Musician Performs Beautifully Haunting Rendition of ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ With a Musical Saw

Musical saw champion Caroline McCaskey performed a beautifully haunting rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” on her musical saw to open an Oakland A’s game in early June 2022.

McCaskey fell in love with the instrument at the age of 13 and has since excelled in it, winning the International Musical Saw Competition twice.

Caroline is a classically trained violist, violinist, and composer, but from an early age she was drawn to the music-making possibilities and ethereal voice of the saw, and began playing at age 13. …Caroline has won the International Musical Saw Competition twice, in 2007 and 2018. She returned to judge the competition in 2009.

In addition to playing the saw, McCaskey is a talented player of violin and viola who enjoys sharing her musical knowledge. She teaches at Fiddlekids Summer Camp in Berkeley, at Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp in Golden Bell Camp, Colorado, and hosts an online musical saw class.

Learn to make music with a handsaw! Two-time world champion of the musical saw Caroline McCaskey will show you how to create beautiful melodies on the saw, even if you don’t play any other instrument! Get out to the garage, dust off the saw, and let’s make some music! 

via My Modern Met

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.