trainscoring

Hans Zimmer Used Trains As Drums for The Lone Ranger

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 12: Hans Zimmer attends the UK Premiere of 'Man of Steel' at Odeon Leicester Square on June 12, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
Photo: Gareth Cattermole/2013 Getty Images

Big film composers like Hans Zimmer are a busy sort, usually working on multiple projects at once, so they need to spice things up from time to time. Zimmer does so by trying out unique instruments. On the upcoming Lone Ranger, that unique instrument is a train. Yeah, like a train-train. It was used as the score’s “rhythm and bass line.” In an interview with LA Weekly, he explained his neighbor, The X-Files creator Chris Carter, has an old train. “I said, ‘Chris, do you mind if I come over with a tape recorder and a sledgehammer, and we do some unspeakable things to your train?’” Carter agreed and Zimmer then transferred his train recordings into a programmable drum kit he used for the film. However, if he turned a drum kit into a train, now that would be something.

Hans Zimmer Used Trains As Drums for Lone Ranger