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Nursery Rhymes and Music for Kids

Nursery rhymes are short traditional songs and chants for young children, such as Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (words published in 1806) and Baa, Baa, Black Sheep (first printed in 1744). Singing them helps children feel a steady beat, hear high and low sounds, and learn new words. Classfern’s free page plays seven public-domain nursery tunes, slowly or at normal speed, with each note lighting up.

Updated · By the Classfern Music Department

Works in the UK and the US. This version uses UK music words (bar, crotchet, stave) and UK year groups; the US version uses measure, quarter note, staff and US grades. · US version of this page

Key facts

  • Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, Baa, Baa, Black Sheep and the alphabet song share one tune, an 18th-century French melody.
  • Some of the oldest printed nursery rhymes, including Baa, Baa, Black Sheep, London Bridge and Hickory Dickory Dock, date from 1744.
  • The easiest first tunes use very few notes: Hot Cross Buns uses 3 (E D C) and Mary Had a Little Lamb uses 4 (C D E G).
  • In the EYFS, the early learning goal Being Imaginative and Expressive asks children to “sing a range of well-known nursery rhymes and songs”.
  • Traditional rhymes and their tunes are out of copyright. Many modern recordings and arrangements are not, so this page uses Classfern’s own simple versions.

The best-known English nursery rhymes include Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, Baa, Baa, Black Sheep, Humpty Dumpty, Hickory Dickory Dock, London Bridge Is Falling Down, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Old MacDonald Had a Farm, Row, Row, Row Your Boat and Ring a Ring o’ Roses. All are traditional, and most were first printed between 1744 and 1881.

Eighteen traditional nursery rhymes, when each was first printed and an action or game to go with it. Dates are the earliest known printed versions.
RhymeFirst printedWhere fromActions or game
Baa, Baa, Black Sheep1744BritainCount the three bags on your fingers; same tune as Twinkle, Twinkle
Frère Jacques (Are You Sleeping?)about 1780FranceSing as a round in two to four groups
The Grand Old Duke of York1642EnglandMarch; stand up for “up” and crouch for “down”
Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes1912UKTouch each body part; sing faster each time
Hey Diddle Diddleabout 1765BritainAct out the cow jumping over the moon
Hickory Dickory Dock1744BritainSwing an arm like a pendulum; clap on “one”
Hot Cross Buns1767BritainA three-note tune: good first tune on chime bars or recorder
Humpty Dumpty1797BritainSit on the “wall” and tumble on “great fall”
London Bridge Is Falling Down1744BritainTwo children make an arch that “falls” to catch a player
Mary Had a Little Lamb1830United StatesA four-note tune (C D E G); clap the rhythm
Old MacDonald Had a Farm1706 (earliest version)Britain and the United StatesChildren choose an animal and its sound for each verse
Oranges and Lemons1744BritainAn arch game like London Bridge, with bell sounds
Polly Put the Kettle On1803UKMime filling and pouring the kettle
Pop Goes the Weasel1852UKCrouch, then jump up on “pop!”
Ring a Ring o’ Roses1881UKWalk in a circle holding hands and all fall down
Row, Row, Row Your Boat1852United StatesSit facing a partner and “row” back and forth; also a round
Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bushabout 1750EnglandCircle game with a new action each verse
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star1806 (words by Jane Taylor)UKOpen and close hands like twinkling stars

Many of these were first collected in small books for children sold in London, such as Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Song Book (1744). The words often changed over the years, so you may know slightly different versions.

Play nursery rhyme tunes

Press ▶ Play to hear a tune on Classfern’s piano, made in your browser. Each note name lights up as it plays, so children can follow along or copy the notes on chime bars, a glockenspiel or a keyboard. Choose “Slow” for little ones learning a new song.

Sounds are made in your browser. This page never uses the microphone, and nothing is sent anywhere.

Seven traditional nursery tunes in Classfern’s own simple arrangements, in C major or G major, with the notes in order.
TuneNotesListen
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
“Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are …”
  1. C
  2. C
  3. G
  4. G
  5. A
  6. A
  7. G
  8. F
  9. F
  10. E
  11. E
  12. D
  13. D
  14. C
  15. G
  16. G
  17. F
  18. F
  19. E
  20. E
  21. D
  22. G
  23. G
  24. F
  25. F
  26. E
  27. E
  28. D
  29. C
  30. C
  31. G
  32. G
  33. A
  34. A
  35. G
  36. F
  37. F
  38. E
  39. E
  40. D
  41. D
  42. C
Mary Had a Little Lamb
“Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow …”
  1. E
  2. D
  3. C
  4. D
  5. E
  6. E
  7. E
  8. D
  9. D
  10. D
  11. E
  12. G
  13. G
  14. E
  15. D
  16. C
  17. D
  18. E
  19. E
  20. E
  21. E
  22. D
  23. D
  24. E
  25. D
  26. C
Hot Cross Buns
“Hot cross buns, hot cross buns, one a penny, two a penny …”
  1. E
  2. D
  3. C
  4. E
  5. D
  6. C
  7. C
  8. C
  9. C
  10. C
  11. D
  12. D
  13. D
  14. D
  15. E
  16. D
  17. C
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
“Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream …”
  1. C
  2. C
  3. C
  4. D
  5. E
  6. E
  7. D
  8. E
  9. F
  10. G
  11. C
  12. C
  13. C
  14. G
  15. G
  16. G
  17. E
  18. E
  19. E
  20. C
  21. C
  22. C
  23. G
  24. F
  25. E
  26. D
  27. C
London Bridge Is Falling Down
“London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down …”
  1. G
  2. A
  3. G
  4. F
  5. E
  6. F
  7. G
  8. D
  9. E
  10. F
  11. E
  12. F
  13. G
  14. G
  15. A
  16. G
  17. F
  18. E
  19. F
  20. G
  21. D
  22. G
  23. E
  24. C
Old MacDonald Had a Farm
“Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O …”
  1. G
  2. G
  3. G
  4. D
  5. E
  6. E
  7. D
  8. B
  9. B
  10. A
  11. A
  12. G
  13. D
  14. G
  15. G
  16. G
  17. D
  18. E
  19. E
  20. D
  21. B
  22. B
  23. A
  24. A
  25. G
Frère Jacques (Are You Sleeping?)
“Frère Jacques, frère Jacques, dormez-vous? (Are you sleeping, Brother John?) …”
  1. C
  2. D
  3. E
  4. C
  5. C
  6. D
  7. E
  8. C
  9. E
  10. F
  11. G
  12. E
  13. F
  14. G
  15. G
  16. A
  17. G
  18. F
  19. E
  20. C
  21. G
  22. A
  23. G
  24. F
  25. E
  26. C
  27. C
  28. G
  29. C
  30. C
  31. G
  32. C

Name that nursery rhyme: a listening game

The game plays the start of a tune and asks which rhyme it is. Eight rounds, new every time. Marked by Classfern – the answers are checked in your browser and never leave this device. Younger children can play with an adult reading the choices.

What are good action songs for kids?

Good action songs for kids include Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, The Grand Old Duke of York, Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush, Ring a Ring o’ Roses and Hickory Dickory Dock. The actions follow the words, so children move in time and remember the song more easily.

  1. Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes – touch each part as you sing it, then sing it again faster, or leave out a word and only do the action.
  2. The Grand Old Duke of York – march on the spot; stand tall for “up”, crouch for “down” and stop halfway for “neither up nor down”.
  3. Row, Row, Row Your Boat – sit facing a partner, hold hands and rock back and forth with the beat.
  4. Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush – walk in a circle, then mime a new job each verse (“this is the way we wash our hands”).
  5. Hickory Dickory Dock – swing an arm like a clock’s pendulum on the beat and clap once on “the clock struck one”.

Nursery rhymes with actions also help children who are not yet talking much: they can join in with the movements before the words.

Why is music good for preschoolers?

Music gives preschoolers practice in listening, keeping a steady beat, using their voices and remembering patterns of words. Singing together also teaches taking turns and starting and stopping as a group. Short, daily songs work better than one long session a week.

For music for preschoolers, keep each song short, sing it many times, and add one new idea at a time: a faster or slower speed (tempo), a louder or quieter verse (dynamics), or a new action. Children enjoy hearing the same songs again and again – that repetition is how they learn them.

Miss Clara Schumann, Classfern’s music helper, in her dark green jacket and tartan skirt, holding her green book and waving, waving hello to children singing nursery rhymes

What is early years music in the EYFS?

Early years music in the EYFS sits in Expressive Arts and Design. By the end of Reception, the early learning goal Being Imaginative and Expressive asks children to sing a range of well-known nursery rhymes and songs, and to perform songs, rhymes, poems and stories with others, trying to move in time with music when appropriate.

In practice, EYFS music is daily singing, rhymes with actions, moving to music and exploring sounds with instruments. Classfern’s EYFS and KS1 lesson plans give full, timed lessons for these goals. See the EYFS and KS1 music lesson plans for step-by-step sessions, and the music games and activities for freeze dance and musical statues.

Which musical instruments are best for kids?

The best first musical instruments for kids are ones they can play straight away: shakers, drums, chime bars, a glockenspiel and tuned percussion tubes. A ukulele or recorder suits children a little older who can hold and finger it. Start with instruments that make a nice sound with one hit.

First instruments for children and what each is good for. Each links to Classfern’s free page for it.
InstrumentGood forClassfern page
Untuned percussion (shakers, drums, claves)Keeping the beat, loud and quiet, sound storiesMusic games and activities
Chime barsPlaying two or three notes, such as the so–mi “cuckoo” callChime bars
GlockenspielFirst tunes like Hot Cross Buns and Twinkle, TwinkleGlockenspiel
Tuned percussion tubesGroup tunes where each child holds one noteTuned percussion tubes
UkuleleStrumming simple chords to accompany songsUkulele
RecorderReading first notes (B, A and G) in a groupRecorder

Music lessons for kids often begin as group sessions in a nursery, school or community class, where children sing, move and play percussion together. Individual lessons on an instrument usually start once a child can concentrate for a short lesson and practise a little at home; ask a local teacher what age they start pupils on their instrument.

Early years music checklist

Tick the skills you have seen your child or class show. Evidence kept at home – a parent or teacher ticks what they observe at home or in class, and the ticks are saved only on this device.

Skills seen

Nothing ticked yet.

Miss Clara Schumann, Classfern’s music helper, in her dark green jacket and tartan skirt, holding her green book and explaining with an open hand, explaining how to use the checklist

Every song on this page is traditional and in the public domain; the arrangements are Classfern’s own. All of Classfern’s music tools on lessonplanner.info are free, with no sign-in and no ads.

More music tools

EYFS and KS1 music lesson plansTimed lessons with songs, beat games and assessment.Music games and activitiesFreeze dance, musical statues and listening games.Singing toolsWarm-ups and songs to sing along with.Chime barsPlay first tunes, one note at a time.Music curriculum and schemes of workWhat children learn at each stage, with a scheme of work builder.All music toolsThe Classfern Music hub.

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