Musical saw
Encyclopedia
Hand saw
In woodworking and carpentry, hand saws, also known as "panel saws", "fish saws", are used to cut pieces of wood into different shapes. This is usually done in order to join the pieces together and create a wooden object. They usually operate by having a series of sharp points of some substance...
as a musical instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
. The sound creates an ethereal tone, very similar to the theremin
Theremin
The theremin , originally known as the aetherphone/etherophone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without discernible physical contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Léon Theremin, who patented the device...
. The musical saw is classified as a friction idiophone
Idiophone
An idiophone is any musical instrument which creates sound primarily by way of the instrument's vibrating, without the use of strings or membranes. It is the first of the four main divisions in the original Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification...
with direct friction (131.22) under the Hornbostel-Sachs
Hornbostel-Sachs
Hornbostel–Sachs is a system of musical instrument classification devised by Erich Moritz von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs, and first published in the Zeitschrift für Ethnologie in 1914. An English translation was published in the Galpin Society Journal in 1961...
system of musical instrument classification
Musical instrument classification
At various times, and in various cultures, various schemes of musical instrument classification have been used.The most commonly used system in use in the west today divides instruments into string instruments, wind instruments and percussion instruments...
.
Playing
Bow (music)
In music, a bow is moved across some part of a musical instrument, causing vibration which the instrument emits as sound. The vast majority of bows are used with string instruments, although some bows are used with musical saws and other bowed idiophones....
across the back edge of the saw at the sweet spot, or sometimes by striking the sweet spot with a mallet. The sawist controls the pitch by adjusting the S-curve, making the sweet spot travel up the blade (toward a thinner width) for a higher pitch, or toward the handle for a lower pitch. Harmonics can be created by playing at varying distances on either side of the sweet spot. Sawists can add vibrato by shaking one of their legs or by wobbling the hand that holds the tip of the blade. Once a sound is produced, it will sustain for quite a while, and can be carried through several notes of a phrase.
Types of saw
Sawists often use standard wood-cutting saws, although special musical saws are also made. As compared with wood-cutting saws, the blades of musical saws are generally wider, for range, and longer, for finer control. They do not have set or sharpened teeth, and may have grain running parallel to the back edge of the saw, rather than parallel to the teeth. Some musical saws are made with thinner metal, to increase flexibility, while others are made thicker, for a richer tone, longer sustain, and stronger harmonics. A typical musical saw is 5" wide at the handle end and 1" wide at the tip. A saw will generally produce about 2 octaves regardless of length. A bass saw may be 6" at the handle and produce about 2½ octaves. Two-person saws, also called "misery whips", can also be played, though with less virtuosity, and they produce an octave or less of range.Most sawists use cello or violin bows, using violin rosin, but some may use improvised home-made bows, such as a wooden dowel.
Producers of musical saws
Musical saws have been produced for over a century, primarily in the United States, though there are some producers in other countries.United States
In the early 1900s, there were at least ten companies in the United States manufacturing musical 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. In the year 2000 only three companies in the United States were making saws:Outside the United States
Outside the United States, there are 3 notable makers of musical saws:- In Sweden, Sandvik, maker of the Stradivarius saw
- In France, Alexis, which produces a toothless saw, "La Lame Sonore", with a range of three and a half octaves (Patent: N° E31975)
- In the UK - Thomas Flinn & Co. Sheffield based Saw Manufacturers. 3 different sized Musical Saws, cheats, bows and rosin available.
Events and world records
The International Musical Saw Association (IMSA) produces an annual International Musical Saw Festival (including a "Saw-Off" competition every August in Santa Cruz and Felton, California (about 90 minutes drive south of San Francisco). An International Musical Saw Festival is held every summer in New York City, produced by Natalia ParuzNatalia Paruz
Natalia 'Saw Lady' Paruz is a New York City-based musical saw and novelty instruments player and busker. She is the founder and director of the annual Musical Saw Festival in New York City. She also organized the musical saw festival in Israel...
. Natalia also produced a Musical Saw Festival in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. There are also annual Saw Festivals in Japan & China.
A Guinness World Record for the 'Largest Musical Saw Ensemble' was established July 18, 2009 at the annual NYC Musical Saw Festival. Organized by Natalia 'Saw Lady' Paruz, 53 musical saw players performed together.
Saw players
This is a list of people notable for playing the musical saw.- Natalia ParuzNatalia ParuzNatalia 'Saw Lady' Paruz is a New York City-based musical saw and novelty instruments player and busker. She is the founder and director of the annual Musical Saw Festival in New York City. She also organized the musical saw festival in Israel...
, also known as the 'Saw Lady', plays the musical saw in movie soundtracks, in TV commercials, with orchestras internationally, and is the organizer of international saw festivals in New York City and Israel. A commercial website selling her works is found at www.SawLady.com - Kev HopperKev HopperKev Hopper is primarily known as the bass guitarist with the 1980s band Stump, but it is more accurate to define him as a composer and multi-instrumentalist playing Musical Saw, guitar and samplers....
, formerly the bass guitarist in the 1980s band StumpStump (band)Stump were an Anglo-Irish indie/experimental/rock group featuring former Microdisney members Mick Lynch and Rob McKahey , along with Kev Hopper and Chris Salmon . They formed in London in 1983...
, made an album entitled Saurus in 2003 featuring six original saw tunes. - Charles Hindmarsh, also known as The Yorkshire Musical Saw PlayerThe Yorkshire Musical Saw PlayerCharles Hindmarsh, stage name The Yorkshire Musical Saw Player, is an English musical performer who specialises in the playing of the musical saw....
, has played the musical saw throughout the UK. - Janeen Rae Heller played the saw in four television guest appearances: The Tracey Ullman ShowThe Tracey Ullman ShowThe Tracey Ullman Show was an American television variety show, hosted by British comedian and onetime pop singer Tracey Ullman. It debuted on April 5, 1987 as the Fox network's second primetime series after Married... with Children, and ran until May 26, 1990. The show blended sketch comedy shorts...
(1989), Quantum Leap (1990), and Home Improvement (1992 and 1999). She has also performed on albums such as Michael HedgesMichael HedgesMichael Alden Hedges was an American composer, Acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter.-Background:...
' The Road to ReturnThe Road to ReturnThe Road to Return is a recording by guitarist Michael Hedges released on the Windham Hill label. It features eight vocal arrangements and two instrumentals.-Track listing:All compositions by Michael Hedges except as noted.# "Prelude" – 3:05...
in 1994 and Rickie Lee JonesRickie Lee JonesRickie Lee Jones is an American vocalist, musician, songwriter, and producer. Over the course of a three-decade career, Jones has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, blues, pop, soul, and jazz standards.-Childhood:...
's GhostyheadGhostyheadGHoSTYhead is an album by American singer/songwriter Rickie Lee Jones, released in 1997.- Track listing :#"little yellow town" – 6:54#"road kill" – 4:41#"matters" – 6:04#"firewalker" – 3:56#"Howard" – 4:45#"ghOsTYhead" – 5:36...
in 1997. - Julian KosterJulian KosterJulian Koster is an American underground musician and storyteller. A member of the Elephant 6 Collective, he is the leader of The Music Tapes, and a former member of Neutral Milk Hotel and Chocolate USA. He is also an influential and long time performer on the singing or Musical Saw...
of the band Neutral Milk HotelNeutral Milk HotelNeutral Milk Hotel was an American indie rock band formed by singer, guitarist and songwriter Jeff Mangum in the early 1990s. The band was noted for its experimental sound, obscure lyrics and eclectic instrumentation....
played the singing saw, along with other instruments, in the band and currently plays the saw in his solo project, The Music TapesThe Music TapesThe Music Tapes is an experimental pop music project of Elephant 6 member Julian Koster, also of Neutral Milk Hotel, and the earlier Chocolate U.S.A....
. In 2008, he released The Singing Saw at ChristmastimeThe Singing Saw at ChristmastimeThe Singing Saw at Christmastime is an album released by Julian Koster on October 7, 2008 by Merge. It features covers of popular Christmas songs played by Julian Koster on the singing saw.-Track listing:#"The First Noel" - 2:26...
. - Armand Quoidbach, is a Belgian saw player who has played the saw since 1997. In 1999 he played on the national Belgian TV (RTBF2) . In August 2000 he won the first prize at the contest for bands of the 25th "Plinn festival" in Bourbriac (Brittany) with the band "Le Bûcheron Mélomane et les Nains de la Forêt" (The Music-loving Lumberjack and the Dwarfs of the Forest). In 2002 he played on a CD "MUSIC DRAMA" of the band "My Little Cheap Dictaphone" La Médiatheque de Belgique. He performed with numerous musicians in Belgium and in France.
- Thomas Jefferson Scribner was a familiar figure on the streets of Santa Cruz, California during the 1970s playing the musical saw. He performed on a variety of recordings and appeared in folk music festivals in the USA and Canada during the 1970s. His work as labour organizer and member of the IWW is documented in the film "The Wobblies" 1979. Canadian composer/saw player Robert Minden pays tribute to him on his website . Musician/songwriter, Utah Phillips has recorded a song referencing Scribner, "The Saw Playing Musician" on the album Fellow Workers with Ani DiFranco. Artist Marghe McMahon was inspired in 1978 to create a bronze statue of Tom playing the musical saw which sits in downtown Santa Cruz.
- Marlene DietrichMarlene DietrichMarlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
played the saw on the Berlin stage and later used it to entertain troops during World War II. - Sean DeOliveira plays the saw on just about every song on the Sgt. Baker and The Clones Album soon to be released.
Compositions
Some artists have composed music specifically for the musical saw. The composer Krzysztof PendereckiKrzysztof Penderecki
Krzysztof Penderecki , born November 23, 1933 in Dębica) is a Polish composer and conductor. His 1960 avant-garde Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima for string orchestra brought him to international attention, and this success was followed by acclaim for his choral St. Luke Passion. Both these...
wrote regularly for the musical saw, including several obbligato parts in his comic opera "Ubu Rex", and Canadian composer Robert Minden has written extensively for the musical saw. The Rumanian composer George Enescu
George Enescu
George Enescu was a Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor and teacher.-Biography:Enescu was born in the village of Liveni , Dorohoi County at the time, today Botoşani County. He showed musical talent from early in his childhood. A child prodigy, Enescu created his first musical...
uses the musical saw at the end of the second act of his opera "Œdipe" to express the death of the sphinx killed by Oedipus.