The cup song is a rhythmic coordination activity where students clap, tap, and pass a cup in a repeating pattern.
Made widely popular by the film Pitch Perfect, the routine works surprisingly well in a classroom setting because it combines rhythm, movement, and teamwork in a way students immediately enjoy.
The pattern is easy to learn but just challenging enough to keep a group focused. Once students understand the rhythm cycle, it can be used in a variety of ways.If you enjoy activities like the cup song, the Midnight Music Community includes ready-to-use lesson ideas, classroom projects, and step-by-step training designed for real music classrooms.
How the Cup Song Rhythm Works
The cup song is usually performed using a repeating eight-beat rhythm cycle. Different variations exist, but most classroom versions follow the same basic sequence of clapping, tapping the cup, and passing it along.
- Beat 1: Start the cycle with a single clap to establish the pulse.
- Beat 2: Tap the cup on the desk or table.
- Beat 3: Tap the cup on the desk a second time.
- Beat 4: Clap your hands again.
- Beat 5: Pick up the cup with one hand.
- Beat 6: Tap the bottom of the cup on your opposite palm.
- Beat 7: Place the cup back on the desk.
- Beat 8: Slide or pass the cup to the person next to you to start the cycle again.
If you’d like to see the rhythm in action, this slower tutorial walks through the sequence step by step.
How to Teach the Cup Song in Music Class
Introducing the cup song works best when students learn the rhythm gradually. Breaking the pattern into small parts helps the class stay coordinated and build confidence before performing the full sequence together.
Start With Body Percussion
Before handing out cups, have students practise the rhythm using claps and taps on their desks. This allows them to focus on the rhythm pattern first without worrying about coordinating the cup movements.
Add the Cup Slowly
Once students are comfortable with the rhythm, give each person a cup and walk through the sequence slowly. Demonstrate each part of the pattern clearly and allow the class to practise each movement before increasing the tempo.
Practise the Full Rhythm Cycle
When students understand the individual movements, practise the full rhythm cycle together. Start slowly and repeat the sequence several times so students become comfortable with the pattern.
Bring the Whole Class Together
Once the class feels confident with the rhythm, try performing the pattern together as a group. This helps students develop ensemble timing and encourages them to listen and stay in sync with the rest of the class.
6 Cup Song Activities for Music Class
Once students are comfortable with the basic rhythm, the cup song can be adapted into a range of classroom activities. These variations reinforce rhythm skills while keeping the activity engaging for the whole group.
Play the Traditional Cup Game in a Circle
Have students sit or stand in a circle and perform the cup rhythm together. At the end of each cycle, each person passes their cup to the player on their right.
Gradually increase the tempo as the group becomes more confident. If someone drops their cup or loses the rhythm, they step out of the circle while the remaining players continue until only one player remains.
Perform the Rhythm as a Two-Part Round
Try performing the cup rhythm as a round. One student or group begins the rhythm cycle, and a second player joins in four beats later.
This creates a layered rhythmic effect and encourages students to listen carefully while maintaining their own part.
Try a Four-Part Round
Once students are comfortable with the two-part round, increase the challenge by turning the rhythm into a four-part round.
Each new player or group begins two beats after the previous one, creating a more complex rhythmic texture.
Create an 8-Beat Cup Rhythm Variation
Invite students to create their own eight-beat variation using the cup. They can perform the original rhythm first, followed by their new pattern, and then return to the original sequence to create a simple ABA form.
Activities like this can also lead naturally into digital rhythm experiments using Chrome Music Lab.
Use the Cup Rhythm as an Ostinato
The cup rhythm can also work as an ostinato to accompany a song. One group of students maintains the cup pattern while the rest of the class sings or performs the piece.
This helps students experience how repeating rhythms support musical performances. Rhythm patterns like this can also be extended into simple composition activities using tools like GarageBand in the classroom.
Adapt the Rhythm for Listening Activities
You can also adapt the cup rhythm for listening activities. For example, students might perform part of the rhythm while listening for specific musical cues or changes in a song.
This approach helps develop listening skills while keeping students physically engaged.
Classroom Tips for Teaching the Cup Game
Teaching the cup song can get lively very quickly, so a few simple strategies can help the activity run more smoothly.
- Try It in Smaller Groups First
If the whole class struggles to stay together, have students practise the rhythm in smaller groups before bringing everyone together again. Smaller groups make it easier for students to hear the rhythm clearly and stay coordinated.
- Let One Student Set the Tempo
Choose one student to maintain a steady beat while everyone else follows the pattern. Having a clear tempo leader helps prevent the rhythm from speeding up as students get more confident.
- Use the Rhythm as a Brain Break
The cup song can work well as a quick rhythm break during longer lessons. Running the pattern a few times between activities helps refocus the class while reinforcing rhythmic coordination.
- Expect the Pattern to Speed Up
Most groups naturally speed up once they get comfortable with the rhythm. Remind students to keep the tempo steady so everyone can stay together.
- Build Toward Group Performance
Once students are confident, try performing the cup rhythm with the whole class or dividing the class into groups performing different parts. This adds an ensemble element and encourages students to listen carefully.
Resources for Music Teachers
If you’re looking for more ready-to-use lesson ideas and classroom projects like this, the Midnight Music Community provides step-by-step training, lesson plans, and practical resources designed for real music classrooms.
37 Comments
Hi Katie- Denise was out here in Australia last month. She uses the cup routine to teach about Rondo. She has it in her Musicplay resource Level 3. Thanks for the story behind it all, interesting. Regards, Wendy.
Thanks for sharing Wendy!
Thanks for the origins of the song, Katie, so interesting! I look forward to sharing it with my students. I recently did a mash-up with Cups and the chorus of I Knew You Were Trouble by Taylor Swift for my 5/6 choir, Five Six Mix, and they fit together nicely. It was the students’ idea and arrangement!
Thanks Natalie – love the name of the choir!
Thank you so much Katie. What a timely post, I was just researching this for my year 6 students!
I’m happy it was a help Tina – a few other teachers have said the same thing! – Katie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eu3WueHugs&feature=youtu.be
Hi Katie! Absolutely loved the info……Used it with my year 6/7’s to learn about the song, and game . The students practiced by them selves, then with partners, 4’s, then circles incorporating all that wanted to join in. They loved it all. Videod it to puit onto my class blog.
Am also performing it with my New Zealand Performance exchange choir, as our warm up. 8 student play the cups at the front, and the other 20 line up behind to sing. Do you have acces to a written two part harmony?
Thanks Zita – great to hear about your experiences. I’m afraid I don’t know of a written a 2-part arrangement, but it probably wouldn’t be very difficult to transcribe if you or someone else you know is up to it. – Katie
Hi! I have made video of my class doing the cup song (only translated into Norwegian). I am thinking about putting it out on youtube, but I don’t want to break any copyright-laws (even though everonyone else is doing it). Do you know if the melody are copyright-protected or free to use?
Hi Morten,
I don’t know if that song is still in copyright (I’d guess that it probably is since it was originally recorded in 1931 – it bit too recent for it to be in the public domain I think). You might be OK anyway since your version would likely fall into the category of “cover version” which is allowed (see this article http://www.freeandlegaldownloads.com/resources/music_legal) . However, copyright laws vary for each country anyway: we have different laws here in Australia compared to other places like the US, so you would need to check your own local laws to be sure. Hope that helps! – Katie
LOL! let’s dig a little deeper before 1984 and the start of the New Digital World: I can tell you for a fact that I learned the cup routine as a game in or before 1986… and it was likely passed prolifically around the USA with a group called “Up With People” between 1982-1986. To my personal memory; it was passed to us as host families by students from Germany, who claimed that the game was always played using real glasses, and that if you messed up the team’s rhythm or passing then you were out (…and had to go take a drink/shot if you were of legal age!) How far back it went in their heritage is going to take some more digging. It is hard to say… Tacit Knowledge & Hybrid Pedagogy are just like that! Fitting that it is timed to a song which reminds us of the value-lost in a civilization that relies on the investment of generational passing-on of auditory knowledge… Lets just see how far back this Cup Tribe must dig to unite ourselves once again!
[…] EDIT: It is already a very old song and also the cup routine is very old! Read about it here ! […]
A traditional Irish version!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpcbNQqYoSA
my school is doing it. LOTS OF FUN! thanks for the help!!!
LOVE this ‘guide’, Katie!! Wonderful history and examples!
Thought you might like to see a very different version. I wrote a round to go with this cups routine (way before Pitch Perfect) called “Bang the Glass” and my chorus (I direct the Greater Boston Intergenerational Chorus) performed it in 2008:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhPANfb4VC4
I can post a pdf of the song but don’t know how to do that in this comments box. Maybe you can email me and I’ll attach to an email back to you so you can post it here for anyone who wants to try that version. It’s useful for music teachers to use with younger kids because the words say exactly what you’re doing.
Apologies for the late reply Joanne! Great round – I can’t believe you’re all using real glasses! I’ll email you for the PDF so I can upload it here. – Katie
Thank you for the history lesson! I’ve used the game with the song “The Entertainer.” I put a sticker inside 4 cups in my class circle. At various points in the song the music is stopped. Students who have a sticker when the music stops are out of the game.
Last year, our staff at Alden Elementary did a mock-up of the song called “You’re Gonna Love Me When I Lead” (adaptation of the song) for our staff video. You can see it at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfi2tsJxhJA
Thanks Kerryn! I love the crickets and bell (idea) sound effects 🙂 Good adaptation of the lyrics too!
– Katie
This is a great resource! Thanks for putting the time into putting this information together in one place. I will be using this next week!
Sincerely,
Angela Gossett
You’re welcome Angela! I hope your lessons go well 🙂
– Katie
Wow, this is very interesting. I’m a music instructor and I’ve played some cup games with my students but I never know there’s so much history in it. Thanks for the research and sharing.
You’re welcome 🙂 I found it interesting when I was researching it too!
[…] We looked at the different types of digital artefacts (video, audio, text and images) that might make up a portfolio and I went into more detail about the first two – video and audio – in part 2A . In this installment, I’ll discuss some of the available options for creating text and images. Text Text-based artefacts can include essays, written responses, definitions, song lyrics, and may also include hyperlinks to further reading or other support material. Powerpoint or KeynoteEvernoteBook Creator app (iOS and Android)Explain Everything app (iOS and Android)Website/blogging platforms such as WordPress, Weebly or Wix Images Photographs – original Photographs of students “in action” or of objects that are an integral part of their project can be created with the following: Photographs – existing Icons Photo collages Visual quotes. The Complete Guide to the Cup Song | Midnight Music. […]
[…] What did you do the first days of school? Extra Cup Song Teaching Resources The Cup Song in General Music The Complete Guide to the Cup Song […]
[…] The Complete Guide to the Cup Song | Midnight Music. Origins of the cup song It’s a craze that has swept over schools everywhere and contrary to popular belief, the Cup Song (or “Cup Game”) was not created for the 2012 movie Pitch Perfect. Both the song and game that accompanies it have been around for years and their history is an interesting one. The song – When I’m Gone – was originally written and recorded by country music group The Carter Family in 1931. The Mainers Mountaineers later recorded their own version of the song in 1937 and at this time it was a stand-alone song, with no cup-based rhythmic accompaniment. […]
[…] Learn the cup song! – from Midnight Music […]
[…] The Complete Guide to the Cup-Song-all about the cup match and song for music teachers. URwww.midnightmusic … […]
Wow i am learning the song in chorus class and it is amazing. I have to do a research project for the song and i think this is the best website i have found
Thanks Ally! Good luck with your research project 🙂
Hi guys, we did a cup song mashup. What do you think? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kEQ0Dzyz7M
Thanks Thomas – I’ll take a look!
I’ve used the cup routine with the song “Turn the Glasses Over”.
[…] Denis. (2013). The complete guide to the cup song. [Online]. Midnight music. Available at: https://midnightmusic.com/2013/09/the-complete-guide-to-the-cup-song/ [Accessed 30 January […]
[…] Denis. (2013). The complete guide to the cup song. [Online]. Midnight music. Available at: https://midnightmusic.com/2013/09/the-complete-guide-to-the-cup-song/ [Accessed 30 January 2023].ILANA KAPLAN. (2022). We Got Anna Kendrick* to Spill All the Wild, […]
[…] Denis. (2013). The complete guide to the cup song. [Online]. Midnight music. Available at: https://midnightmusic.com/2013/09/the-complete-guide-to-the-cup-song/ [Accessed 30 January […]