Anyone play a saw?

[amarr1]

 

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A musical saw, also called a singing saw, is the application of a hand saw as a musical instrument. The sound created is an ethereal tone, very similar to the theremin or a woman's clear voice. The musical saw is classified as a friction idiophone with direct friction (131.22) under the Hornbostel-Sachs system of musical instrument classification.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_saw

[NetStar]

I put money on Tape, or someone in one of his projects playing one.

[amarr1]

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised either. Unfortunately, the only violin bows I have are far too expensive for me to even consider using on a saw.

[Stazinish]

 

I put money on Tape, or someone in one of his projects playing one.

 

 

Yepp.

[c+t in b]

my synth player plays one. its pretty {censored}ing hard and they can rust easily

[goodhonk]

Anyone see a play?

[Seth Carmody]

 

my synth player plays one. its pretty {censored}ing hard and they can rust easily

 

 

Must depend on the saw. Saw Aminamina support sigur ros a few years ago and they are delicate looking girls and she played a saw. Didn't use a bow though. She had a stone or something in her hand that she would use to tap the saw then alter the pitch by bending it.

[TomCray]

I saw that one guy play a saw

[Stazinish]

The only saw I saw is the saw I saw with.

[AcheWater]

[AnderMocs]

 

Must depend on the saw. Saw Aminamina support sigur ros a few years ago and they are delicate looking girls and she played a saw. Didn't use a bow though. She had a stone or something in her hand that she would use to tap the saw then alter the pitch by bending it.

 

 

Pretty sure he meant that it was just a difficult instrument. It is. You have to know where to bend the saw to get the proper note. It's worse than violin/cello/upright bass.

[amarr1]

 

Pretty sure he meant that it was just a difficult instrument. It is. You have to know where to bend the saw to get the proper note. It's worse than violin/cello/upright bass.

 

 

Intonation wise, yes. What about technique?

[AnderMocs]

 

Intonation wise, yes. What about technique?

 

 

Bow technique might be tough. I don't know.

 

Intonation is what I was talking about, yes.

[amarr1]

 

Bow technique might be tough. I don't know. Intonation is what I was talking about, yes.

 

 

I don't see how bowing would be any harder than violin, viola, cello, or upright bass.

[tape]

I've tried it once or twice. really great sounds! I should get my own some day. one of the musical ones without the teeth. I think they're also more flexible.

[tape]

 

Bow technique might be tough. I don't know.

 

 

It's not too bad. most of the time I bow only one string at a time. two or three if I want to be noisy. but even with just one (lower or upper E) can be nice. bowing is expressive as {censored}!

 

If you're trying to bow a bunch of strings at once on an electric guitar then yes it's hard. on a violin or cello the strings are aligned in a bend making it easier.

[Stratman Tigers]

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This guy plays a saw

[macadood]

This guy plays a saw

 

lol wut a disaster

[TravvyBear]

A dude in a band I really like plays one on some recordings. Sounds like a girl from the 50s singing.

[nankuamedha]

A couple guys in the collective of musicians I play with can make a saw sing wonders. It's a very beautiful, haunting sound. I've tried it a bit, and would like to learn it more, but it can be difficult finding the right notes and bending the saw the produce such tones. When I've played one I've only tried using a mallet, but I can imagine a bow would make it resonate well. It's wonderous to hit a note and bend the saw as its sustaining to give it a vocal quality.

 

Neutral Milk Hotel has some lovely singing saw in their music:

[YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]

[MrChrisos]

Yep, I play one, but it's been a while.

 

It is hard to really know how much or how far to bend for each note. You're bending the saw into an 'S' shape, so there are technically two curves you have to get just right. Once you get a feel for it it's pretty magic though, like an acoustic theramin.

 

 

 

I don't see how bowing would be any harder than violin, viola, cello, or upright bass.

 

 

There are two things that make it trickier. First off you can't bow anywhere, there's a certain 'swett spot' that makes it sing, and it varies depending on how much you're bending it (IE, which note you're playing). Play anywhere outside the sweet spot and it won't resonate properly.

 

Second is that you can't consistently bow. With a violin you can just get pulling the bow backwards and forwards on a string, the metal doesn't work that way. You're actually using the bow to trigger the sound, much like picking and letting the note ring on. You bow until the note shines, then release, or it'll buzz horribly.

 

I hope none of this puts you off though, it's a bit fiddly at first, but as long as you're not having to play in pitch with other musicians it's fun to figure out and not too hard to get some basic sounds out. There's something really satisfying about the way it all works as well, and it's a lovely tone.

 

You can actually buy musical saws, which come with the bow, a case, and a special attachment called a 'cheat', for making it easier on your hands, but really not essential. If you are buying the bow seperate, consider a cello bow, as they're a bit bigger and built for more abuse.