Classic songs for musical chairs. A carefully curated selection of easy-to-walk-to, crowd-pleasing tracks.
Musical Chairs—haven’t you all played it at least once?In this article, we’ll introduce songs that are perfect to play during a game of musical chairs.When you play, you may wonder what kind of music makes it easy to walk and gets everyone excited.So we’ve picked a wide range of recommendations—from classics like “Oklahoma Mixer” and “Mayim Mayim,” to popular children’s songs, dance tracks, and J-pop that everyone knows.If you’re looking for tracks to use for recreational activities, be sure to check these out.
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Classic songs for musical chairs: a carefully selected list of easy-to-walk, crowd-pleasing tracks (21–30)
Crimson Lotus FlowerLiSA
LiSA’s song Gurenge was used as the theme song for the anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and became a massive hit, even turning into a social phenomenon.
It’s also a rare track that topped the Oricon charts right at the transition from the Heisei to the Reiwa era.
Its driving, intense rock sound and LiSA’s soaring vocals perfectly matched the anime’s opening.
Now that the song is widely known among both children and adults, it’s also a great choice as background music for a game of musical chairs.
A I U E O musicGReeeeN
GReeeeN are masked artists who juggle careers as dentists while performing as a vocal group.
“Aiueo Ongaku” was released as a digital-only single on April 24, 2013.
It was selected as the opening theme for the TV Tokyo anime series LINE OFFLINE: Salaryman and LINE TOWN, and the music video features a collaboration with LINE’s original characters and choreographer Jonte’ Moaning, who works with top artists around the world.
The melody, inspired by the 50 Japanese syllables, is easy to get into and hugely popular with kids.
Try adding it to your musical chairs playlist!
swallowYOASOBI with Midorīzu
Popular across generations, “Tsubame” by YOASOBI with Midories is the theme song for NHK’s children’s SDGs program ‘Hirogare! Irotoridori,’ featuring vocals by Midories, a group of five children from first to fifth grade.
The song’s world is brimming with love, transcending generations, and even conjures an image of everyone around the world playing musical chairs together.
Play this track during a game of musical chairs that kids and adults alike can enjoy, and it’s sure to be a hit!
Ebi KanicsKeroponzu
A hugely popular Keropons song among kids and moms, it’s included on the album of the same title, “Ebi Kanix,” released in 2002.
An official video was posted on YouTube in 2012, and it’s now surpassed 100 million views! It’s an upbeat, super-fun number that incorporates elements of aerobics.
You can dance and sing along while striking shrimp and crab poses that Japanese people love! Highly recommended as background music for musical chairs in kindergartens and nursery schools.
DoraemonHoshino Gen
Gen Hoshino’s 11th single “Doraemon,” released in 2018, is the theme song for the film Doraemon the Movie: Nobita’s Treasure Island.
If you’re looking for a track that gets both adults and kids excited, this song is highly recommended.
Doraemon has been on TV since the time today’s moms and dads were little, and it’s probably harder to find someone who dislikes it.
Plus, the rhythms in Gen Hoshino’s music overflow with pure fun, and when this plays as background music, it puts smiles on everyone’s faces and gets the crowd going.
Let’s all get excited together—adults and kids alike!
paprikaFoorin×Yonezu Kenshi
This is a song by the elementary and middle school music unit Foorin, written, composed, and produced by singer-songwriter Kenshi Yonezu, which became a social phenomenon involving both adults and children! The music video has surpassed 200 million views, and numerous dance videos were posted as well.
It’s a quintessential Yonezu track with a cute yet wistful melody that resonates with adults, too.
The Paprika dance was easy to learn, making it extremely popular among kids! It seems like a perfect choice for musical chairs background music—everyone would get excited together.
Shut up.Ado
If you want to hype up a game of musical chairs, I recommend Ado’s “Usseewa.” Released as her debut single in 2020, the song’s striking lyrics and punchy melody went viral on social media like TikTok.
That’s why it’s a great BGM choice for musical chairs when a group of social media–savvy young people get together.
It might be even more fun to post a video of your musical chairs game using this song on TikTok.
It’ll be a hit!