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Firstly, if you are a youngster wanting to embark on playing the musical saw, that’s great, but I recommend talking to your parents first. I always remember the trouble I got into after my parents found me sitting in the garage with my father’s tool kit and a violin bow. Secondly I would recommend that you DON’T use a normal wood cutting saw as the sharp teeth may cause some injury to you or to the furniture in the immediate area. Instead I would try to find a proper musical saw which doesn’t have real cutting teeth and, having additional flexibility, is kinder on your hands. Most musical saw companies will also supply you with a basic string bow. This is good for starting with and will produce most of the notes. I’ve included some links to saw suppliers on one of the other pages.
For anyone else I would recommend you invest in a proper cello or string bass bow as this will help you to create addition volume and improve the quality of the sound. It doesn’t have to be good quality bow, but it does require a full head of hair. (The bow.... not the saw player!!) You will also need to get yourself some rosin, as this has to be lightly rubbed onto the bow’s hair to provide that extra grip on the saw blade, and make the necessary vibrations to produce the sound. You may also want to get yourself a comfortable upright chair or, as I did, a portable drummer's seat.
Before you learn how to play the saw this is an example of what is possible. This was recorded at a concert for the Barnsley Hospice in South Yorkshire.
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Sit upright on your chair with both legs in front of you with your knees together and both feet flat on the floor. Make sure you have about a 900 bend at the knees. |
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Take the saw and place the wooden handle between your knees with the blade pointing up and the teeth facing towards you. Please remember which these teeth are facing in case the telephone rings or the neighbour calls around. You don’t want to be standing up in a hurry as this might create a unique string of non musical adjectives.
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Using your left handed saw, take your left hand and place the index, middle and ring fingers on the very top left hand side of the saw. Lift your hand over the top of the blade and push the thumb down about 4 to 6cm lower than the fingers, but on the right hand side.
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Holding the saw firmly between
your knees and move the whole blade to the left.
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Hold your rosined bow in your right hand at the heel end of the bow (for string instrument bows, this is where the screw thread is). Remember not to touch the hair as it will become greasy and will not grip very well on the blade. Lightly place the bow on the smooth edge of the saw, between the two bends, and pull the bow down from left to right. You will have hopefully produced your first note.
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Moving the blade to the left and applying additional pressure with the fingers and thumb will raise the note in pitch. Moving the blade to the right and applying less pressure will lower the note.
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Sadly a photograph doesn't
really explain how to make vibrato, but it was a nice location on top of a
hill near Buxton in Derbyshire. The cold gale force wind provided a sort of
natural un-controllable vibrato, that I wouldn't recommend for any
length of time.
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Hopefully all your fingers are still attached and no damage has been done to any furniture. At first playing the saw will seem to be difficult, not only to yourself, but also to the rest of the street listening in on that unusual noise. Do persevere as it soon becomes easier and over time it will start to sound rather good. Also neighbours don’t tend to complain very much, especially when you have a saw in your hand.
The Cheat
Some sawyers prefer to use a special tool on the end of the blade to help them keep the "S" shape formed. This tool is called a "cheat" and it helps to preserve the players fingers from the physical pains of playing. I personally don't use a cheat during concerts, however there are some advantages especially if you want to play for long periods of time.
You can buy "Cheats" from most musical saw suppliers. However being a tight Yorkshire man, with a hint of Scottish blood in me, I don't believe in wasting money if you can make it yourself for nowt (nothing).
I found a piece of hardwood from an old builders crate (10" Length x 1.5" Wide x 1" Depth.... or in new money 24cm L x 3cm W x 2cm D ) . Taking a normal saw (not a musical one) I cut a 0.5" (1cm) cut across the depth starting at about 2 inches (4cm) from off one end of the piece of wood. Using a knife and sand paper I have shaped a handle, removed the splinters and smoothed off all the sharp edges.
Ok.....like me its not a thing of beauty, but it does do the job. The top of the musical saw slides into the slit in the cheat and the player can hold and control the instrument using his/her whole hand rather than placing stress and pressure on their fingers and thumb. It acts as a lever so it might help younger players to manipulate the blade into the required "S" shape. Obviously if a young player does want to try this please make sure it is done under close supervision.
Best wishes
Charles Hindmarsh
Best wishes
Charles Hindmarsh
