Saw Notes
A Resource for Musical Saw Enthusiasts
Ask Ro
Standby magazine was published by WLS radio in Chicago during the 1930’s. The magazine included interviews with radio stars, and a schedule of the radio shows including the very popular radio show National Barn Dance. Farmers and relocated farmers made up much of the audience during a time when many […]
Read More
Here is the talented multi-instrumentalist Dwight Hawkins from Raleigh, North Carolina with the Piedmont Highballers. This is a marvelous performance of a great old song. As you watch Dwight play, you see he bows his saw and uses the bow for percussion, almost like a washboard. He knows a lot about jug […]
Read More
Saw players from all over the world gathered in Taiwan in May 2018 for a saw festival, and you can watch it here, two and a half hours of the musical saw. There are some amazing acts. Beautiful!
Read More
Sometimes the musical saw shows up in unexpected places. I wouldn’t expect the saw to play a part in literature, but much to my surprise, the musical saw shows up in a short story by William Faulkner. Faulkner is one of my favorite writers. In 1925, when he lived […]
Read More
One of the best parts of playing the saw is having the opportunity to meet all the other interesting people who play the saw. A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet expert sawyer and saw maker Eric Jon Johnson, owner of The Musical Saw Shop, formerly known […]
Read More
Scratch My Back: A Pictorial History of the Musical Saw and How to Play It is one of the only books written about the musical saw. It was written by sawyer Jim Leonard with Janet Graebner and was published in 1989. The book includes chapters on the history of the […]
Read More