The Steel Guitar Forum

I have been playing with a group that has written several songs referencing trains...I have been fooling around with various chords and still havent found one I like. Any suggestions?

Try strings 3,4 & 5 three frets up from open root position with the F lever or strings 5,6 & 9 from open. Grip and pick the strings strong 1/2 fret down and swell in your volume pedal while bringing the bar up to the correct fret. If this sounds too full change to a 2 string grip eliminating the middle string. This seems to work OK for me.
Good luck. -DJ-

play first note by sweeping across 4-8 HARD --
<font face="monospace" size="3"><pre>3--------------------------------------------
4---12b~~~~~~~17b~~~~~16b~~~~~~~17b---------
5*--12#~~~~~~~17#~~~~~16#~~~~~~~17#---------
6---12#~~~~~~~17#~~~~~16#~~~~~~~17#---------
7---12~~~~~~~~17~~~~~~16~~~~~~~~17----------
8---12b~~~~~~~17b~~~~~16b~~~~~~~17#---------</pre></font>
VP OFF---then slowly INCREASE~~~~~~
it's an OUT OF TUNE DIMINISHED CHORD --
lower your E's, press (kinda) half A and B -- 'semi-half-pedal' the A pedal -- TRYING to get it slightly sharp or flat
works for me

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<small>Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Larry Bell on 24 January 2003 at 06:16 AM.]</p></FONT>

To get the steam whistle sound, a string 5 & 6 minor combination works pretty good anywhere above the 7th fret. To get the minor, you can forward-slant the bar, or you can raise the 5th a half tone or lower the 6th a halftone with a pedal or knee lever. There's some technique involved, too. After picking (with the volume pedal off), slide up about a fret while increasing the volume, and then slide back down slowly about 4 or 5 frets while decreasing the volume (reverb helps). For the "AmTrak" (diesel-horn) sound, just use a rapid (one-second) on/off volume technique on a backwards slant on strings 8-7-6, and do this one <u>below</u> the 7th fret (do this one without the slides).

The "chugging" sound of a steam engine can also be made by muting the strings with your hand or arm (at about the 5th fret), and then using the (flattened) palm of your right hand to rub rapidly at a diagonal across the strings. Once you get the "whistle" and the "chugging" techniques down, then you can try doing them both at once...by doing the whistle on the E9th and then the chugging on the C6th! With a little practice, it sounds great on them old train songs.

(Just don't "overdo" it.) <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Donny Hinson on 24 January 2003 at 08:46 AM.]</p></FONT>

My daughter was explaining to me the other week that she had read somewhere that what happens with the train "whistles" we hear is that you typically hear a minor third, which kind of modulates to a diminished. She further explained that this is the result of some scientific principle related the the way the sound vibrations travel in the atmosphere(I have half a notion she talked about the "Doppler Effect" or something like that). She says that on a recent lengthy road trip with her Mother alongside our main east-west railway line, she experimented by waving at all the front-end crews (pretty well the only crews we have now on 90% of our trains) so they would blast the horns, enabling her to verify this. Her Mother (a very well schooled classical musician) agreed with her. I do note that what she is telling me might well be consistent with success that Larry and Donny have had with their methods.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Bob Blair on 24 January 2003 at 09:03 AM.]</p></FONT>

I Start On The 8th Fret B pedal Down And D Leaver Slide Slow Up Toward The 1's Fret Slow Giving Volum As I Go. String's 3. 4.&5 Hope This Helps. SONNY.

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SONNYPRIDDY

Maybe try to electric locomotive sound: open - right up next to the changer - play strings 9 and 8 with the volume off and then max it out for a few quick bursts and then a longer one.

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My best,
Ernie

The Official Buddy Emmons Website
www.buddyemmons.com

One thing that helps me to get that authentic "train passing in the distance in the night" sound is to angle the nose of the bar forward about half a fret to create a swell effect.
Season to taste with vibrato and volume pedal.
Musically, it's an "out of tune on purpose" thing, as with all train, horse, elephant, siren, helicoptor, machine gun, ect... effects, forget about playing an instrument and go for authentic replication of the sound in question.
Fun stuff!!!

Guys, thanks so much for the info you shared with me. I am experimenting with eveyone's suggestions, and obviously the technique is what makes it happen......this forum is so helpful....I rarely get to talk to another steel player live!!!
Craig

I usually play a ninth chord, strings 3,4 and
5 with the A and B pedals down and lowering your 4th string 1/2 step with the knee lever, two frets down from the A and B pedal position. An "E ninth" would be on your 5th or 17th fret. I slide into it. <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Bob Watson on 26 January 2003 at 02:27 PM.]</p></FONT><FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Bob Watson on 26 January 2003 at 02:29 PM.]</p></FONT><FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Bob Watson on 26 January 2003 at 02:31 PM.]</p></FONT><FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Bob Watson on 01 February 2003 at 02:42 AM.]</p></FONT>

I usually play about fret twelve with B&C pedals and angle the nose of the bar towards the changer, move it up one fret and back. I also do the chugging sound across the strings, got that from a Noel Boggs video

All the above is good for most 'roads', but a Norfolk & Western (they built their own engines) steam-whistle is more easily replicated on C6th...

I played at a club next to a train track once, and was able to nail the pitch of the two-tone air horn as a diesel passed. It was close to a Bb7th chord: the D and Ab notes together.

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<small><img align=right src="http://b0b.com/b0b.gif" width="64" height="64">Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9), Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6), Roland Handsonic, Line6 Variax (coming soon)

Check out the E9th chord found on strings 2,4,5,6 at fret 5 with B & C pedals down. For the swell effect, move the bar up half a fret and back again.

As an engineer for the BNSF Railway, I can't tell the exact two notes of the typical whistle because I don't know. No one told me. whatever sounds good, use it. However the proper whistle signal for a crossing is 2 longs, 1 short, 1 long. Hope this helps.

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Keep pickin', Larry

Like b0b said, use a tri-tone(D-Ab) and swell into it.


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www.natelapointe.net

My steel ALWAYS sounds like a train!! How do you get it to NOT sound like that!! LOL

mine sounds more like a TRAIN WRECK.!!!

This is all so interesting! Lots of creative folks originating their train sounds. bOb Lee, "thanks so much for this forum"!!!!!

Having grown-up in deep east Tx. piney woods, I remember the old log trains. Each engineer had his special way of blowing the whistle. My uncle's father n law was a blacksmith at the round house. He build many whistles for the trains over his tenure there.

In reading what Bob Watson has to say, I think he has it correct for the old log train sound.

Also, Bobby Lee has the sound correct for the 1950's type diesel locomotive. Those things were tuned to four notes, C#-E-G & A#.
If played on a Organ the sound is identical!

I haven't found a way to send an attachment. I could let you hear the old Log train sound on my steel.

Again, thank you bOb for this forum. You are a true gentleman!!!!!!

Received via email: <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica">quote:</font><HR><SMALL>I LOVE train horns. (Doesn¹t every PSG player?) I am listing below the most common tone cluster configurations. Most train horns heard today are made by either the Nathan or Leslie companies of Canada. Horns are normally configured in clusters of 3 (major or minor) or 5 (major 6th or dominant 7th) tones with air being throttled to all or any combination of horns at one time. A tip of the hat and thanks to the courtesy and dedication of the following: railfan.net, trainweb.org and www.trains.com

Nathan AirChime
K Series
K5LA
Tuning: D#, F#, G#, B, D# (B major 6th w/ 3rd in the bass)
Doc Bryant's rebuilt rig. Notice chiff (or warble) between #1 and #5)
K3H
Tuning: D# minor triad (D#, F#, A#)
VIA Rail Canada F40PH
K5H / K5L
Tuning: D#, F#, A#, C, D# (D# minor 6th. Original factory tuning.
Later horns tend to sound more of a half major/half minor chord.)
Southern Pacific locomotive (typical)
M Series
M3
Tuning: C#, E, A (A major triad w/ 3rd in the bass)
Modesto & Empire Traction GE 70-ton
M3HR
Tuning: D#, F#, A# (D# minor triad)
M3H's can still be found on former Grand Trunk Western locomotives.
M5
Tuning: C#, E, G, A, C# (A major dominant 7th w/ 3rd in the bass) NOTE: Many other variations were possible, though, even from the factory. These included A major dominant 6th (C#, E, F#, A, C#) and D# minor 7th (C#, D#, F#, A#, C#)
Niels Canyon Railway
Leslie Supertyfon
R-S Series
RS3K
Tuning: B, D#, A (B dominant 7th)
A static Leslie RS3K with echos. These horns were common on the Burlington Northern.
S5T
Tuning: B, D#, F#, A, C# (B major 9th)
A Leslie S5T on a freight in Union, Michigan.

Chris Newell

Ojai, CA and Atwater Village, CA (two blocks from the Glendale station) </SMALL><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Bet that's music to my old buddy Roger's ears

-- you listening, Rog?????

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<small>Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

Funny how this has resurfaced...thanks again for the sharing and time spent in responding.
chug...chug...chug
cv

Haveing trouble with Train sounds lately.
- Just can't get the coal.
Tony