Music Note Naming With Trains

All Kids love trains!  And by playing this music note naming with trains game, it’s a fun way to help them to really connect with the notes. It’s also great for teaching the order of the do- re-mi colours and the notes on the stave.

This is also a great fun up-cycled craft activity too where each child can make their own coloured train from a cardboard toilet roll tube. Then they have to find the correct line or space to park it on the stave. But if you don’t have time for this you could also use the printable sheet below. Get the kids to colour them in correctly and play the game with the picture trains instead of the cardboard roll tube versions.

To set up:

• • • To make the stave and treble clef you will need a large roll of black electrical tape and some thick black string or cord. Set up the stave on a large flat surface using a straight edge for a guide. A table top works well or the floor is perfect. It is important to also make a short extra ledger line at the beginning,  just after the treble clef for low Do (middle C) to sit.
    • For the train craft you will need 8 card toilet rolls tubes, 16 bottle tops (32 if you want wheels on both sides) and coloured tissue paper to correspond to traditional Newton colours (see Introducing Do -Re- Mi). If you prefer, you could use little toy trains instead with coloured stickers and numbers or just click on the link above the image to use the printable sheet below.
    • Cover each train with the correct colour tissue for each degree of the scale as you can see in the image above. Glue on the wheels and number them clearly with a thick marker pen 1 -8.

To Play The Game:

• • • • 2 Dice
      • Piano or chime bars
      • The child throws the dice and picks the train with the same number. Throw one dice for  1-6 and two for 7 & 8. They should just keep taking turns to throw the dice until they get the right number.
      • Then they choose the matching chime bar and then play and sing it to work out if it is Do, Re or Mi etc. Help might be needed for this depending on the ability level of the child.
      • Now they should find the right position for their train on the giant stave by singing the Do Re Mi scale to help them work out where it belongs. Point out where low Do starts on its own little line at the bottom. Give as much help as they need to do this, depending on the age/ability of the child.

Note Naming With Trains (click on the link to download)

If you’re looking for more transport themed activities, check out our Buses & Trains lesson plan for a 30 minute, structured and lively lesson!

Have you seen our new How To Read Music Theory Bundle? It’s the fun & child friendly way to learn to read music!