Saw Notes
A Resource for Musical Saw Enthusiasts
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It’s not every day that you see the musical saw used to woo a person, but in this scene from Steamboat Round the Bend (1937), we see John McGuire playing the musical saw for his sweetheart Anne Shirley. McGuire was an actor for over two decades, and you might recognize […]
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Everyone is invited to the 42nd International Musical Saw Festival! The festival’s main event begins at 10 am Sunday, August 11, at Roaring Camp in Felton, California. The world’s greatest saw players will join other acoustic musicians in a variety of musical performances. You’ll hear bluegrass, country, folk, gospel, blues, […]
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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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