Recommendations for composers. How to write for the theremin.
There are not too many rules how to write for the theremin. Mainly, I would recommend you consider a particular theremin performer. Every performer has his style, abilities or limits. Different theremin designs have some differences in timbre as well as the range.
The design I play, tVox tour, has got the range similar to the piano, 7 Octaves (from “C”). The pitches are more difficult to hear in the edge octaves. They are better controllable, if the tempo and rhythms are slow. Most popular and most available theremin design Etherwave standard has 5 octaves, which vary from one instrument to another. Etherwave pro has 5 octaves and an octave up and down switch, that allow to change the register within a couple of seconds.
Each instrument has got a little variety of sound that can be adjusted from a softer sound, like voice, to a triangle sound, like a violin. Additionally, you may want to use some electric effects, like harmoniser or delay and so on.
The sound of the theremin has no limit in the volume and the duration.
It is a monophonic instrument.
Theremin performance has some mental similarity with singing. To understand how a passage, or tremolo, staccato or a pitch jump could sound and whether it is difficult to play, try to sing the melody you compose. Sing it acapella, “a-a”, or hum, without consonants (ta-ta or la-la).
Remember that the theremin player does not have any other orientation to find a note, but only his ear. So, all the melodic lines need to be worked out in the inner ear, similar to a singer. To find a start note, theremin player normally needs a reference, either from an accompaniment or a tuning device, unless the player has got absolute pitch.
Regarding staccato: it is possible, however it may sound a bit soft, and can be difficult, if fast and for too many notes.
Glissando as effect normally sounds different then legato (slur) phrases. It is meter of composer’s directions, as well as of professionalism and interpretation of the player.
I prefer to ask composers to write whatever they like, and we, as performer, should find out how make it possible.