Ripsaw

Ripsaw, also called rake-n-scrape, is the national music of the Turks and Caicos Islands, named for its central instrument: a carpenter's handsaw, bent by the player and scraped with a knife or screwdriver until its teeth sing. Around the saw's rasping, pitch-bending voice gather guitar, accordion, goatskin drums and maracas in small dance bands playing quadrilles, waltzes and local songs. Shared with the Bahamas yet distinguished by the Caicos technique of bending the blade for tone, it is the sound of island socials and junkanoo festivities, and its best-known exponent, *Lovey Forbes*, blended it with reggae, calypso and gospel into his own 'Combina' music.