On track ..

Following the posting Seeing the Beauty,  here are train tracks enjoyed in my life time.  I know there are more!

The Little Train of the Caipira by Villa-Lobos depicts a train journey... it's a Toccata from the Italian Toccare meaning To touch.

My History
When I was a teacher, I devised an art and music lesson for my 6 to 8 year old children. From an old BBC Radio Schools Radio magazine which we ordered to support the listening of such programmes, I told the story linked to specific bars of music. When I read the score and heard it at the same time I could say... "now the train is ..... "  The children always listened intently whenever I played them classical or other music.  Most probably because it was alien to their life experience.  I loved watching their faces...
For this lesson each child received a piece of coloured 'sugar paper' (was it called this because it used to wrap sugar?)  It was almost A2 size... we used to halve the sheets which were usually a pale coloured blue, green, yellow, pink. There were certain colours, like grey and sludgy beige, that teachers didn't want to use...then the tattered and torn sheets that teachers left for someone else to tidy up!  Later, manufacturers produced bright colours like magenta!
Whilst the children listened again and again to the cassette tape or vinyl in those days, they would draw using acrylic or oil pastels.  I showed them a few techniques on how to use pastels... this I invented!!!!  We sealed their drawings with hair spray! The results from the children were fantastic! Creativity flowed through their Brazilian forests and their artwork matched the music perfectly!

Then I remembered that when I was little my sister and I enjoyed listening to Uncle Mac on BBC Radio 2(see Tim's comment below...my memory for facts is not so good), I think it was, as well as the  The Runaway Train went over the hill and she blew...
My sister and I always used to giggle when the expletive was deleted! It drew less attention if it was ignored! Didn't grown ups realise we had minds as well as ears!

Then that led me to remember The Ballad of Casey Jones. The Grateful Dead published their version of the song in 1970.
I used to teach 11 to 13 year old at a Middle School ... those fishing port 'kids' were quite unruly but seemed to enjoy singing. Music lessons gave the class teacher 'free time' and reprieve from the children's antics!  Most 'kids' didn't much like having music lessons so you could guess the drama!
The secretary printed my handwritten words using a BANDA machine!  You had to use special copy paper which had a blue or black backing.  I loved the smell. I suppose it was a from of methys that was used! I know that the windows had to be opened every time we used the machine ... the handle had to be turned and you could chat to the secretary at the same time watching the numbers whizz round to 30.  Sometimes we had more than 30 kids in a class and at that age they towered above me!
I taught quite a few folk songs because I used my own music books. Mostly in schools was music from fifty years (or so it seemed to me) previous to the 1970s and 1980s!  However, there were some radio music booklets available but only contained the words... so I would have to find the piano music. I detested singing with the radio music when it was much more fun for me and the kids for me to play the piano. I used to slow down and speed up so that they had to keep in time and then I would congratulate those that did! call out their names over the music or just ask x or y to sing the next verse and that made the whole class laugh! At that time we had a brilliant Music Adviser,  David Ingate.  He was great fun when he came to inspect or just drop in... the children loved him to play. He wound them up and then left us with a whirl and in great humour! He was old school but embraced modern methods and I believe he had a lot of respect for the way I was teaching music. I had much respect for him too for he was being forced away from MUSIC to general inspection and who needed that!

I  was at the cutting edge of progressive music teaching. Kids as young as six composed in the classroom...my lessons taught us to listen to and respect someone's attempts to play... maybe one hit on an instrument... or a mad crash, wallop and bang to those who displayed rhythm and melody, who were well co-ordinated.  There wasn't just singing in the classroom. Each child had an instrument!
It wasn't only about music.. but was about self, others, the world and it embraced all subjects as well language. Music is a language!

Oh my gosh that's probably about the first time I have thought positively or written about teaching in the ten years in which I have been retired.  Maybe now I am healed of that trauma when I believe I was treated unfairly.  But what goes around, comes around and I probably was due for 'punishment' for my own naive and vulnerable non-mature, non-adult behaviour when I was over-stressed, over-worked and with no one to advise me on the BIG PICTURE of what was happening! 
Before the days of accessible internet there was no help if one was largely in isolation from friends and family.   That's how it was and this is how it is......... 
So... let's get back on track with SLOW TRAIN COMING by BOB DYLAN.  I have the vinyl LP..., loved him and his music... and still do!
and one always loves Joni Mitchell
I could be here all day thinking of and playing train music!