Cultural Decadence: The Musical Saw

Marlene Dietrich, the "first lady of the musical saw"

The originator of the musical saw, also known as the "singing saw" remains embedded in tales of American folklore, however it allegedly began with nineteenth-century roots in the Ozark mountains of the U.S., while others claim that it was somewhere in the Appalachian mountains, and still others suggest possibly Scandinavian or South American woodcutters, African slaves, and so on. What is known is that it's very probable that the first note manipulating the bent blade of the saw was purely accidental, by a worker or toolmaker dropping or tossing the saw. A saw player knows that even by repeatedly waving a saw in the air like a sword, an audible note is produced, therefore the history of the beginnings of the musical saw may be left to one's own imaginative possibilities. It is also said that the saw could have been discovered as early as the 17th century when carpentry saws began to be mass-produced with receptive blades. What probably began as a mistake, or perhaps a fit of rage by a disgruntled toolmaker, soon caught the attention of others and within short time "mountain music" bands throughout incorporated the musical saw into their orchestra of sound. As early as the 19th century, priests played musical saws during church services as well.

Regardless of its true beginnings, its popularity soared in the early 1900s, as the Weaver Brothers and Elviry, a trio of musicians from the Ozarks, used the saw in their popular vaudeville act while touring the U.S. and Europe. It was not uncommon to be entertained by the musical saw in the musical hall stage of the 20s and 30s, or in between acts on the vaudeville stage. Its increasing popularity can be attributed to Clarence Mussehl, who began perfecting the manufacture and development of the instrument after witnessing an act by the Weaver Brothers. In 1921, Muusehl & Westphal became the world's first established professional saw company as sales of approximately 25,000 musical saws per year were common in the 20s and 30s during the saw's peak in popularity. With experimentation, the company improved and replaced the typical carpenter's saw with thinner steel for the blade, creating more distinctive tones and a saw capable of producing approximately 16 to 20 notes.

By the mid-1930s, however, music hall performances and vaudeville was replaced by recorded music, and the sales of musical saws plummeted to virtually none in the years of the Depression. Vaudeville disintegrated into history, and with the shortage of steel during World War II, the company had to finally close its doors and disappear along with the aging vaudevillians.

Nearly 35 years later, Dan Wallace contacted Clarence Mussehl before his death and retained the original name of Muusehl & Westphal and took over the business in a respectable fashion with the same purpose of creating the best musical saw possible. In October of 1982, Dan Wallace died in a tragic crash of his aircraft, however his wife Mary Kay has continued preserving the musical heritage of the saw well into the 21st century. In addition, other companies manufacture musical saws, such as Charlie Blacklock in California, Sandvik in Sweden, Parkstone in England, Feldmann in Germany, as well as the toothless blade la lame sonore, in France.

Instructions on exactly how to play the saw vary from person to person. The saw is generally played seated with the handle tightened between the legs, and with the tip of the saw held with the hand that is not holding the bow. Sound is typically created by drawing a violin or cello bow across the back edge of the saw (not the side with the teeth), and upon striking a sweet spot, a magical tone like that of a screaming siren or banshee should carry through several notes, controlled by the bending of the saw. It is a rather arduous task at first, however like anything else, practice makes perfect. These are the instructions given to me by my friend Dame Darcy, graphic illustrator and artist, and adept musical saw player.

Tips on playing the saw:

Rosin the bow hairs and the saw A LOT while sitting down, hold the handle between your knees tightly and with your thumb gripping the top firmly, bend it into an S shape. 
Hold the bow so that the hairs are pointing towards you. 
Brush the bow accross the saw on the outside of the blade. (duh)
Then find the "sweet spot" on the bend of the S until you hear the saw make a sound. At first it will sound like an out of control aquatic creature. But once you have perfected the sound you can actually play a tune. 


To-day the musical saw isn't only regulated to folk music, rather it has also been used to perform all types of music such as classical movie scores, as its glissando pitch creates an ethereal tone very similar to the sound of a theremin; a sound most familiar to science-fiction soundtracks of the 60s and 70s. It should also be noted that music saw players may use any standard wood-cutting saw, therefore saw playing is also an experiment at designing the perfect saw for playing. Also, instead of using typical violin or cello bows, a mallet or wooden dowel may also be used.