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The Instrument You Play Without Touching

7th grade nonfiction passage about the theremin: 270 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

7th grade nonfiction the theremin 270 words

The Instrument You Play Without Touching

Imagine a musician standing in front of a wooden box with a metal rod on one side and a loop on the other. The performer never touches either one. Instead, the hands move through the air near them, and eerie, gliding notes seem to float out of nowhere. This is the theremin, one of the earliest electronic instruments, which was invented in the 1920s by a Russian scientist named Leon Theremin.

The trick lies in electricity. Inside the box, circuits make electrical signals that rise and fall too quickly to hear. Each antenna is part of a circuit, and the human body can slightly change the signal around it. When a hand moves closer to the rod, the pitch changes, and when the other hand approaches the loop, the volume changes. Another part of the circuit turns the changes into a sound that comes out of a speaker.

Playing it is much harder than it looks. The instrument has no keys, frets or marks to show where each note lives, so the player must rely on a trained ear and steady muscles. Even a small wobble in the arm can bend a note out of tune. Many students practice by standing in the same spot each time, since the position of the whole body can affect the sound.

The theremin made its way into film music, where its wavering tones suited science fiction and mystery scenes. Today, musicians still enjoy its unusual voice. Because it can slide smoothly between notes, it can sound a little like a singing voice or a violin, even though no strings or pipes are involved.

Questions

  1. Who invented the theremin? in the text

  2. What do the metal rod and the loop control? in the text

  3. Why is the theremin hard to play? in the text

  4. What kind of scenes did the theremin suit in films? in the text

  5. Why do students stand in the same spot each time they practice? think about it

  6. Why might the theremin sound a little like a violin or a voice? think about it

Words to know

theremin
an electronic instrument played without touching it
antenna
a metal part that sends or receives electrical signals
circuit
a path that electricity flows along
eerie
strange and a little spooky
wavering
shaking or changing in a gentle, unsteady way
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One passage, three levels

The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.

● Easier · 229 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3

Picture a musician in front of a wooden box. It has a metal rod on one side and a loop on the other. The player never touches either one. The hands move in the air near them. Strange, gliding notes float out of nowhere. This is the theremin. It is one of the first electronic instruments. A Russian scientist named Leon Theremin invented it in the 1920s.

The trick is electricity. Inside the box, circuits make electrical signals. They move too fast to hear. Each antenna is part of a circuit. The human body can change the signal a little. When a hand moves close to the rod, the pitch changes. When the other hand moves near the loop, the volume changes. The circuit turns these changes into sound. The sound comes out of a speaker.

It is much harder than it looks. The theremin has no keys or marks. So the player needs a trained ear and steady muscles. A small wobble in the arm can bend a note. Students often stand in the same spot each time. The position of the body can change the sound.

The theremin was used in film music. Its wavering tones fit science fiction and mystery scenes. It can slide smoothly between notes. So it can sound a bit like a voice or a violin. But it has no strings or pipes.

▲ This passage · 270 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.6

Imagine a musician standing in front of a wooden box with a metal rod on one side and a loop on the other. The performer never touches either one. Instead, the hands move through the air near them, and eerie, gliding notes seem to float out of nowhere. This is the theremin, one of the earliest electronic instruments, which was invented in the 1920s by a Russian scientist named Leon Theremin.

The trick lies in electricity. Inside the box, circuits make electrical signals that rise and fall too quickly to hear. Each antenna is part of a circuit, and the human body can slightly change the signal around it. When a hand moves closer to the rod, the pitch changes, and when the other hand approaches the loop, the volume changes. Another part of the circuit turns the changes into a sound that comes out of a speaker.

Playing it is much harder than it looks. The instrument has no keys, frets or marks to show where each note lives, so the player must rely on a trained ear and steady muscles. Even a small wobble in the arm can bend a note out of tune. Many students practice by standing in the same spot each time, since the position of the whole body can affect the sound.

The theremin made its way into film music, where its wavering tones suited science fiction and mystery scenes. Today, musicians still enjoy its unusual voice. Because it can slide smoothly between notes, it can sound a little like a singing voice or a violin, even though no strings or pipes are involved.

■ Harder · 276 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9

Imagine a musician standing before a wooden cabinet that has a metal rod rising from one side and a looped wire curving from the other. The performer never touches either one. Instead, the hands sweep through the empty air nearby, and eerie, gliding notes seem to float out of nowhere. This is the theremin, one of the earliest electronic instruments, which was invented in the 1920s by a Russian scientist named Leon Theremin.

The secret lies in electricity. Inside the cabinet, circuits generate electrical signals that rise and fall far too quickly to be heard. Each antenna forms part of a circuit, and the human body is able to alter the surrounding signal very slightly. When a hand approaches the rod, the pitch changes, and when the other hand nears the loop, the volume changes. Another section of the circuit converts these changes into a sound that is delivered through a speaker.

Playing it is considerably harder than it appears. The instrument has no keys, frets or markings to show where each note lives, so the player must depend on a well-trained ear and steady muscles. Even a slight tremble in the arm can pull a note out of tune. Many students practice by standing in precisely the same spot every time, since the position of the whole body can influence the sound.

The theremin found its way into film music, where its wavering tones were well suited to science fiction and mystery scenes. Musicians still treasure its unusual voice today. Because it can glide smoothly between notes, it can resemble a singing voice or a violin, even though no strings or pipes are involved.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put theremin, antenna, circuit, eerie and wavering on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
  • Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 3 minutes to read aloud.
  • Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
  • Question 5 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
  • Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "The Instrument You Play Without Touching"?

It was written for 7th grade. It has 270 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.6. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.

What do the questions ask?

There are six. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 2 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.

How long does it take to read?

About 3 minutes read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.

Can I print it?

Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.

Is this passage from a published book?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

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