Saw Notes
A Resource for Musical Saw Enthusiasts
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Last spring, guest author Brad Kay wrote a marvelous biography of saw player Sam Moore for our blog. You can read it here. In the post, you can here a recording of “The Last Rose Of Summer” played by Sam Moore. Here’s another beautiful song, “Mother Machree.” In this recording, […]
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Jake Heggie is an American composer who has written a variety of classical pieces, including operas, choral works and chamber works. His opera Moby Dick is one of my favorites. In 2017, he wrote a chamber piece called “Earthrise: December 24, 1968 for Musical Saw and String Quartet.” It’s unusual […]
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Here’s the world’s shortest saw lesson. If you don’t know about the musical saw and just want to see how it works, watch this short video. It’s a great overview of what you need to make a sound to start playing. It’s a good idea to start out with a […]
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I’ve always been a big fan of Tom Waits, so it’s no surprise that I’d find one of his songs included a saw. Waits is a great singer and songwriter. He’s been recording and writing since the early 1970’s. His music is a sort of combination of jazz and blues, […]
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I haven’t been able to find out much about Killer Warren Waid, but he played the saw and the electric guitar and spent some of his time in Michigan during the 1970’s. He was a fine saw player, and he played old-timey music, accompanying dulcimer players on his electric guitar. […]
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One of the big decisions a saw player must make is whether to use a saw handle or “cheat” on the end of the saw when playing. Some professional saws, such as the French lame sonore, are very thick steel and require a handle in order to bend the instrument, […]
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