What is the cup song?

The cup song is a musical performance in which participants use disposable plastic or paper cups for percussion accompaniment on a tabletop or other surface. In most variations, two cups are tapped back and forth between both hands along with one or more held in one hand that produce different tones through alternating taps on a surface and into the palm.

A widely known version was featured in the film Pitch Perfect (_and its sequels_) from 2012. Here is a link to the featured piece that you can watch on _Youtube_:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmWsI_-Yy_M