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A Dog’s Life

February 21, 2018

Here’s a clip from Charlie Chaplin’s movie “A Dog’s Life,” a silent movie from 1918. The soundtrack includes a saw. I think the saw works well with all the crying. The music was composed by Chaplin himself, who specifically indicated that the passages should be played by a saw. You […]

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Let’s have an octave! Or Two! Or Four!

February 18, 2018

One of the advantages of playing a musical saw over a regular handsaw is the wider octave range. A sawyer can usually only play about one octave on a regular small handsaw, but a longer musical saw, 28 to 30″, can easily produce two octaves. In France, they have have […]

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Saw Player of the Month: Andy McCormick

December 16, 2017

One of my favorite saw players is Andy McCormick. He lives in Minnesota and plays in a duo called Dreamland Faces. You can’t go wrong listening to any of his recordings. Here he is playing Ellington’s “In A Sentimental Mood.” Have a listen…  

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Buzzed Bowing

November 18, 2017

Bowing on the saw, like anything, gets easier with practice. One of the problems for many people when starting out is unintentionally creating an unpleasant buzzing sound when bowing. This can be worse when bowing the lower notes. You can correct this by bowing a little faster or slower. Buzzing […]

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No Suits Required!

October 20, 2017

There’s nothing inherently musical about a saw, and we don’t usually think of music when we think of hand tools, but it is possible to make beautiful music on a hand saw. In order to do this, you simply need a handsaw, a bow or a hammer, and a little […]

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Bows, Bows, Bows

August 21, 2017

  In order to play the saw, you need a hammer, a mallet, or a bow. It can be easier to start with a small hammer, but part of the fun of playing the saw is being able to make the lovely glissando, so most people like to play with […]

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