This year will be my 6th musical saw workshop. The last three years it has been very well attended. I'm very pleased that my workshop has begun to attract so many folks, 50-100 per session in the last few years.

The room offered by the folks at the Folklife Festival has simply been too small in previous years to comfortably contain those who have come. There weren't enough chairs. So, folks had to sit on the floor. This point has really bothered me. I have been to other workshops that have been offered much larger rooms and there were far fewer in numbers attending them.

After years of requesting a more adequate space, this year, I have received what I hope is a larger room. I've not been there yet to look it over. So, I don't really know for certain if it will actually be a bigger and better space or not. I am hoping for the best.

I don't think that just because a workshop represents something beyond the mainstream folk arts that it should be considered less than anything in the mainstream and therefore relegated with less space. Of course, who knew how well that my workshop would catch on with folks? I was stunned when nearly 100 folks were seated in front of me three years ago for 80 minutes all wanting to learn the secrets of playing music with a hand saw.

It is not difficult to learn the basics of how to play the saw. Like every other musical pursuit it does require practice to gain a mastery of the concept. I offer those basics in my workshop.

In the course of my presentation I also demonstrate at least one song for everyone to observe my technique. This is how I learned how to play the saw. It was passed down to me from another individual player. I observed him playing for just a few seconds.

This method of learning to play the saw (one person showing another) is how the idea of playing music with a saw has been handed down to new players for many generations and one that I feel is important to continue to offer in my workshop. While I'm certain that I could make a video or DVD of the class, I feel compelled to keep this folk tradition alive.

I also offer the background of where this folk art form is supposed to have come from. It's a folk art and as such, no one really knows for certain where the idea originated but some have tried to trace its origins.

I include my tips, that I've learned from more than 15 years of hacking away at the art form. Then, after my initial presentation, I offer to answer any questions that folks might have regarding the subject. I think that in my 15+ years I've been 'sharp' enough to have answered them all. So, this part is actually not difficult for me to 'handle'.

In the last half, I turn the workshop into a hands-on session. I give fair warning that I don't have insurance and that many body parts lost in the process don't grow back. Oddly, after listening to me lecture on the subject for about 40 minutes, I find that folks are still awake and eager to jump right into this portion of the workshop.

I bring saws and bows that participants can use to play, while I offer specific suggestions as I observe their approach. This is something that I never had when I was learning how to play and my progress was greatly hindered because I had no one to offer help in this regard.

Knowing that not everyone learns the same way, this year I will also offer folks a pamphlet that I'm preparing of my tips. It will feature both photos and text. It will contain info about where folks can purchase musical saws or which regular saws are good candidates for playing and where folks can purchase supplies etc. In short, it will contain my workshop in a more concise form. Many, but not all, of my bad puns will be excluded from this offering.

So, in my workshop I cover the subject on a variety of levels. Visual, verbal, hands-on, and text methods will all be used to ensure that those attending will be able to get the best possible method to suit their personal style of learning the basics of how to play the saw. I also provide almost two decades of my personal tips and offer each person the opportunity to contact me further with any further questions they might have. In a one hour class one can hardly learn what a more in depth and advanced examination of the concepts will reveal. That, only time and practice can provide.

Sawwwwwwwwwwwwwww ya later, Reg vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv