I've been sawing for about 8 years. The descriptions above should get you started alright. There are various ways of making the small end of the blade bend, which is what allows the blade to create musical tones. First I grip the the handle between my knees as tighly as I can, the teeth pointing toward my body. (Don't let 'em fool ya this is exactly why there are so few of us saw players out there, so be careful. Why, I myself have lost a number of limbs doing this in the past, fortunately most of them have grown back.) My blade leans toward my left, I'm right handed, at about a 45 degree angle. Grasping the small end of the blade with the 3 fingers of my left hand (index, middle and ring) under the end and my thumb pressing down about 2 1/2-3 inches from the end on the top, is how I do it. You need not apply a great deal of force with your fingers pulling upward or your thumb pressing downward just maintain the grip. Most of the bending happens with the rest of the blade. Along the upward arching major portion of the blade are the musical tones. To find them you must bow near the high spot of the arch. As was mentioned in a previous post, a shallow arch will allow low notes to resonate easier and you must bow low on the blade near the widest part, about 4-6 inches from the handle. A pitch pipe may help you to determine the actual value of the lowest note which can be reached on your saw. Then practice bending the blade slightly more increasing the arch and finding the sweet spot to bow for the next note in the scale until you determine the musical range of your particular blade. The more you bend it the shorter the area the the blade has to vibrate and therefore the higher the tone and the higher on the blade you must bow. I can almost get two octaves out of my Mussehl and Westphal 30" baritone blade.

It's not necessary to begin with an actual "musical" saw but if you try it and would like to explore it further I would recommend the the Sandvik 30" Stradivarius. It can be purchased from Marykay Dawson at Mussehl and Westphal or from Lark in the Morning for a bit more $. It has teeth as do most of the blades I'm aware of and this does indeed make it kind of dangerous for the beginner.

What makes a musical saw differ from a regular one? Some say part of it is the metal used. I'm not a metalurgist so I can't varify that. The grain of the metal in my blade travels in a very linear fashion with the length wise direction of the saw. There is an even thickness to the blade which is also said to aid in its ability to vibrate.

An actual bow, (fiddle, viola, cello, bass) works best to play with but some folks strike it with a felt tipped mallet. Again there is no need for a great deal of pressure to be applied to the blade with the bow that will only make the bow screach. I use a brand of rosin on my bow called Pops bass rosin. It's sticky. Vibrato can be added via quivering the hand which grips the small end of the blade or lightly bouncing the left or right leg. I use my right leg.

So there you have it, everything you never wanted to know about how to saw. Goodluck, saw ya later, sawncerely, daredevil