Origin of Musical Saw Playing

Series Summary

The musical saw, sometimes called a singing saw, generates an enchanting, ethereal, even spooky sound, similar to a theramin. While technically a woodworking tool, the common wood hand saw makes a magical transformation into a musical instrument a with the help with of a bow. When emitting tones, the singing saw is classified as an ideophone, meaning that the instrument creates sound though its own vibrations as opposed to a piano or guitar which uses strings. The musical saw is played with the musician in a seated position, squeezing the handle between the legs and bending the other end of the saw to create pitch while bowing the smooth edge of the saw. Saws manufactured for musical use have been made for over 100 years, and have been used by musicians with a diverse musical sound, from Marlene Dietrich to the Flatlanders to Mercury Rev.

Expert Village is proud to present this free video series on playing the musical saw by the world famous Saw Lady, Natalia Paruz. You'll learn the origins of the singing saw, the history of its use in churches and vaudeville performances, and how to get started playing the saw. Natalia shows you how to pick from various types of musical saws, how to hold the saw and manipulate the blade to change pitch and add vibrato to your playing. She also offers tips and advice on protecting your saw and keeping it rust-free, and closes with a musical demonstration of this remarkable instrument.

Video Transcript

"On behalf of Expert Village, my name is Natalia Paruz, also known as "the saw lady." You can find me in New York City, and today I'm going to teach you how to play a saw. The history of the musical saw is not well documented. We don't really know when or where saw playing started. What we do know is that in the late 1700s saws made of steel were made widely available, which means carpenters back then had pliable saws. Pliable saws are easy for playing. As carpenter's today, carpenters, lumberjacks, woodcutters, even if they're not musically inclined, they discover that there hand tool can be sounds, usually by accident. They drop is on the floor, they hit it with something and a sound comes out. In the same way that carpenters today discover it, it is very likely to assume that carpenters back then 100s of years ago discovered it as well. "