Mixtape and the Musical Saw (Part Two)

Some weeks, a few cut toes (I’ll get to them in another post), and a fair amount of practice later, I am finally getting a solid, semi-controlled tone from my saw. After ditching the rusty old saws I began experimenting with, I broke down and purchased one new. I had debated throwing down the green for an official Mussehl & Westphal tenor saw, but decided to first see whether I (and my lack of perfect-pitch) would weather the novelty of the undertaking.

I ended up taking some good advice from a chat-room posting and purchased the cheapest saw that I could find. The reasoning behind the counter-intuitive thrift being that a cheaper saw should equate with a thinner-gage steel, which should equate with easier manipulation. Not only should this lend itself to the reaching of the higher register, but finger cramp ought also to be lessoned.

And know that it pains me to dwell on the whole sore-fingers sob. I’m rather embarrassed by the whole admonition. I’m a day laborer, who has played guitar for over a decade, and yet my poor fingers tire very quickly of saw bending. This brings practice sessions (those rare moments when no one I respect is within earshot) to premature conclusions that usually involve cursing. I simply never would have gotten any practice in with the old saws.

I couldn’t bring myself to get a plastic-handled saw, but found a no-frills wooden one with a 26″ blade for only $8 at a local ranch outfitter. The saw required a little modification, but in the end, to my delight, brought forth a lovely tone when stroked with my home-spun fishing-line bow.

Sitting at the piano, sustain pedal depressed, I first determined what the lowest note was that my saw was capable of easily producing and then recorded myself playing a major scale from that note up. I practiced the scale over and over on the saw and then decided to attempt to accompany a number of simple songs. To my surprise I was able to.

Mussehl & Westphal’s famous slogan claimed that if someone could whistle, they could play the musical saw. And although I, myself, can barely whistle a tune, I seem to be making progress, sore toes and all.

-mixtape

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Tags: Music, Musical, Saw, Mussel, and, Westphal

~ by mixtape on July 13, 2007.