Saturday, March 10, 2007

Playing the Saw - part 1

So, I got my bow today, and thus begins another possibly tragic musical journey. For anyone who isn't aready privy to my musical background, I'm a terrible musician. I have attempted to play five instruments, with formal classes in three of them(organ, classical guitar, drums), required classes for another(the recorder) and a somewhat involuntary assignment in a marching band for the last(the melodica). Perhaps it is only normal for a pair of chinese parents to really want their kid to play an instrument well, thus my parentally enforced affairs with numerous musical instruments, but I sorta, kinda, really do want to learn how to play something. They did give up on me eventually, and besides a half hearted stab at the violin, my brother didn't turn out to be a musical prodigy either.

Oh, and to throw something else into the mix, I'm slightly tone deaf. Not badly. I put in two years as a sound technician, with some freelance stuff afterwards, and I don't recall ever being cursed off the board during a sound check. So, I'm a bad musician, but I haven't given up hope.

So, why the saw? Well, first, it seemed interesting, and watching/listening to Irina Bjorklund play it was pretty rad. Secondly, it wasn't much of a monetary investment. Third, if I really fuck up, I'm still left with something with purpose. I mean, it's a saw. It cuts wood.

After reading a couple articles, I decided it was unnecessary to purchase an actual musical saw until I was capable of soliciting some sort of sound out of a ordinary tool. So, for now, I am armed with a 26 inch Stanley handsaw, a cheap cello bow and a chunk of rosin.

So, things I've managed to do so far in regards to my new hobby.

- I got it to make noise. It's not a terribly pleasant noise. It's relatively high pitched, and prolonged. I'm working on this.

- I stabbed my left thumb and scratched the top of my right hand. I then decided that taping the side of the saw with teeth would be a fairly wise move.

- I trimmed the edge off a shelf. No really, it needed to be trimmed.

More updates as time permits.