More Train Songs
The train rhythm can be given a blues feel by swinging the rhythm. As with all swing rhythms, hold the down part of each beat longer. Begin by tonguing only the exhaled chords.
When you can swing the exhaled beats, swing the entire train.
The hand vibrato can provide a fine whistle to go along with the train rhythm. Place your mouth over the single hole number 1, and inhale. Open and close your hands once per beat, with a beat of silence on the fourth beat. Repeat once for a two bar, or eight beat, train whistle.
When you can play the above whistle, experiment with using three beats of fluttered hand vibrato for each bar of the whistle, then one silent beat.
Or you may like to use the blues style rhythm from Lesson Seven, with two double "wahs" and one single "wah" for each bar of whistle, as follows.
The 56i chord can also provide a fine train whistle, as can the 45i chord. These chords can be used without any tonal effects, with hand vibrato, or with the "Yo" effect from page 79.
Moving from a whistle composed of lower notes to one using higher notes will tend to imply that the train is moving towards the listener, while going from a higher whistle to a lower on will tend to imply that the train is moving away.
The only hard thing about playing the Train With Whistle is going directly and with no break from the 456e chord to the single note 1e. Perhaps it is a bit like jumping onto a moving train — it takes determination, and a commitment without a great deal of thought.
It is easy to return to the 123i chord from the second bar of 1e whistle because you have a silent beat during which to breathe and locate the next chord. Begin slowly and carefully, without tonguing. Add the tonguing and swing the rhythm after you have mastered the move from the train to the whistle, and from the whistle to the train.
If you like, swing the train.
Experiment with this train. Play the train for a longer or shorter time before going to the whistle, or play the whistle for twice as long before returning to the train. Swing all or some of the beats, or none, as you prefer. Vary the whistle, the speed, and the loudness, and create your own interpretation of this classic harmonica piece.
This train uses some different chords, and also varies the rhythm patterns. It is meant to be an example of a train, not one to be adhered to slavishly. It starts without any tonguing, then adds more complex tonguing rhythms. For ease of reading, there is a space between bars, but play it smoothly, without any hesitation between each bar.
You may wish to practice each line below separately before combining them. Play each line for as long as you wish, before going on to the next line, as per the repeat sign. Note the use of the high chord 56i for a whistle. Use it in between the lines, or whenever it seems appropriate, or use a 45i whistle if you prefer. You may also create a new line by using parts of two other lines, as the final line demonstrates.
If you like, you may use some of the second position Blues Scale preparation riffs in place of the previous whistles, which will lend more of a blues aspect to the train. These particular riffs may fit in more easily with a doublet version of the previous train rhythm, but you may try them along with any train style rhythm that you choose — the train rhythm variation below is just a suggestion. You may also wish to experiment with any variations on these riffs that you create from the Blues Scale, once you learn it.
