Playing The Train - the Fastest Way to Harmonica Bossdom!?!

Technique
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@Butch shared a really cool old train groove from the early 1900’s on the thread Harmonica - The People’s Instrument, and I thought I’d re-post I in a new thread specifically about the Train, because it’s SUCH AN IMPORTANT TOPIC for harmonica players. Here’s his post from that thread:

In the book, Harmonica, Harps and Heavy Breathers, one of the early harmonica players from early 1900’s, Palmer McAbee has a couple recordings, 1928 it appears and his train if definitely something worth listening to, Have no idea how some of these sounds are done . . . https://youtu.be/3UvOzsyty_E and one of his songs, Lost Boy Blues, is https://youtu.be/WpA4gRmAyRc quite different from what Blues are now. But then, this is almost 100 years ago also . . . Really enjoying my history lesson on early harmonica, that’s for sure !

As the discussion progressed, I mentioned that only a handful of people can still play harmonica like Palmer McAbee, and one of them is Joe Filisko. I asked Joe if he has any resources about playing The Train groove.

He said this resource has some good stuff on the train (and it’s only $1.00.)

But then he sent me a link to this page that he wrote which says this at the top:

*From my experience, it’s my strong belief that the best possible way to expedite ones playing progress is by smartly practicing the Train. Committing 5 minutes a day to this is the most direct path to building better rhythm, tone, blues breath control, dynamics, relaxation, and throat tremolo. It’s also the easiest thing to do because it can be played using ONLY chords.

That page :point_up_2:t3:is really cool and is free so I recommend following the link and giving it a read.

I also believe that The Train is important which is why I have several lessons devoted to it in my Beginner to Boss course, and I know it was something I got a lot of pleasure from early on, and still get a lot of pleasure from now. But the way he stated it is SO STRONG, it inspired me to start this thread devoted exclusively to the topic.

BTW, he also mentioned this 80 minute masterclass resource, which is $40, but as he said is “mega-complete.”

Joe is one of foremost living experts in harmonica - he is a master player, technician, and historian - so I’m sure the masterclass will not disappoint!

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Thank you @Luke I just started your course 2 weeks ago and practicing the train has immediately been added as part of my pre-lesson warm-up.
That link you sent about Palmer McAbee train is crazy. As you said, I don’t understand how some of these sounds are produced. It feels that at some time, he is getting closer to what a human beat box would do than an harmonica player.
I was also looking at this Blues Train from Juzzie Smith which I also found really good. Maybe less technical but there’s a very good vibe to it, and the video adds to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2274rU5-BLY
Do you know what harmonica key is he playing? I have both a C-key and A-key harmonica but the initial sound he produces for the whistle do not seem to match. Or is it because he is bending or using other technique doing the whistle?

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Sorry @Luke I have two other questions about that the page you shared from Joe Filisko about train rhythm.

  1. In the second page there are arrows pointing up and down to represent blow/draw but which one is which?
  2. What does he means by the following guideline? If we accel or decel the rhythm is changing, no?

DON’T break the rhythm whether it’s accel, decel or effects - Try and “Sway” or “twist”

Does this means that, like he shows on page two, if you accel from gear 1 to 2, the first “huh” in the 2nd gear must come exactly where the second “who” was in the 1st gear? Not slightly before or after.

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Agree 100%. The train is the fastest way to expedite your progress using tone, timing, breath control, moving with rhythm, and dynamics. A very powerful tool.

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Hey @Mugen sorry for the delay in my reply not sure how this slipped through the cracks. But let’s get this train back on its tracks! :wink:

Came here to post this:

This is a lot of fun, but also I found it very helpful because in Joe’s narration I got to understand what all the different sounds are emulating which will help in learning how to incorporate them into my own version.

Man, when the train goes down the hill, Joe is COOKIN’ at a blazing speed!

I did end up shelling out the $40 to get his and Eric’s 80 minute masterclass, and that is a great resource as well.

Now to belatedly answer all your questions! Yes, cool vid from Juzzie! He is playing an unusual key, Low Eb. It’s fun to do the train on low Harmonicas anywhere from G down to Low D.

1.) The UP Arrows = OUT and

the DOWN Arrows = IN.

And important to note on the free document, we’re starting on an EXHALE which is what Joe refers to as the “BIG Train” which is the best one for developing blues tone, and great for playing solo. But when playing with a band he chooses the other train rhythm that starts on a draw.

2.) I think by “following the guidelines” he’s referring to the guidelines he gives on his free documents:

If you go to JoeFilisko.com and click on Learning Guides, I recommend downloading all the PDF’s on that page and reading them regularly. Every time I go back and read those I invariably will have some breakthrough AHA! moments.

But I think specifically applicable to the train are the 18 Insights and BREATHING on Harmonica documents.

So the way Joe is teaching the 3 gears here, there’s no tempo change necessary, you’re just going:

  • 1st gear = half-time (one chug/sway)
  • 2nd gear regular time (two chugs/sway)
  • 3rd gear = double time (four chugs/sway)

So you can do that with a metronome if you wish.

So your question:

Yes, exactly, Using this method you are correct.

  • In 1st gear you’re saying “who” on an exhale on your 2nd sway,

  • in 2nd gear you’re saying “huh” on an inhale on your 2nd sway,

  • in 3rd gear you’re saying “who” on an inhale on your 2nd sway.

There’s a lot of value in practicing the train this way, because working with the metronome is like weight-lifting for your chops on many different levels.

But of course it’s very common to speed up the tempo on the train as well, as Juzzie’s video shows, and as I show in my Beginner to Boss course.

In this case you are still playing with the sways, but you are speeding up the rate of the sways.

I also recommend walking as a great way to practice the train.

BTW - @davidkachalon is a Filisko method teacher so you could get a private lesson with him to drill down on your train technique if you like.

Hope that helps. Good for you for working on the train. The best tone/breathing/rhythm builder for harmonica players!

Rock on! :sunglasses:

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100% agree Luke. It is Filisko’s steadfast belief, and something that I try to enforce to my students, that it is that the best possible way to expedite ones playing progress is by smartly practicing the Train. Committing 5 minutes a day to this is the most direct path to building better rhythm, tone, blues breath control, dynamics, relaxation, and throat tremolo. It’s also the easiest thing to do because it can be played using ONLY chords. No tongue blocking!

As presented at spah-

Q: How do we start the train imitation?
A: Whistle! We always play holes 3, 4, and 5 inhaling with a “hand wah” or wave. We also always end the train this way.

Q: What is the train rhythm?
A: The train rhythm is found always on holes 1, 2, and 3. We do TWO breaths Out, and TWO breaths In. This pattern never changes no matter how fast or slow we go.

Q: What do I do with the train rhythm next?
A: We gradually speed up our (two and two) rhythm to our max comfortable speed and sustain that tempo for 5-10 seconds. Then we gradually decelerate to a full halt. Remember always followed by the whistle! End with big whistles! The goal is to breathe through the harp, keeping the rhythm consistent and unbroken.

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Is a great teacher if you want help with the train.

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Thank you @Luke @davidkachalon @toogdog for the answers and all the great tips! I’m still 5 weeks into Luke “Beginner to Boss” course and I have incorporated into my daily lesson warmup 5~10 min of train practice with a metronome. I’ll focus on Luke’s course for now before I get back to maybe contacting David for specific train lessons.
I became a Blues Train addict. This is the thing I enjoy the most practicing at the moment and I bought an harmonica in the key of G just for that…

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Stick with it! It will truly make a huge difference In your playing. I love the train in a G harp best as well! .

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I found another good “Louisiana” train from French harmonica player: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zldfkjMv_uU

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@Mugen - so wise to incorporate 5m of train practice into your daily regimen. You’ll reap huge rewards from this!! :facepunch:t3::notes:

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I’m trying to find info about DeFord Bailey’s Blues Train technique. The only one I found is this: https://youtu.be/hP-g6fgkA1c?t=207
Does any one knows what he means by using the tongue sideways?

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If it was a British Train, it would either be late, cancelled or on strike​:joy::joy::rofl::rofl::joy::joy::joy:

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No @Andy2 , this is in Germany :joy:!

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He didn’t explain it well saying “sideways” he’s just say di-dle-y di-dle-y.

You can see when he doesn’t have the harmonica in his mouth that the the tongue is not moving sideways at all.

This is part of the difficulty of teaching and learning the harmonica. None of us can see what we’re actually doing!:rofl:

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Thank you @Luke. I also noticed his tongue does not move sideways when he doesn’t have the harmonica in the mouth. That says I still don’t understand the technique because as he explains, just articulating “di-dle-y”, I can only go so fast and then my tongue get stuck.

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That was mega cool, I thought his train was pretty impressive, but what I loved even more was that Cajun reel. I love Cajun and Zydeco music, I was surrounded by it when I lived in Louisiana, I even got a chance to play with the great Rockin Dopsie. I got to know him quite well. Fun dude.

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I used to do this years ago and fox and hounds, ( including the dog barks and whoops yeah that’s a good way to really annoy people) just started it up again after reading this thread. I forgot how good this is for helping you regulate your breathing. ( My wife however still finds it annoying :grin::grin::grin::grin:) also a great rhythm tool, I may switch it over two harps as my Lucky 13 has bass notes might give it a bit of contrast. The reason I stopped was I really got bored and this style of country blues harmonica was not the style I wanted to do, at the time I wanted to do Spooky Pryor’s more urbanized style and the First Sonny Boy Williamson’s style, then I heard Little and Big Walter and Sonny Boy 2 and that was it. ( Then I just started listening to everyone!!) So I sort of left it behind. To my surprise I can still do it. Much to the wife’s chagrin.

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I’ve been experimenting with this, and there are several ways you can do it, you can get some great effects by making verbalizations at the back of your throat, or you can do staccato attacks with your tongue. You can vary it and make it sound as if the train is going over a bridge through a tunnel etc. Fox chase is more of a country style and has a different approach to it having a lot of what sound like blue grass licks in it. I used to do this with dog barks ( and cultural references to British style hunting horns and humorous comments for example anti hunt protestors, police officers and references to idiots in red coats on horses etc) I haven’t done it for many years, I’m concentrating on the train atm getting it faster and trying to add different effects, ( that’s the hard part as it can throw your rythm off) the Wife although very annoyed with it says it’s getting faster.

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Your course was awesome
at SPAH 2024 David

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