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New River Train banjo tabs

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  • Tablatures
    Banjo New River Train tab

    Scruggs Style

    Bill Monroe

    • Difficulty
    • Key
      C
    • Tempo
      130 bpm
    • Tuning
      gDGBD

    This is a straightforward way to play the melody of New River Train using traditional phrasing and Scruggs playing.

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  • Melodic Style

    Bill Monroe

    • Difficulty
    • Key
      C
    • Tempo
      130 bpm
    • Tuning
      gDGBD

    This melodic arrangement of New River Train gives you more to work with as far as licks and phrasing goes. There are some classic scale patterns and licks featuring in this version!

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  • Backup

    Bill Monroe

    • Difficulty
    • Key
      C
    • Tempo
      130 bpm
    • Tuning
      gDGBD

    This is a great demonstration of how to play up-the-neck backup and gradually move your way down the neck to the open positions.

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  • Licks

    Backup #2

    Backup Lick

    This is a version of a classic Scruggs backup lick. It could be used in either the key of G or C, depending on the chord changes.

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  • Up the Neck Backup #1

    Backup Lick

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  • V to I Backup #1

    Backup Lick

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  • Vamping #2

    Backup Lick

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  • Up the Neck Backup #2

    Backup Lick

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  • V to I Backup #2

    Backup Lick

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  • Bluesy #2

    Fill Lick

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  • Melodic #1

    Fill Lick

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  • Scruggs #1

    Fill Lick

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  • Scruggs #2

    Fill Lick

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  • Single String #1

    Fill Lick

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More about New River Train

Here is an early country song that is still famous around bluegrass and old-time circles. The song was thought to have been related to the railroad lines located in the area of Southwestern Virginia. The new river train was part of the transport means that served the town of Fires from around 1893 to 1985. The melody has been recorded several times and has a description termed “Blue Ridge Mountain Standards,” and the first version was from Henry Whitter in 1924. Bill Monroe recorded it in 1930, and that was before he even became famous. Also, Sid Heakreader played guitar to accompany his vocals in 1925 while performing the song. The recording by oddity was in 1927, and it was done in key ‘G’ right there by the South Georgia Highballers, and they released the sing as Green River Train. One early performance by Kelly Harrell also happened in 1925, but his career was cut short because he couldn’t play the instrument well enough. There are lots of other versions but, they all have that unique blend of enjoyable bluegrass stint that makes them stand out.

On Tunefox you’ll find 3 different tabs for New River Train. Each of these tabs will teach you how to play the this tune in a different way. The Scruggs style tablature will show you how to play left hand slurs, otherwise known as hammer-ons, slides, and pull-offs. The Melodic style arrangement of will show you how to play New River Train up the neck using major and pentatonic scales. And finally, the Backup arrangement will teach you how to play the backup for this song, which is essential for jam sessions.

Use the Tunefox Lick Switcher to explore improvisation and creativity inside the New River Train tablatures. The Lick Switcher will allow you to create your own arrangement using pre-built licks that are handmade by professional musicians. To use the Lick Switcher, click on the text above specific measures that says "Original Measure" and select between a variety of new licks for that measure. You'll find that there are different style licks such as Scruggs, Melodic, Jazz, and more. At the bottom of your page you'll also find a button that says "Shuffle Licks." Click this button and watch the licks randomly shuffle throughout the song.

Be sure to check out all of the great learning tools that Tunefox has to offer such as "Hide Notes", "Memory Train", and "Speed Up". These tools can be found in the "Tools" menu at the bottom right of your screen. Want to learn some of New River Train by ear? Use "Hide Notes" to hide some or all of the notes in the tablature. Once you’re finished learning with the tab use the "Memory Train" tool to commit the song to memory. Then practice with "Speed Up" to improve your technique and speed in no time.

Use the Tunefox backing tracks to practice the solo you’re working on or improvising over the chord changes for New River Train. The backing tracks are recorded samples of real instruments to help simulate practicing with an actual band. You can adjust the volume of the instrument, band, and metronome to your liking.

When you’ve finished creating your arrangement of New River Train, export your song arrangement to PDF file. This feature is for members of Tunefox, only.

New River Train lyrics

I'm riding on that new river train
Riding on that new river train
Same old train that brought me here
Gonna take me away again

Darling, you can't love one
Darling, you can't love one
You can't love one and have any fun
Darling, you can't love one

* Refrain

Darling, you can't love two
Darling, you can't love two
You can't love two and still be true
Darling, you can't love two

* Refrain

Darling, you can't love three
Darling, you can't love three
You can't love three and still love me
Darling, you can't love three

* Refrain

Darling, you can't love four
Darling, you can't love four
You can't love four and love any more
Darling, you can't love four

* Refrain

Darling, you can't love five
Darling, you can't love five
You can't love five and get money from my hive
Darling, you can't love five

* Refrain

Darling, you can't love six
Darling, you can't love six
You can't love six, for that kind of love don't mix
Darling, you can't love six

* Refrain