Music in the Air with Leap Motion Controller

Abstract

Not many people know about the first electronic musical instrument-the theremin-and can play it. The idea of this instrument is very groundbreaking: it is played without physical contact with it and in the same way as we sing but by using hands in place of our vocal cords. In this paper we consider how to implement the theremin with a computer using very different physical principles of optical hand tracking and by adding advantages of visual interfaces. The goal of this research is to eventually fulfill the dream of the inventor to make the theremin a musical instrument for everyone and to prove that everyone can play music.