural processes into sensory input and motor output is somewhat arbitrary.

Finger Coordination and Bilateral Deficit during Two-Hand Force Production Tasks Performed by Right-Handed Subjects

2000 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 379-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheng Li ◽  
Frederic Danion ◽  
Mark L. Latash ◽  
Zong-Ming Li ◽  
Vladimir M. Zatsiorsky
Keyword(s):  
Force Production ◽  
The Other ◽  
Bilateral Deficit ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Maximal Voluntary Force ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
Hand Force ◽  
Bilateral Effects ◽  
The Right

One purpose of the present study was to compare indices of finger coordination during force production by the fingers of the right hand and of the left hand. The other purpose was to study the relation between the phenomena of force deficit during multifinger one-hand tasks and of bilateral force deficit during two-hand tasks. Thirteen healthy right-handed subjects performed maximal voluntary force production tasks with different finger combinations involving fingers of one hand or of both hands together. Fingers of the left hand demonstrated lower peak forces, higher indices of finger enslaving, and similar indices of force deficit. Significant bilateral effects during force production by fingers of both hands acting in parallel were seen only during tasks involving different fingers or finger groups in the two hands (asymmetrical tasks). The bilateral deficit effects were more pronounced in the hand whose fingers generated higher forces. These findings suggest a generalization of an earlier introduced principle of minimization of secondary moments. They also may be interpreted as suggesting that bilateral force deficit is task-specific and may reflect certain optimization principles.

The Mental Timeline in a Crossed-Hands Paradigm

2016 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
pp. 326-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irmgard de la Vega ◽  
Verena Eikmeier ◽  
Rolf Ulrich ◽  
Barbara Kaup
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Temporal Reference ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Left Half ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
The Right

Abstract. The existence of a lateral mental timeline is well established; in left-to-right writing cultures, past is associated with the left, future with the right. Accordingly, participants respond faster with the left to past, and with the right to future. Recent studies indicate that this association does not reverse when participants respond with their hands crossed. We investigated the role of instruction for this association in a crossed-hands paradigm. Participants classified the temporal reference of words by pressing a key on the left with their right hand, or a key on the right with their left. Half of the participants were instructed to respond with their right or left hand; the other half were instructed to respond with the left or right key. An interaction between time and key showed only for participants instructed to respond with the key, providing support for the role of extracorporal space for the mental timeline.

scholarly journals A Roman Senator under Domitian and Trajan

1913 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 301-309
Author(s):  
H. Dessau
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
River Bank ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
The Right ◽  
Roman Province ◽  
The Village

Sir W. M. Ramsay has honoured me with a commission to publish in the Journal of Roman Studies the following fragmentary inscription which he discovered under various difficulties, in July, 1913, close to Yalowadj, the site of the ancient (originally Phrygian) Antiochia Caesarea, which belonged to the Roman province of Galatia. The text of the inscription is given on page 302; the circumstances of the discovery are thus described to me by the finder:The inscription is on a block of stone built into the pier of a bridge at the village of Gemeu, about two hours by road south-east from Yalowadj. The stone is broken on the right, complete on the other three sides. When we found the stone it was almost wholly covered by the soil of the river-bank, but a few letters of the right-hand titulus stood clear. In front of the left-hand titulus is a column which forms part of the bridge. It was very difficult to cut away the soil, as the column stands close to the letters, and after the soil was removed, it was not easy to read the letters, as one had to look at them sideways from a little distance. The letters are, fortunately, as sharp and distinct as when they were first engraved; had it not been for this, it would not have been possible to attain certainty about many of the letters in the left-hand titulus. At least one line of each titulus has been lost at the top. The missing line or lines were engraved on another stone, which stood upon this one. Part of the left-hand titulus is lost; this also must have been engraved on an adjoining block. The entire inscription, therefore, was incised on a wall of some building.

Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 2390 and Early Spartan History

1967 ◽  
Vol 87 ◽  
pp. 62-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. D. Harvey
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Large Fragment ◽  
Royal Family ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
The Third ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Reliable Source ◽  
Fourth Volume ◽  
The Right

In 1957 Mr Lobel published, in the twenty-fourth volume of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri, a large fragment of a commentary on the Spartan poet Alcman. It is the second column of this papyrus which I propose to discuss; lines 13 to 22 give us some information about the Spartan royal family, and lines 22 to 25 seem to be saying something about the Spartan tribal organisation. Unfortunately, however, much of the left-hand side of the column is missing at this point; and when, from line 22, we do at last have a few letters from the left-hand side, we are faced with a gap running up the right-hand side as well. Because of this, it will be necessary to spend some time in an attempt to discover what the papyrus said, what it might have said, and what it could not possibly have said. Until this is done, no historical conclusions can safely be drawn.Before starting on an examination of the text, however, it would be as well to state what can be known about the author of the commentary. We can be certain that he had the work of previous scholars before him. In line 4 he refers to Theon, the Augustan grammarian, and in line 5 to Tyrannion; there were two grammarians of that name, and we cannot tell which he means (Lobel 54). Furthermore, in line 28, τῶν λοιπῶν is best taken as meaning ‘the other commentators’ (see p. 70). Whether or not he was an intelligent man is a question on which it is better not to dogmatise. He is capable of interpretative remarks of dubious value (lines 9–13, with Lobel ad loc.). There is certainly a muddle in the third column, which may indicate stupidity on the part of the commentator, or carelessness on the part of the scribe. We should not assume too readily that what he says is the gospel truth about early Sparta. On the other hand, we should remember that he might be working from a reliable source.

scholarly journals The "boatman's knot": a new option for renal hilum ligation during laparoscopic nephrectomy

2005 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 258-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre C. Bomfim ◽  
Cassio Andreoni ◽  
Ari Miotto ◽  
Mardhen B. Araújo ◽  
Valdemar Ortiz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Renal Artery ◽  
Renal Vein ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
The Other ◽  
Laparoscopic Nephrectomy ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
Renal Hilum ◽  
Endovascular Stapler ◽  
The Right

PURPOSE: The authors present and describe an original adaptation for the use of "boatman's knot" in renal vein ligation during laparoscopic nephrectomy. This procedure may replace the need for the endovascular stapler, which is considered the standard of care, but not available in several institutions in Brazil. The knot presented is also known as the " pig's knot" in several farms in Brazil. METHODS: Fourteen laparoscopic nephrectomies were performed by the same surgeon in a standard fashion in seven female pigs. Both the renal artery and vein were ligated using the "boatman's knot" as the only method for hemostasis with conventional intracorporeal technique. Two knots were applied in each artery and vein; one knot was tied proximally and the other distally. The vessels were then sectioned in between both knots. This technique is based on the intracorporeal confection of two loops by the right hand pair of dissectors with the help of the left hand. The arteries and the veins were then sectioned and the capability to accomplish full hemostasis was observed. RESULTS: All the laparoscopic nephrectomies were performed successfully. The "boatman's knot" was performed by the same surgeon with neither complications nor difficulties during the confection of the knot. In all cases hemostasis was fully achieved using only the "boatman's knot" as the hemostatic method. CONCLUSION: The "boatman's knot" is feasible and safe for hilum control during laparoscopic nephrectomy in pigs and total hemostasis can be achieved using it as the only method of hemostasis. However, the safety and the capacity of others to learn how to apply it should be tested before it may be advised to use it routinely.

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