Charles Hindmarsh started playing the Musical Saw as a party piece during his time at University. He has performed everywhere from the BBC Music Live and Queens' College Cambridge, to a skip outside Belfast City Hall.
With full classical training and a degree in Music, Charles originally taught the violin and tuba, but it was the Musical Saw that really sparked an interest from his students. With his services in increasing demand Charles now plays at events across the country, carries out musical saw workshops for music festivals and corporate events and provides lessons for beginners or players who just want to improve.
His students can grasp the basic techniques of the Musical Saw within a couple of hours. “The general aim is to play a well known tune by the end of the session,” says Charles. “You can play almost any cross cut saw, although there are additional risks of playing a saw with sharp teeth. A musical saw has either fake teeth or no teeth at all and is much more flexible than one from your local shop,” he explains. “It is not recommended for very young children, but teenagers and above usually have a lot of fun learning.”
Here is Charles in action:
He is also the proud owner of the UK’s only website dedicated to playing the Musical Saw complete with a theSAWrus and musical saw jokes - currently entertaining the School of Everything office.
With his humour and unusual talent, Charles Hindmarsh is certainly a cut above the rest.