Herschel The Handsaw

The sound created by a handsaw is a beautiful, ethereal sound, very similar to a woman's clear singing voice. The saw is generally played with the player seated with the handle squeezed between the legs, and the far end held with one hand. To make a note, a sawist must bend the blade into an S-curve. The parts of the blade that are curved do not vibrate so therefore that part does not make a sound. At the center of the S-curve a section of the blade remains flat. This is called the "sweet spot" producing a distinct pitch. The wider the section of blade, the lower the sound. Marlene Dietrich was a famous performer on the musical saw who often played it on the Berlin stage and then later used it to entertain troops during World War II