American Folk Song · Elementary Music · Grades K–2
Apple tree lyrics, how to play the circle passing game, barred instrument arrangement, and a complete teaching guide for grades K–2. Do pentatonic, steady beat, ta and titi, 2/4 meter. One of the most used songs in the library — simple, beautiful, and genuinely musical.
Apple tree lyrics · American folk song
The complete apple tree lyrics — short, clean, and perfectly structured for K–2. The entire song is do pentatonic, making it one of the most musically accessible passing games in the elementary repertoire.
How to play
The passing game is quick to introduce — most classes are up and playing within minutes. The real teaching happens in the details: when to introduce the hand clap variation, how to build from partners to groups of four, how to set up the barred instrument arrangement, and exactly how to use the moment when "knocks me out" lands to teach Do in context.
Deborah's full teaching demonstration shows every stage with real students — including the bunny animation for the clap pattern and the growing circle variation that ends with everyone still playing.
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About this song
Apple Tree is one of those songs that appears in almost every elementary music teacher's repertoire — and for good reason. The structure is simple enough for Kindergarten, the musical content is rich enough for 2nd grade, and the passing game keeps every child genuinely engaged from the first note to the last word.
The song contains only quarter notes and eighth notes (ta and titi) — featuring both in a single, clean four-line song makes it one of the most efficient rhythm teaching vehicles in the Do pentatonic repertoire. Every phrase demonstrates ta and titi in a context that feels completely natural.
"Apple Tree is a clean concept song that also happens to be genuinely fun. The passing locks in steady beat, the melody teaches Do pentatonic, and the suspense of who gets knocked out keeps even the most reluctant K singer completely engaged."
— Deborah Skydell Pasternack, The Singing ClassroomThe solfège teaching moment is specific: Do appears just once, at the end of the song — making it a clean and memorable introduction to that pitch in a pentatonic context. Students who have been singing Do pentatonic all semester suddenly hear the home note land at the very end, which is a genuinely satisfying musical moment.
The 2/4 meter is clear and unambiguous throughout — no pick-up notes, no syncopation. The passing game makes every beat completely explicit because a missed pass is immediately obvious to everyone. Social stakes are the most effective beat teacher.
For fall, the apple theme is an obvious seasonal connection — bring a real apple to class and the lesson practically teaches itself. The fruit can stay on your desk as a seasonal prop between classes.
Game variations & extensions
If a group of four feels too complex for your class, keep the hand clap with just partners or groups of three. The game works beautifully at any group size — start where your students are and build up gradually.
Each child who gets knocked out joins the original group rather than stepping out. By the end of several rounds you have one large standing circle — everyone still playing. Deborah demonstrates exactly how this works in the full teaching video.
The song works beautifully with barred instruments — there’s a specific bar setup and a particular two-note combination that creates a stunning drone effect. Both are demonstrated in the full teaching video.
Use a real apple from the market — students love passing something genuinely real. Leave it on your desk between lessons as a seasonal prop. A toy apple works fine if a real one isn’t practical for your school.
What teachers say
"The suspense of who gets knocked out keeps even my most reluctant singers completely engaged. By the time the game ends, every child in the class has been genuinely focused on the beat for the entire song."
"I use this every fall. The real apple makes the lesson feel special — students remember it weeks later. And the ta-titi teaching moment is so clean. Both rhythms, one short song, completely natural."
"The barred instrument variation is my favorite. Once students know the song well, letting them accompany with just C and G bars — the sound is genuinely beautiful for first and second graders. They're so proud of it."
More circle games & folk songs
Cumulative Irish folk song with partner clap. Tim-ri, low sol, do-based pentatonic, composing activities.
See teaching guide →Spanish partner clap game with accelerando. Quarter notes and eighth notes. Students are chanting it in the hallway by end of week.
See teaching guide →Handclap game with a freezing contest. Anacrusis, partner clap, student-led performance.
See teaching guide →Common questions
The apple tree lyrics are: "Apple tree, apple tree, / Will your apple fall on me? / I won't cry, I won't shout, / If your apple knocks me out." That's the complete song — four short lines. The melody is do pentatonic and the song contains only quarter notes and eighth notes (ta and titi), making it one of the cleanest rhythm teaching songs for grades K–2.
Students sit or stand in a circle and pass a real apple (or toy apple) on the steady beat while singing. Whoever holds the apple on the final word "out" gets knocked out by the apple — they can step out, become the new leader, or join the growing circle depending on which variation you're using. The game can be played with partners, groups of three, or a group of four. The bunny animation shows the hand clap pattern clearly.
Do appears just once — at the very end of the song, on the final syllable of "knocks me out." The entire song is do pentatonic (using the notes do, re, mi, sol, and la), but the tonic note Do lands at the end, giving the song a satisfying sense of arrival. This makes it a particularly clean song for introducing Do to students who have been working with so-mi and la.
Set barred instruments (xylophones, metallophones, glockenspiels) with only the C, D, E, G, and A bars — remove all other bars. Students can improvise freely on any of these notes during the game or as a separate accompaniment activity. Playing just C and G creates a particularly beautiful tonic-fifth drone underneath the melody. This is accessible for even early 1st grade students with minimal instruction.
Apple Tree is recommended for Kindergarten through 2nd grade. Kindergarten students can participate in the circle passing game and learn the melody. 1st and 2nd graders can engage with the rhythmic teaching (ta and titi), the solfège teaching (Do), and the barred instrument arrangement. The hand clap variation is best suited to 1st grade and up — the coordination of passing in groups of four can be challenging for Kindergarten.
The real problem
Every teacher knows this feeling. You find a song, try it on Monday, and something goes sideways — the kids don't engage, you're not sure how to introduce it, the lesson loses momentum. It's not that the song was wrong. You just didn't have a clear picture of how it actually goes.
That's what makes The Singing Classroom different. Every song in the library — including this one — has a full video of Deborah teaching it with real students. You don't have to guess how to introduce it, how to structure the activity, or how to handle the tricky moments. You watch it. Then you teach it.
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