Caribbean Folk Song · Tobago · Grades 3–6
A fast-paced Caribbean passing game from Tobago where players race the beat — and eliminated players pick up an instrument and keep playing.
Caribbean folk song from Tobago
About this song
Buy a Penny Ginger comes from Tobago in the Caribbean. The original game involves players pushing each other in the chest until everyone falls in a heap — for obvious reasons, not an approach we recommend in schools.
Deborah's adaptations preserve what makes the original exciting: the "doo-na-ka" phrase at the end suddenly speeds up the passing, creating a moment of tension that determines who is out. Players who get eliminated don't sit and wait — they move to instruments and join the accompaniment, keeping everyone musical until the very end.
The optional glow-in-the-dark ball bonus is one of the most memorable moments in the early elementary repertoire. Practice passing on the beat; if the class does it accurately, turn the lights off and repeat. Keep the ball under a light before class so it's fully charged and ready.
Teaching guide
Teach the instrument parts first — before either game — so eliminated players can move straight to an instrument without interrupting the flow.
Sit criss-cross with right hand on the neighbor's left. Pass on beats 1 and 3 only (BUY, GIN-, PUT, POC-). At "doo-na-ka," speed up to passing on every beat. If the last player touches the next person's hand, that person is out. If they miss, they're out. Eliminated players move to instruments.
Students layer hands in a big stack, palms down. The bottom hand comes to the top on beats 1 and 3. At "doo-na-ka" the rhythm speeds up — the bottom and second-from-bottom hands race to land on top. The one that doesn't land on top is out. Simplify if needed: whoever naturally ends up on top on the last beat is out.
Practice passing a glow-in-the-dark ball around the circle while singing. As a reward for accurate beat-keeping, turn the lights off and repeat. Keep the ball under a light source before class starts so it's fully charged. This is one of the most memorable activities in the library.
Barred instruments carry the melodic/harmonic parts; claves or wood block play the rhythmic pulse. Teach these parts before either game. As players are eliminated, they join the ensemble — by the end, you often have a full accompaniment supporting the remaining players.
What teachers say
"The glow-in-the-dark ball activity is hands down the most requested thing I do all year. I keep the ball charged under a lamp during class, and the whole room erupts when I turn the lights off."
"What I love about this game is that getting out isn't a punishment — you get to play an instrument. By the end of the song, the ensemble sounds amazing and the kids who are still in the game are under real pressure."
"The doo-na-ka speed-up is a brilliant moment. Students think they have the game under control, and then suddenly the tempo doubles. The excitement in the room is real."
Related songs
A rhythm stick game where the words tell you exactly what to do — even kindergarteners can master it.
See teaching guide →A Caribbean handclap game — do-based pentatonic, syncopa, and a satisfying partner pattern that students ask to do again.
See teaching guide →A stick-passing game with an elimination element — do-based pentatonic and a great context for syncopa in upper elementary.
See teaching guide →Common questions
Sitting out is the least engaging thing a student can do in music class. Moving to an instrument keeps every student active and musical from the moment they're eliminated. By the end of the game, you often have a full ensemble accompanying the remaining players — which makes the game more exciting, not less, for everyone still in it.
Game 2 (the hand stack) tends to work better with 3rd graders new to the song — it's simpler to set up and doesn't require the precise directional passing of Game 1. Game 1 is the more musically rigorous version and rewards groups that have genuinely mastered the steady beat.
Low ti functions as a leading tone throughout the song — the only other pitches are do, re, and low sol. This limited pitch set makes low ti easy to isolate and identify. The penultimate measure implies a dominant chord, giving older students a natural, in-context introduction to harmonic function.
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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