musical saw
Bowed woodworking tool
A musical saw is a handsaw played as an instrument by bending the blade while drawing a bow across its edge, producing an ethereal, wavering tone.
The player sits with the handle between the knees, flexing the blade into an S-curve to change pitch.
The sound resembles a theremin or singing voice—ghostly and vibrato-rich.
She learned to play the musical saw from her grandfather.
Bending forward in deference
- vibratoOscillating pitch effect
- tremoloRapid tonal wavering
- glissandoRapid pitch sweep
- portamentoSeamless pitch transition
theremin · vaudeville · sideshow · busking · novelty act · one-man band · variety show · stage
Delicate beyond earthly measure
- hauntingDisturbingly unforgettable
- waveringShowing unsteady resolve
- eerieDisturbingly strange
- sopranoHighest female voice range
ghostly · otherworldly · sustain · resonance · timbre · pitch · oscillation · modulation
Tense a muscle
Theatrical variety entertainment
- AppalachianEastern U.S. mountain region
- old-timeOf a past era
- noveltyQuality of being original
- hillbillyRural mountain dweller stereotype
rural · acoustic · roots · tradition · medicine show · front porch · Ozark · country
bowing
Bending forward in deference
portamento · theremin · vaudeville · sideshow · busking · novelty act · one-man band · variety show · stage · showmanship
ethereal
Delicate beyond earthly measure
soprano · ghostly · otherworldly · sustain · resonance · timbre · pitch · oscillation · modulation · warble
flex
Tense a muscle
rosin · handle · sweet spot · node · overtones · attack · damping
vaudeville
Theatrical variety entertainment
- AppalachianEastern U.S. mountain region
- old-timeOf a past era
- noveltyQuality of being original
hillbilly · rural · acoustic · roots · tradition · medicine show · front porch · Ozark · country
handsaw
Toothed blade for wood
flexible · carpenter · teeth · woodworking · hardware · repurposed · tool · hacksaw · metal · springy
- unusual instrumentstheremin, hurdy-gurdy, glass harmonica, found objects, sackbut
- improvisationimprovised, impromptu, ad lib, freestyle, ad-lib
- noisemakersnoisemaker, air horn, bell, buzzer, kazoo
- variety actsacrobat, juggling, aerialist, magic, clown
- folk instrumentsbanjo, bodhrán, mandolin, harmonica, fiddle
- friction idiophonesglass harmonica, singing bowl, singing bowls, lion's roar
musical sawhandsaw
Toothed blade for wood
crosscut saw · hacksaw · circular saw · chainsaw · table saw
musical sawviolin
Bowed string instrument
piano · flute · classical guitar · traditional instruments · Stradivarius
saw, music, musical, musician, sawing, unmusical, musically, sawed, musicianship