The Great Locomotive Chase - Robert W. Smith

[@Purple_Sloth]

Whenever someone asks me what my favorite band piece I played was, it will always be “The Great Locomotive Chase”

[@hallowedknight234]

Sloth

[@osmium5345]

How about arabesque?

[@-militaryfloof-9758]

Sams bro

[@19vb234mfl]

Mines abrahms pursuit but this is a close second

[@Purple_Sloth]

@@19vb234mfl that’s fair

[@miniman7103]

the best part is that my band didn't have a anvil so o got to play a frying pan with a hammer

[@MasenYates]

For the mixed metal sounds, we ran cello strings along a music stand. I was in front of them on the snare and my ears were bleeding because the sound that came from that was awful. And for the anvil part we just used a brake drum.

[@AgentLapis]

+Masen Yates I played clarinet

[@michellegrimes2900]

miniman the midget my band used heavy chains

[@Victorian_Orphan]

XD I wish I was there to see that.

[@alexvansurksum880]

Miniman our band is probably going to use our brake drum aka the brake of car.

[@rowand7357]

The awesome thing is that for the anvil, one of the percussionists found an actual peice of a train track!

[@hallowedknight234]

awesome

[@LavaKing104]

Percussion is on top

[@sethsaelens5714]

I played french horn for this song and nailed the solo

[@littlebigwave1043]

Seth Saelens heck yeah! I'm trying out for them, any tips on playing?

[@fhdnsdhdhsbs]

• dragon_mind • practice and watch for slow down

[@michellegrimes2900]

Seth Saelens I play the French Horn but, sadly the 7th graders played this. I'm a 6th grader

[@littlebigwave1043]

Yeah, unfortunately I messed up during concert yesterday. Like bad. The rhythm was right, notes were wrong.

[@Nicolas0981]

Playing it for my school

[@kierstenhaschke7436]

I loved playing this song... My concert was just yesterday actually! I played flute! I'm probably going to listen to this as often as I can! Heh, we had to mic our train whistle, he was being too quiet, and we even stuck him near the very front! I will always be a Civil War nut when listening to this.

[@megapizzaninja515]

Wow, we put our train whistle next to a mic as well! Very interesting.

[@blitzving1068]

+MegaPizzaNinja have any of y'all ever been to the place were it happend

[@megapizzaninja515]

Nope.

[@laurenguo3888]

we used the triangles

[@kayleehinton764]

hi I am playing this song for my band concert it is so cool I play a saxophone but kind of like your train whistle the whole percussion doesn't know what their doing so it kind of sucks because the teacher's focus is always on the percussion and not on the rest of the band but a lot of us still enjoy playing it and I have a question how long did it take for you to learn the song

[@foodice11]

Regarding the description, that actually happened. A group of union soldiers commodiered "The General" at a rest stop and were pursued by the confederate forces via a hand powered car. Keep in mind confederate rails at this time could not take over 30mph (if not 20mph depending on the type of rail) so this wasn't a futile pursuit.

[@luissanchez723]

Lmfao a horse could keep up

[@DTux5249]

​@@luissanchez723 In theory, but the union men had cut the telegraph lines before the raid. As a result, the confederate army had no way to warn people ahead of the train. So yeah, a horse could've kept up. But keeping up wouldn't have been enough to stop things. They had to chase the train until it ran out of fuel. Afterwards they executed many of them. One of the people executed, scout James Andrews, was actually behind the event's namesake (another name for the debaucle was Andrew's Raid)

[@the101stdalmatian8]

@@DTux5249 The locomotive Texas, which finished the chase, was recorded at speeds of 60mph, and the General was said to have hit "A mile a minute" during the height of the raid. The Western & Atlantic Railroad, which the event occurred over, had a track speed of 25mph. Those early locomotives could FLY if you let them. They were limited by the conditions of the track. A horse *would not* have kept up over the course of the raid. The story of the Andrew's Raid is very fascinating. Pick up "Stealing The General" by by Russell S. Bonds. The whole event involved several locomotives, some high speeds and a lot of balls on behalf of all involved. Both of the key locomotives survived and are preserved in museums.

[@christopherjohnson2422]

A few years ago, I visited the historical museum in Kennesaw, Georgia. It contains the General. The chase inspired two movies. One is the Buster Keaton silent comedy “The General,” which is a classic. But the folks at the Kennesaw Museum seemed to have never heard of the film. Instead, the staff will gladly tell you about a long-forgotten Fess Parker movie made for Disney in 1956.

[@angymacias3969]

We're playing this song at our high school and I've honestly never been so excited to learn a song before! Playing with the band and just coming together to sound like a badass train is so thrilling 😂

[@mads2174]

Same here! This piece is definitely in my top favorites I've ever played with my band before. Love it so much

[@rafael.x.rivera]

Angy Macias well it's Robert W Smith

[@SkyFyre2435]

DKHSLAIDHEHAKSGRH!!!!!!! It's been like five years since I played this song with my high school band, and I still can't help but start dancing in my seat every time I listen to this! It's such a fun piece, and I find that the story it depicts is as thrilling as the piece itself. "The Great Locomotive Chase," or "Andrew's Raid" was an actual chase that took place during the US Civil War. Union soldiers and a civilian scout stole a Confederate train and ran it north, destroying everything behind them as they went. Confederate soldiers chased them first on foot and then on other locomotives. I'm fascinated by how different war was in that time period. It almost sounds like something from the mind of a Hollywood movie writer.

[@kayleehinton764]

really you played this in high school was it hard for you to learn because I am saying this because I am in seventh grade and know how to play this song and sorry if I seem like I'm bragging

[@SkyFyre2435]

Kaylee Hinton It wasn't too hard note-wise - for me, that is. Of course, I'd been playing the clarinet for five years already, while other students had just started on their instruments. Dynamics and embouchures were what we mainly worked on. Plus, our band director liked to speed up the tempo until no one could keep up. He claimed it helped us learn it better, but I think he was just messing with us.

[@williamou417]

The Texas chase the General

[@charitilee9439]

we're playing this for our next consert

[@Spencerwithahat]

*concert

[@Pear.Of.Anguish.]

Lol, our percussionist had to get a sledgehammer and a piece of metal - he dropped it while we were in a concert, and one of the alto saxes choked on his Reed. 💀😭

[@danicakostur8149]

Omg i got a solo on the Eb clarinet and i enjoyed every second of it! This piece will always have a special place in my heart.

[@dianazovkic]

man, i remember playing this during freshman year of highschool. the band was small, i played flute & was SO nervous to do the solo at the beginning. it was only me and one other flute player so our harmony for the train whistle was lackluster. wish we had a couple more people or some mics attached to us lol

[@hallowedknight234]

O_O new comment

[@xaayyy3563]

We did this in our high school concert last year. I was a sophomore trombone player, and that small trombone solo in the second half of the song just made me feel powerful. I love it when we get our small 15 second solis.

[@alexvansurksum880]

best part at 3:21 love the trombone part here.

[@tori-bugg]

Alex Van Surksum i played trombone for this in high school, it was the best part!!

[@alejandrofresquez8349]

Alex Van Surksum the euphniom plays that part to

[@alejandrofresquez8349]

Too

[@breedatto6043]

Alejandro Fresquez yea but the trombone part was heard so much more.

[@likelytofollowin4thgear314]

Another Minnesotan?

[@yasamin1940]

fave song i played in band (first flute)

[@rafael.x.rivera]

Yasamin I'm first flute tooo

[@GUGATWP]

Fav song ever (8th flute cuz my flute was broken during chair placements)

[@ArchivesofCybertron]

Everyone else out here reflecting on their past band experiences with this song While I’m out here as the only one who cared enough to remember the name of the song I liked that played during School Assembly.

[@harrisonthecarguy3734]

I played this song on euphonium in 8th grade band and even now in high school it's still tied with marzo zingarro as my favorite piece I have ever played, I still remember banging out a 2 octaves above staff Bb on the "pick a note" sections. The end of year concert when we played this song was the greatest show of my life.

[@andrewpizanapalacios3836]

love this play it on baritone

[@aaronbaker9874]

best peace for trombones love the part

[@fireiceplayz3547]

Aaron Baker I played trombone. Loved it xD.

[@kadet2027]

Same

[@footfungusanti]

euphonium, baritone even sax tenor too :')

[@ruzander1632]

DONT STOP CONSTANT RUSH ALL FULL SPEED AHEAD I LOVE IT!!!!

[@bethanydavis9566]

There should have been a flute at the end, like a train's whistle, playing a decrescendo!

[@cx-109a7]

Was a fun song. (First Trumpet)

[@Amb3r86]

This will always be my favorite song we played in Middle school. I played bass clarinet. 23 years ago. 😢😂♥️

[@sir_quackerson6923]

Dude, I also currently play bass clarinet and I played this 2 years ago for middle school! It was amazing!

[@TheShiny_Spiritomb]

I played bass clarinet on this piece too, I loved this piece so much in 8th grade.😭💙

[@_water_8706]

Anyone eles like the clarinet solo in the beginning👌 Where my woodwinds at✋

[@reinavalle884]

_water _ right here 🙋🏽‍♀️ ! We’re playing this for our concert and I’m excited

[@Wave-Bright]

@@reinavalle884 we are too

[@officialiusezen]

I played the anvil, chimes, and the drums for the train driving

[@andrewtempesco2612]

Hello saxophone alto sax 🎷

[@nicholaswilliams6475]

Sorry, I'm low brass. Gotta love the tuba!

[@Wave-Bright]

Awww oh my gosh I love this song!! I played it in middle school (eighth grade I think) and it was a lot of fun, I remember I was sitting with a few younger kids in the lower grade band and played the wind part really quickly and the other kids in my section looked really impressed lol.

[@GachaFlops]

Played this 7th grade. Nailed it.

[@akerieaung1274]

I play the French horn and I just wanna say I love that one part where the French horns have the melody. This piece is great!

[@nelsontun8603]

I play horn too and I totally agree! It's so good and I love to play it!!

[@haha0044]

same same!

[@TacticalCato]

The mallet percussion at 1:22 gives me chiiiiilllss it's so good.

[@DrasticFox2004]

This is a super inspirational piece of music. Nuff Said.

[@douma3914]

This is going to be a song in our concert tomorrow I'm so hyped to play the bass drum for this

[@kiainakanishi1288]

same bro😺

[@blackentity8089]

I play snare and I love it

[@letsgodavid4885]

Such a fun piece (first alto )

[@sp4cec0re32]

Alto brothers unite

[@thepowerpuffthot4269]

LetsGoDavid SAME

[@destaniexd6997]

LetsGoDavid i play tenor sax

[@mystxryx]

I loved playing 1st alto on this haha. I played this in 6th grwde and now I’m in 12th 🤧

[@letsgodavid4885]

@@mystxryx you have no business reminding me of this song when I posted this comment 4 years back😭😭. Dont remind me that I'm a senior now too, it went by so fast💀

[@leahw3610]

Few months ago we played this piece in a all-county band, we were supposed to have two mallet players but the other cancelled, so I was stuck playing all the mallet parts. What a workout.

[@pumpkinlost]

I have a festival concert tomorrow and we're playing this piece cant wait I love this piece so much

[@RubyDragoness.]

I have a concert that I’m playing this song I’m so excited my high school band has been practicing for a lot of weeks

[@littlebigwave1043]

My band has just started working on it three days ago. I'm a French Horn, so I'm definitely gonna try for the solos! We never seem to get enough of those...

[@nelsontun8603]

Omg I'm a horn 2

[@thegoldenpeingun5820]

I made like a little movie in my head whenever I hear this song

[@tmb5430]

I have to play this for a concert and I'm first trumpet... Hopefully I will keep up (I'M A 6TH GRADER)

[@luissanchez723]

I played this in 6th grade. I'm a freshman in college now...

[@icebear5389]

omg i played snare on this song

[@dynomite101]

Ice Bear same it was littt!!!!

[@aidenschwerdtfeger6104]

Ice Bear rip

[@val_sings]

no fair you got the Fun part

[@ivanibarra1422]

I played bass

[@gilliganthedj8659]

Oh the fun a bassoonist has with this song :-) (bassoons unite!!!!)

[@ishaandabhade339]

HERE! truly this piece is amazing

[@jacksonhersom]

I’m playing this for my eighth grade all town band concert and I’m the only bassoonist

[@OriginalSniperLol]

Playing this in my freshman band as a trombonist. such a great song.

[@laurenguo3888]

this sound gave me the chills

[@suspicious_fishes]

We are playing this song in band and it's really fun. Everyone gets to make train noises.

[@conradee8130]

Nice to know I'm not the only band kid that likes this song.

[@Gavala65]

played it in 3rd band for clarinet boy I love this piece

[@Spencerwithahat]

Guys I’m a 2nd chair clarinet and I play this with 2 other people and our concert is next week it’s super hard

[@liamtaplin5091]

I get chills at 3:20 omg

[@CurruptedClan]

Love the trombone solo! I liked.

[@ttroyscarrlett]

The snare player didn't know what they were doing for the speed up part so I had to take control and speed up for him, he just followed along. (Bass drum)

[@arcticbltz]

I was so close to playing this, but right before the contest came covid😩

[@tikikid2350]

Same

[@haha0044]

I'm sorry to hear that

[@yourfavoriteloser7507]

I’m on snare drummer (my arms hurt)

[@ferret9263]

As a trombone player, I can never get enough of 3:23 to the end. It just sounds so fucking epic, help!! 😭👌🔥💪

[@n4nao]

played this for a 7-8th grade band concert. man this song is so GOATED

[@owen.__.2865]

I was supposed to play this sound in band but it got cancelled :( I was going to play the french horn solo too

[@marus9272]

I was supposed to play the clairinet solo but it was also cancelled 😭

[@owen.__.2865]

@@marus9272 😭😭

[@antinazi101trainsgamesandm5]

We were going to play this at my next concert but my band teacher replaced it with the legend of Killarney. Because the entire class got lost somewhere at measure 50. and instead of having another chance, my teacher threw a huge tantrum and replaced it with music of 6/8 and called it easier.

[@pennydime9924]

That's tuff. Something similar happened to us, but we were gonna play a piece called crippling water colors and she complained that it was too hard for us so then we played the great locomotive instead.

[@rudeezy646]

Best peices I’ve ever played (1st Solo Trumpet)

[@capittt]

being a trombone was peak for this song specifically

[@snager2]

PERCUSSION GANG WHERE YOU AT?

[@yourfavoriteloser7507]

RaptorCookiez snare drum

[@comradedyatlov4143]

Me too, snare drummer.

[@VelaPercussion]

Mallet percussion on chimes!

[@braelyns7855]

here!

[@idk-just-tea]

I'm playing this song (yet. fingers crossed to do so.) but I'm a percussionist. :)

[@dinosour69]

I'm percussion I have to play this I LOVE IT

[@jedisofgaming3103]

I play this song on F Horn

[@familydinner1644]

+Jedi's Of Gaming I have to play the flute on this

[@marissamaldonado7964]

+IceGuyPlays I played this too and the high solo part killed my lips

[@familydinner1644]

+Marissa Maldonado My friends did the flute solo part and I just did the lower parts except for the parts after the euphonium s have the 3 measure solo

[@littlebigwave1043]

Yeah, I bet they did, but I'm still excited to learn them. I never seem to get a good solo! And not bc I don't try out.

[@3than861]

I played trombone for this and LOVED it. 3:25 is the BEST part.

[@BTGames2004]

When i first heard that part today (our hs band will be playing this one soon) i was bopping my head that entire thing. This song itself is amazing!

[@katiestokes6527]

I play this song on bass clarinet and it's the same part as the Tubas I'm in love with this song

[@hhaylin_]

Raise y'all's hand of ya had to play the four mallet part on the Marimba 🖐

[@VoyagerBravo]

I’m going to play this at my concert in the spring, and I’m the only tuba so this will be fun

[@jedisofgaming3103]

that begging solo sounds more Egyptian than anything else

[@littlebigwave1043]

Jedi's Of Gaming At the beginning? I got the impression of a normal morning with the feeling something was about to happen. So, I guess, not a normal morning in that sense, but I can't explain it any other way. But that's how I felt... srry to bother you!

[@SaxandRelax]

that’s because (i think from how it sounds) it’s in phrygian

[@hofda_2909]

I played train whistle and triangle

[@cloudypear2404]

the best part is my band didn’t have an anvil so we used a rusty break drum and a hammer

[@VacationPro]

I didn’t get to play this song, it was eight grade band, but I’m hyped to play it in 2 years

[@Wherescad]

Just started playing this for full orchestra im already obsessed

[@reinavalle884]

Favorite song! (First clarinet)

[@leonidasgts7940]

Rest in piece Robert W. Smith

[@phillipbapties7357]

Where are my low brass homies at?!

[@tori-bugg]

Phillip Bapties low brass kicks ass!

[@breedatto6043]

Phillip Bapties RIGHT HERE TROMBONE FOR LIFE

[@PinkFloppyFoosh]

Trombone boyo here! I wish I could remember which part I played though. I wish I could! I really want to know if I played trombone 1 or 2. All I know is that I had the moving notes throughout the piece.

[@barneythedinosaur4283]

was guud

[@val_sings]

@@breedatto6043 same

[@trainmaster1115]

what would i type into google to get that picture id like to use it

[@megapizzaninja515]

Hmm... I think I typed in "epic train" or something... I'll try to find it for you.

[@megapizzaninja515]

Yeah, just type that in. It's the first thing that pops up on Google Images.

[@trainmaster1115]

thank you

[@robbingtonthekicker8129]

Screenshot

[@marissamaldonado7964]

This one and American riversongs are in my opinion the fun pieces I played in high school

[@allansseguya5658]

I played bass clarinet and it was awesome

[@v1p3rf4ngss5]

My sister and brother are playing this today

[@helltrain6532]

Twin brother is that you?

[@skullygaming3873]

I’ve never heard of this throughout all my years of high school and I’m in my first year of college just now hearing this

[@zxhypnos7630]

i play chimes and marimba for this song, when theres no chime parts, when there is theres someone else who plays marimba!!!

[@liaomagh]

I play trumpet 2 and it is amazing

[@blackentity8089]

My concert was yesterday and me and my fellow percussionist played drum parts and I loved the snare part but he forgot the cabasa

[@happygiel]

Trumpet on the top!

[@Barti22xD]

It's one from my favourite song for orchiestra! But i think, that oboe solo at 3/4 have been played too quiet. PS. I play second clarinet, i hope I will be playing first clarinet :)

[@aidanholcomb1482]

I love the tuba part

[@gh0stzlla]

This song we might actually do

[@ryank4873]

I played trombone on this song and I still like this song a lot

[@guillermonieto2107]

I can imagine jack marson doing a train heist,

[@chancebubier495]

I played this in M.S. honor band on bassoon

[@lwkein2680]

We playing this song in band

[@oliverdiamond6594]

nice to listen to, a nightmare to play.

[@Riverala775]

W piece

[@LavaKing104]

I love the snare part

[@NERRP2017]

I like the picture

[@jb3924]

Can anyone make this in to gymnastics floor music?

[@SaxandRelax]

why

[@nelsontun8603]

Horn part is lit the best

[@youkendo]

fr this was my favorite piece as a hornist in school even though i messed up the solo the first time i played it

[@oliveryes195]

My brother played brake drum for this piece

[@DrasticFox2004]

I’m currently thinking about that “Nazi Train” scene (that hasn’t even released yet, nor shown thru official footage but) from Indiana Jones 5, in 2023.

[@reign3535]

I’m supposed to play this but Covid hit and they canceled the concert

[@sandysandcats]

Awww, im sorry to hear that :(

[@datgojira7281]

Cumberland highschool done this and the wrath of Vesuvius in 2019

[@jevonharper9463]

I played 1st on this in 7th grade

[@chrissyjarvis8007]

i play this song in the base drum... ITS LIKE THE BEST PART

[@megapizzaninja515]

I played the Marimba, it was awesome!

[@miniman7103]

Chrissy Jarvis I played crash triangle chimes and anvil it was the best

[@breedatto6043]

I played snare. We play this every year so I switch parts a lot