Instrumental Year 3 Notations - Engine engine stick notation

The 'Engine Engine' stick notation is a rhythmic and melodic exercise designed for Year 3 students learning about music. It combines the use of solfa syllables—do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, and ti—to teach pitch, with stick notation to represent rhythm. The song is structured in four-line stanzas, each with a specific pattern of solfa syllables corresponding to the lyrics. For instance, the first line of the song uses the pattern 'sol-mi-mi-re-mi-sol-sol' to match the words "Engine engine number nine." This approach helps children to connect the pitch of the notes with their position in the scale and the rhythm of the song.

In addition to solfa syllables, the 'Engine Engine' exercise also includes a version with note names, which provides an alternative method for teaching pitch. The same rhythmic pattern is used, but the solfa syllables are replaced with the actual note names—G, A, B, C, D, E, and F—corresponding to the notes in the song. For example, the words "Engine engine number nine" are set to the notes 'G-E-E-D-E-G-G'. This notation helps students to learn the specific notes on their instruments and how they relate to written music. Both versions of the song end with a playful and repetitive question and answer, "Yes? No? Maybe so!" which can engage the children and reinforce the rhythmic and melodic patterns they've learned.