The Rebirth of Saw Playing

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. About the time of World War II, saw playing almost disappeared. This was due to the fact that vaudeville, it's main venue, ceased to exist. Also, all metal was used for the manufacturing of ammunition, and no new saws were manufactured. For saw playing, you need a new saw with no rust on it, and most of the men went to war. Since most saw players were men, there was nobody who would teach the younger generation how to play. Therefore, the art form disappeared. Today it is regarded as if it's a new invention, but actually it's very, very old. I started bringing this art form back into popularity through performances, recordings, lecture demonstrations, but mostly through working with composers of today, urging them to incorporate the musical saw in new works."