train melody

File:Le Chemin de Fer, intro - Alkan.png

In 1844, French classical pianist Charles-Valentin Alkan composed Le chemin de fer ("The Railroad"), a programmatic étude for piano designed to depict the happy journey of train passengers from departing a train station to portraying the train pulling into a second station.{{cite web |url=http://www.pianopedia.com/w_4946_alkan.aspx |title=Alkan - Le chemin de fer, étude, op.27 |access-date=2008-01-08 |author=Brisson, Eric |year=2008 |work=Pianopedia }}{{cite web |url=http://www.wellermusik.de/Musikgeschichte/ALKAN/alkan.html |title=The Piano Music of Charles-Valentin Alkan |access-date=2008-01-11 |author=Weller, Wolfgang |year=1996 |work=Weller Music |language=de}}{{cite book |last=Delaborde |first=Élie-Miriam |title=Le Chemin de Fer, Op. 27 (score) |year=2000 |publisher=Ludwig Masters Publications |location=London }} It is frequently cited as the first musical representation of railway travel.{{cite web |url=http://www.iag.uni-hannover.de/~hitching/Alkan.html |title=Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813–1888) |access-date=2008-01-08 |author=Hitching, George |date=2006-08-24 |work=George Hitching personal page }}{{cite book |last=Murray |first=Christopher J. |title=Encyclopedia of the Romantic Era, 1760–1850 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8wnCx9cZWw4C |year=2004 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |location=London|isbn=1-57958-422-5 |page=12 }} The joyful melody of Le chemin de fer subsequently has been celebrated as a forerunner to Arthur Honegger's orchestral work Pacific 231, which also represents a locomotive.{{cite book |last=Eddie |first=William A. |title=Charles Valentin Alkan: His Life And His Music |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7o6ps01rGxYC |year=2007 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |location=France|isbn=978-1-84014-260-0 }}

In August 1971, the Japanese private railway company Keihan Electric Railway became the first railway in Japan to introduce train melodies. Most of Japan's railway network was owned by the state until 1987. The former Japanese National Railways (JNR) company was privatized at that time, and the network was split among six major companies in the Japan Railways Group and a range of smaller operators.{{cite web|url=http://www.rtri.or.jp/japanrail/History3_E.html|title=History of Japanese Railway (1949–1988)|year=1997|publisher=Railway Technical Research Institute|access-date=2008-12-01}} Under JNR ownership, bells were used at stations to mark the arrival and departure of trains; but privatization gave local managers greater autonomy to customize their station environments. The idea of introducing more melodic alarms was developed, and this quickly spread after passengers reacted positively.{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB942625987942728741?mod=googlewsj|title=Composer Takahito Sakurai Is The Master of 7-Second Songs|last=Spindle|first=Bill|date=1999-11-15|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=2008-12-01}}

Originally, the melodies used on Japan's railways sounded more like alarms. However, since the 1990s more attention has been paid to creating tunes which fulfil several criteria: clearly marking a train's arrival and departure, encouraging timely but unhurried boarding and disembarking, making passengers feel calm and relaxed, and standing out above announcements and other noise. Railway companies have established that the ideal length of a train melody, based on the typical dwell time of a train at a station, is seven seconds—so many tunes are designed to fit that length. Hundreds of different melodies—most written specifically for the railways—exist, and many stations or routes have their own characteristic tunes.

Train melodies have proved to be popular with many people in Japan, with the term oto-tetsu being used to describe Japanese railfans who have a particular enthusiasm for them.{{cite web |last1=Loh |first1=Carissa |title=10 Types of railway enthusiasts: Which are you? |url=https://japanrailtimes.japanrailcafe.com.sg/web/article/rail-travel/railway-fans |website=japanrailtimes.japanrailcafe.com |publisher=JR Times |access-date=14 March 2024 |location=Rail Travel |date=19 February 2021}} Train carriage and rolling stock manufacturer Nippon Sharyo received permission to use four different train melodies owned by East Japan Railway Company and West Japan Railway Company; and in August 2002 the company released an alarm clock that plays the same lilting melodies heard on Japan's high-speed railway lines. One tune is designed to invoke the relief a train passenger experiences after sitting down and moving with a departing train, and another is intended to reduce sleepiness, such as that experienced by morning commuters. By September 2002, Nippon Sharyo had sold out the first shipment of 2,000 units, priced at 5,800 yen. In view of the success of the product, the company launched a website dedicated to the clock, featuring the Shinkansen train's melodies. Other companies have manufactured keyrings and straps featuring the tunes.{{cite web|url=http://www.japantrendshop.com/yamanote-train-melody-strap-set-p-300.html|title=Gadgets – Yamanote Train Melody Strap Set|date=2008-07-24|publisher=Japan Trend Shop|access-date=2008-12-02}}

There has also been criticism over the use of melodies on trains and at stations. These focus mainly on noise pollution and the tunes' contribution to it; but one author has also claimed that their use is symptomatic of a paternalistic, bureaucratic attitude towards passengers from the railway authorities, similar to the excessive use of announcements and warnings.

DSB in Denmark uses a jingle by Niels Viggo Bentzon:

\relative

{ \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 4 = 190 \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano"

\key c \major

\time 4/4 \hide Staff.TimeSignature

d4 r ees bes4

}

SNCF in France uses a jingle by Michaël Boumendil:

\relative

{ \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 4 = 120 \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"vibraphone"

\key c \minor

\time 4/4 \hide Staff.TimeSignature

c' g' as8. es8

}

In the past, some National Rail stations in Great Britain used a four-tone British Rail jingle based on Jerusalem:

\relative

{ \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 4 = 90 \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"trumpet"

\key d \major

\time 3/4 \partial 4. \autoBeamOff

d'8 fis a | b4.

}

The Swiss Federal Railways use three different jingles corresponding to the acronym of the company across three of the four national languages, transposed according to German note-naming conventions, with the final note as a chord. All three are played on the vibraphone:

SBB (German) written as "Es - B - B"

\relative

{ \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 4 = 80 \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"vibraphone"

\key bes \major

\time 2/4 \hide Staff.TimeSignature

es'8 bes'8 4.

}

CFF (French) written as "C - F - F"

\relative

{ \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 4 = 80 \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"vibraphone"

\key bes \major

\time 2/4 \hide Staff.TimeSignature

c''8 f,8 4.

}

FFS (Italian) written as "F - F - Es"

\relative

{ \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 4 = 80 \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"vibraphone"

\key bes \major

\time 2/4 \hide Staff.TimeSignature

f'8 f8 4.

}

In large stations, all three are used; in small ones, only the jingle corresponding to the local language.{{Cite web |date=2018-12-13 |title=SBB Community |url=https://community.sbb.ch/blog/13401-es--b--b-c--f--f-f--f--es |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=SBB Community |language=en}} In some situations, a melody made of all three can be used:

\relative

{ \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 4 = 110 \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"vibraphone"

\key bes \major

\time 2/4

es'8 bes'8 4 c'8 f,8 4 f'8 f8 4.

}

In Indonesia, most railways stations used full-hour segment of Westminster Quarters as its train melody.{{cite news |last1=Widiarini |title=Yang Kadang Terlupa dari Stasiun Terbesar di Semarang |url=https://travel.detik.com/dtravelers_stories/u-3390739/yang-kadang-terlupa-dari-stasiun-terbesar-di-semarang |access-date=16 June 2019 |work=detikTravel |date=17 February 2017 |language=id}} Upon arrival of a train, the chimes will be looped continuously until it departs from the station. Few stations are exceptions, with local folk songs acting as the train melody, mostly a kroncong song. For example, Semarang Tawang plays "Gambang Semarang" by Oey Yok Siang and Sidik Pramono, Solo Balapan plays "Bengawan Solo" by Gesang, and Yogyakarta plays "Sepasang Mata Bola" by Ismail Marzuki.{{Cite news |last=Dewanto |first=H. |date=2010-09-09 |title=Kisah "Empat Penari" di Tawang |language=id |work=Kompas.com |editor-last=Margianto |editor-first=Heru |url=https://megapolitan.kompas.com/read/2010/09/09/15425722/~Travel~Travel%20Story |access-date=2021-10-13}}

In October 2023, train operator SMRT introduced a 3-month pilot trial of melodic chimes, created in partnership with a local not-for-profit arts company, The TENG Company.{{Cite news |last=Mujibah |first=Fatimah |date=2023-11-10 |title=SMRT rolls out new chimes on trains in 3-month pilot |language=en |work=The Straits Times |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/new-tunes-on-trains-smrt-rolls-out-new-initiative-to-be-more-inclusive-towards-visually-impaired |access-date=2023-11-11 |issn=0585-3923}}{{Cite web |title=SMRT tries new train arrival & departure chimes inspired by local folk tunes |url=https://mothership.sg/2023/11/smrt-teng-company-new-chimes/ |access-date=2023-11-11 |website=mothership.sg |language=en}} The chimes were inspired from 3 local tunes - The Chinese children’s ditty "San Lun Che" (The Tricycle), the Malay folk song "Chan Mali Chan" and "Singai Naadu", the Tamil national day work composed and arranged by Shabir Sulthan. These chimes were played at train platforms at selected stations on the North–South Line, the East–West Line, and the Circle Line before a train arrives and inside trains when departing and arriving at stations along the Changi Branch of the East–West Line and from Stadium to Bayfront on the Circle Line. This pilot trial was successful and the chimes were rolled out progressively across more than 70 stations from February 2024.{{Cite news |last=Mujibah |first=Fatimah |date=2024-02-14 |title=SMRT to roll out chimes on all trains and at over 70 stations after successful pilot |language=en |work=The Straits Times |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/smrt-to-roll-out-chimes-on-all-trains-and-at-over-70-stations-after-successful-pilot |access-date=2024-02-14}}

\relative

{ \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 4 = 100 \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"vibraphone"

\key c \major

\time 4/4

c'8 c d e16 f g8 g e r8

| % 2

g16 g g8 a16 g a b c4. e,16 d

| % 3

c8 c d e16 f g8 g e r8

| % 4

g16 g g8 a16 g a b c4. e,16 f

| % 5

g g g8 a16 g a b c4.

}

One of the melodies being played, that was inspired from the Chinese children's ditty "San Lun Che".

The Taipei Metro uses the following sounds as arrival music on its lines (except for the Wenhu line, due to most of its stations being elevated and close to residential buildings) including New Taipei Metro's Circular Line. In other hand, all of its lines (Wenhu, Tamsui-Xinyi, Songshan-Xindian, Zhonghe-Xinlu, Bannan) use the same transfer and terminal sound.

Taoyuan Metro's Airport MRT uses the following music and has three versions that is played during lunar new year and christmas.

• Musical road

• {{cite book |last1=(松澤健) Matsuzawa |first1=Ken |title=鉄のバイエル |date=14 March 2008 |publisher=Diamond |location=Tokyo, Japan |isbn=9784478004166 |pages=120 |url=https://www.diamond.co.jp/book/9784478004166.html |access-date=16 May 2025 |language=ja}} Sheet music of JR East melodies.

{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Train Melody}}

Category:Rail transport operations

Category:Railway culture in Japan

Category:Jingles