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| saw (instrument) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Saw |
| Classification | Idiophone (friction) |
| Hornbostel Sachs | 111.24 (friction idiophone) |
| Developed | 19th century (modern musical use) |
| Related | Violin, Theremin, Ondes Martenot |
saw (instrument) The musical saw is a hand tool transformed into a bowed or struck idiophone used for sustained, voice-like tones. Originating from folk and domestic contexts in North America and Europe during the 19th and early 20th centuries, it achieved concert and popular visibility through cabaret, vaudeville, and experimental music. The instrument’s timbre, flexible pitch control, and simple construction have attracted performers across genres including classical, jazz, electronic, and soundtrack composition.
The musical saw emerged alongside the proliferation of industrial tools in the 19th century and gained visibility in vaudeville and music hall traditions in United States and United Kingdom. Early photographic and periodical evidence ties its use to itinerant entertainers and minstrel shows, while composer-performers in Finland and Russia adapted it into local folk practices. During the 20th century, the saw was showcased by performers in Paris cabarets and Berlin salons, and found a niche in American country music and bluegrass ensembles. Postwar experimentalists associated with institutions like the New York Philharmonic and electronic studios of IRCAM integrated the saw into avant-garde and electroacoustic performance, and film composers in Hollywood exploited its eerie timbre in soundtracks and scores.
A musical saw is typically a standard steel hand saw or purpose-made blade with a straight or slightly curved spine. Blades are commonly modified from carpenter’s crosscut or rip saws originating from industrial workshops in Sheffield and Solingen, though modern makers produce purpose-built musical blades in regions such as Germany and United States. The instrument’s acoustics depend on blade length, width, thickness, and tempering; makers sometimes heat-treat or file the steel and polish the surface to affect overtone structure. Accessories include a wooden trestle or saddle to support one end, a chair or lap rest, horsehair or nylon bows often drawn from makers in France or Germany, and pitch markers used by performers trained in conservatories like the Juilliard School. Some experimental builders add pickup microphones, piezoelectric transducers, and contact pickups developed by firms like AKG and Shure to interface with amplifiers from Fender or Marshall for amplified and electronic music contexts.
Players induce sustained tones by flexing the blade into an S-curve and bowing along the flat face to excite transverse vibrations. Vibrato and portamento are produced by varying curvature and bow speed, techniques paralleled in bowed strings as practiced at institutions such as the Royal Academy of Music and Curtis Institute of Music. Harmonics arise when players touch nodes analogous to techniques used on instruments in Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, while glissandi exploit continuous pitch spaces similar to the Theremin and the Ondes Martenot. Another approach uses mallets or thumbs for percussive, bell-like timbres, borrowing articulation concepts found in Percussion Ensemble repertoire. Amplification, effect pedals popularized in Rock and Roll by manufacturers like Boss or Electro-Harmonix, and looping technologies enable extended textures and layering in solo and ensemble settings.
The saw appears in repertoire spanning salon songs, folk arrangements, art music, and film scores. Composers associated with its use include salon-era arrangers in Vienna and contemporary composers who wrote solo or chamber works performed at festivals like the Donaueschingen Festival and the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. In popular culture, soundtrack composers in Hollywood and European film industries have used the saw’s voice-like color for suspense and melancholy cues. Folk and roots players incorporate it into Appalachian and Scandinavian repertoires, while experimental musicians integrate it into electroacoustic sets at venues such as Wigmore Hall and Carnegie Hall.
Famous saw players and advocates span vaudeville, classical, and experimental scenes. Historical entertainers brought the instrument to stages in New York City and London music halls; 20th-century virtuosi toured with companies such as Barnum & Bailey and performed in broadcast programs on networks like BBC. Contemporary practitioners have appeared at festivals and collaborated with ensembles including the London Sinfonietta and the Berliner Philharmoniker in crossover projects. Innovators working with amplification and electronics have collaborated with labels and studios in Berlin, Tokyo, and Los Angeles.
The musical saw occupies a liminal place between tool, toy, and concert instrument, symbolizing resourcefulness in folk traditions of regions such as Appalachia and Nordic countries. Its evocative, human-like sound has been used in theatrical productions in Broadway houses and in cinematic narratives to suggest nostalgia, isolation, or the uncanny. Ethnomusicologists and curators at institutions like the Smithsonian Institution and the Museum of Modern Art have documented and exhibited saw performances as part of cultural heritage projects, while contemporary makers and educators continue to teach techniques at summer schools and community workshops in cities like Chicago and Berlin.
Category:Musical instruments