Guitar - Level 2 - Digital Download SKU: A0.797753 Composed by Traditional. Arranged by Derek Hasted. Christmas,Spiritual. 24 pages. Derek Hasted #4804965. Published by Derek Hasted (A0.797753). MARY HAD A BABY - 6 GUITARS/LARGE ENSEMBLE For Classical or Acoustic Guitar - sometimes it's erroneously listed here as Electric Guitar.Derek Hasted writes This American 19th Century Spiritual about the arrival of the Baby Jesus contains the words The people keep a-comin’ but the train done gone.It’s generally accepted that references to the train in afro-American Gospel Music often refer to The Gospel Train or The Way To A Better Life. But regardless of the actual interpretation for those words, this arrangement just wouldn’t be remotely authentic if it didn’t sound like a steam train. So hopefully, it does!This piece starts in the key of F, and the lower three parts generate a pulse which mimics the power-stroke of a steam locomotive. There’s a train whistle too - the top three parts sound an augmented chord - you might like to slide up into the chord, or fall down the neck after the chord is resolved. Or just play it as written...In the centre, the music rises a semitone then another semitone, picking up speed as it does so, playing the same music a tone higher. At the end of the piece, the music slows, and slows and slows to a standstill with a final bass G to tell the audience that the train has stopped...Before the train picks up speed, there is a gentle choral section, and the dynamic markings will show you where the tune moves about.The amount you choose to pick up speed is entirely your choice - the occasional strange number in the metronome mark is simply the result of my typesetting software performing a long, steady speed change.I hope you enjoy playing this piece!
