Musical saw
 |
Playing a musical saw |
A
musical instrument plucked from the toolshed, the
musical saw is often a standard, manual wood-cutting
saw. However, it is often the case that professional "sawyers" might opt for a custom-made musical saw. These generally have a longer blade for a greater range, thinner metal for sweeter notes, and are cut from the original sheet so the grain of the metal runs parallel to the cutting edge of the
saw (providing cleaner vibrations).
Custom or no, the
saw is generally played seated (although a few sawyers perform while standing, using a style reminiscent to the seated method) with the handle squeezed between the legs, the cutting edge facing away from the body, and the far business end held with one hand. The player creates sound by bending the saw into a lopsided S shape and drawing a
bow across the bottom curve. The pitch produced depends on where one draws the bow, and the shape of the curves. For sustained notes and increased volume sawyers often use
vibrato by a quick, sustained vibration of one of the legs.
It is also possible to play this instrument by tapping it with a mallet rather than drawing a bow. A particular practitioner in the late twentieth century was fond of substituting his harmonica for a mallet, thus being able to say that he was "playing the saw with the harmonica". However produced, the sound made has an eerie, vocal quality.
The musical saw, though not normally struck when played, is often considered a
percussion instrument. In any case, it is classified as an
idiophone under the
Hornbostel-Sachs system of
musical instrument classification.
Musical saws have been produced for over a
century. In the early
1900s there were at least ten companies in the
United States alone manufacturing saws. These saws ranged from the familiar steel variety to gold-plated masterpieces worth hundreds of dollars. However, with the start of
World War II the demand for metals made the manufacture of saws too expensive and many of these companies went out of business. By the year
2000 only three companies in the
U.S. were still making saws: MusicalSaw.com, Mussehl & Westphal, and Blacklock.
Two other important companies exist in the
saw world: Sandvik, maker of the Stradivarius saw and a company in
France which produces a toothless saw with a range of three octaves.
A famous performer on the musical saw was
Marlene Dietrich who entertained troops with it during World War II.
Natalia Paruz plays saw in movie soundtracks, TV commercials, with orchestras all over the world and in the
New York City subway, and is gaining notoriety. Also, the main character on the movie
Delicatessen plays a musical saw at several parts of the movie.
*
Free tutorial - How to master the Musical Saw in 5 days*
Another good free tutorial*
Free guide - Inexpensive saw and bows*
Natalia 'Saw Lady' Paruz's website - sound samples, CDs, composers manual, history, saws manufactured for music, musical saw memorabilia, poetry - all about the musical saw*
Musical saw audio from the film Delicatessen*
Musical saw video*
Hear excerpts from Pygar Tales for Sinfonietta featuring Musical Saw by Jan Erik Mikalsen *
Singing Saw Shadow Show - A band of musical saws from Toronto
