A Resource for Musical Saw Enthusiasts
Musicians & Makers
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Musical Saw Festival In Taiwan
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!
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“Lamento Borincano” on the Saw
I have recently had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with a sawyer from Puerto Rico, José A. Hernández Vélez. The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture posted a video of him playing the saw on their webpage, and he graciously gave me permission to post the video here. The title of this song is “Lamento Borincano, ” and…
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The Flatlanders: Dallas
I’ve always loved the Flatlanders and Jimmie Dale Gilmore’s voice. This song “Dallas” is from their album More A Legend Than A Band, 1972. The album was first recorded in 1972 and rereleased in 1990. The saw part in this song is nice and simple, mirroring the harmonica part in places. The saw player on “Dallas” is Steve…
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A Visit To Songwood Instruments
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 as Songwood Instruments. He lives…
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Cheapsuit Serenaders: I’ll See You In My Dreams
No musical saw blog would be complete without a recording from Robert Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders. Robert Crumb is a cartoonist and lover of old-time music. The Cheapsuit Serneaders made three records in the 1970s, each one a lovely collection of old-time tunes. Many of these recordings include a saw. This particular song…
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Jim Leonard: Scratch My Back
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 saw, saw players, and instructions…
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Saws and Carrots
The saw can be a beautiful instrument in the hands of an expert, and Jean-Claude Welche is a real expert. You can listen to him play in this video. Mr. Welche plays a variety of instruments including some he makes himself. In the second video here, he makes a pan flute out of carrots and a…
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Rachmaninoff on the Saw?
When I was young, I took singing lessons for a while, and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Vocalise” was one of the pieces my teacher wanted me to learn. I failed miserably. “Vocalise” is difficult for the same reason that it is beautiful. It wanders here and there in a relaxed and magical way. And it is the…
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Poor Butterfly
Here’s Andy McCormick playing “Poor Butterfly” on the saw along with the wonderful organist Mike Grandchamp. One of the tricks to sounding nice on the saw is finding the right songs to play, and this song is perfect. This was filmed at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota. You can watch a clip of…
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Saw Player of the Month: Andy McCormick
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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The Weaver Who?
According to the Mussehl & Westphal website, Clarence Mussehl was inspired to make musical saws after seeing the Weaver Bothers perform in 1919. But who were the Weaver Brothers? During their time, there were very popular, and they worked with many famous acts such as Burns and Allen, Jack Benny, and Roy Rogers. Leon Weaver…
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Saw and Organ
Enjoy this video of a musical saw and a barrel organ. If you have time, check out the websites listed at the end of the video. The Musee Baud is in Switzerland and looks like a marvelous little place full of rare music boxes and automata. And the saw player, Jean-Claude Welche, plays many unusual…