Editing Musical saw (section)

==Playing==
{{Blockquote|[The musical saw is] a flexible handsaw played by holding the handle between the knees and bending the blade while bowing along the flat edge. The musical saw is found in the folk music of Russia and rural America, and is a popular vaudeville instrument.<ref name="Nardolillo">Nardolillo, Jo (2014). ''All Things Strings'', pg. 90. Scarecrow; {{ISBN|9780810884441}}.</ref>}}

The saw is generally played seated with the handle squeezed between the legs, and the far end held with one hand. Some sawists play standing, either with the handle between the knees and the blade sticking out in front of them. The saw is usually played with the serrated edge, or "teeth", facing the body, though some players face them away. Some saw players file down the teeth, which makes no discernable difference to the sound. Many{{snd}}especially professional{{snd}}saw players use a handle, called a Tip-Handle or a Cheat, at the tip of the saw for easier bending and higher virtuosity.

To sound a note, a sawist first bends the blade into an S-curve. The parts of the blade that are curved are damped from vibration, and do not sound. At the center of the S-curve a section of the blade remains relatively flat. This section, the "sweet spot", can vibrate across the width of the blade, producing a distinct [[pitch (music)|pitch]]: the wider the section of blade, the lower the sound. Sound is usually created by drawing a [[Bow (music)|bow]] across the back edge of the saw at the sweet spot, or sometimes by striking the sweet spot with a mallet.

The sawist controls the pitch by adjusting the S-curve, making the sweet spot travel up the blade (toward a thinner width) for a higher pitch, or toward the handle for a lower pitch. [[Harmonic]]s can be created by playing at varying distances on either side of the sweet spot. Sawists can add [[vibrato]] by shaking one of their legs or by wobbling the hand that holds the tip of the blade. Once a sound is produced, it will [[sustain]] for quite a while, and can be carried through several [[Musical note|note]]s of a [[phrase (music)|phrase]].

On occasion the musical saw is called for in orchestral music, but orchestral percussionists are seldom also sawists.  If a note outside of the saw's range is called for, an electric guitar with a [[Slide guitar|slide]] can be substituted.<ref>Karl Peinkofer and Fritz Tannigel, Handbook of Percussion Instruments, (Mainz, Germany: Schott, 1976), pg. 75.<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed --></ref>