Article

Mel Bay's Guitar Sessions© / Fingerstyle Guitar

February 2004

Performance Notes for "Freight Train"

Richard with Papoose

If Elizabeth Cotton can play a guitar left-handed and upside down, I can put a capo on the 2nd fret of a Tacoma Papoose guitar! The Papoose is an instrument normally pitched in A, 2-1/2 steps higher than a standard guitar. This effect can be simulated on a standard guitar by placing a capo at the 5th fret of a guitar in normal tuning. The Papoose creates a sound - at least to my ear - like a mandolin with a banjo-esque quality.

During the recording of my latest CD Thumbsing (Gillazilla Records 2004), there were many instinctive moments, one of them being the impromptu recording of Elizabeth Cotton's little gem of an original and now traditional tune, "Freight Train".

Upon reviewing the only two unedited attempts, I selected the first one for the recording since it just seemed to have the right feel. In this issue of Guitar Sessions®, however, I have included two separate arrangements. The first arrangement is precisely how I recorded the piece - note for note. The second arrangement is my instinctive interpretation of the piece, which I transcribed before listening back to my own recording. In my mind, as well as in my fingers, "Freight Train" is a perfect example of one of the many fingerstyle tunes that can be arranged using a number of right-hand picking options.

Listening to the differences in my right-hand patterns reminded me of a performance I heard during my student days at the University of Alabama when a coffeehouse musician joked, "This is a tune I learned off my first record." I never thought that joke would actually come to pass!

As part of a fun composition exercise, I would encourage you to examine the variations between the two arrangements and try some of your own fingerings. For reference, I have included many of the performance details, as well as both left and right-hand fingerings, in the first arrangement.

Have fun with it!
Richard

Recording: Track 10 of Thumbsing, Richard Gilewitz, Gillazilla Records (BMI) 2004. Available online from richardgilewitz.com, amazon.com, cdbaby.com, and at selected music and record stores.
Produced, engineered and mixed by Wayne Brown, Greenbrier Music, Anniston, AL

Freight Train
By Elizabeth Cotton

Transcribed and arranged by Richard Gilewitz
Standard tuning: E A D G B E - Key of C/capo 2nd fret

Freight Train 1