Be careful not to get led astray! A roundup of challenging yet fun rounds (canon songs)
A round is a style of singing where you follow the person before you, coming in slightly later and chasing their line.
Many people probably sang well-known rounds like “The Frog Chorus” (Kaeru no Gasshō) and “The Bear in the Forest” (Mori no Kuma-san) when they were children.
So, what other rounds are there besides these?
In this article, we’ll introduce a variety of rounds, from classic staples to lesser-known gems.
Songs used for rounds often have fun and amusing lyrics.
If any catch your interest, be sure to pay attention to the lyrics and try singing them as a round for fun!
- [For Seniors] A heartwarming round song. Let’s layer our voices with this nostalgic classic.
- [Childcare] Recommended for little kids! A fun round song that makes you want to sing!
- Nursery rhymes to sing in spring: a collection of classic songs you'll want to sing with your children
- [Choral Piece] High Difficulty! A selection of works that are hard to sing
- [Partner Song] Singing two different songs simultaneously! Nursery rhymes & the latest hits
- Let's sing together! A collection of nursery rhymes everyone knows
- Collection of winter nursery rhymes, folk songs, and children's songs. Includes fun winter hand-play songs too.
- Tongue twisters that will make you laugh out loud! Super funny
- [Simple Games] Recommended Indoor Recreational Activities for Adults
- A collection of cheerful nursery rhymes—songs that make you feel happy when you sing them.
- [Warabe-uta] Beloved Classic Songs Passed Down Through Generations
- Games you can play with just conversation. Classic and popular activities you can enjoy without any props!
- Get pumped with kids’ favorite songs! A memorable collection of classics that will make you want to sing along
Be careful not to get carried away! A collection of challenging but fun rounds (11–20)
The sound of insects
Mushi no Koe (The Voices of Insects) features a variety of bugs.
Since it was included in the 1910 Elementary School Reader Songs, this children’s song has been beloved across generations.
If there’s a child who knows all five insects that appear—pine cricket, bell cricket, katydid, eastern bush-cricket, and long-headed grasshopper—they’re surely quite the insect enthusiast! It might be a chance to glimpse a hidden side of children.
When sung as a round, the insects’ calls overlap beautifully.
Try splitting into two groups at first, then gradually increase the number of groups and stagger the timing to experiment with different effects.
Big Song
The children’s song “Big Song,” also known as a recreational song often sung at camps, is an easy piece for rounds: without overlapping lyrics, you can sing by echoing and imitating what your friends sing.
The song is notable for words that evoke the grandeur of nature—like “mountain,” “sun,” and “sky”—and lyrics that suggest hope, such as “heart” and “dream.” Along with enjoying it as a round, it might be nice to draw pictures inspired by the natural scenes and future dreams the song brings to mind, helping to spark children’s imaginations.
The Mouse and the Kitten
The song “The Mouse and the Kitten” is charming for its very cute lyrics depicting a mouse desperately running away from a kitten.
With simple, easy-to-understand lines like “The mouse goes ‘chu-chu-chu’ as it runs, and the kitten goes ‘meow-meow’ as it chases,” it seems perfect for a round, doesn’t it? Whether you start 4 measures later or 2 measures later, the melodies overlap beautifully, so watch the children and let them try different patterns!
What shall we make with rock, paper, scissors?
The hand game song “Gu-Choki-Pa de Nani Tsukurou,” where you make various shapes with rock, scissors, and paper while singing, can actually be enjoyed as a round, too.
Once everyone remembers the hand shapes for rock, scissors, and paper, try singing it as a round with a one-measure delay! No matter where you come in each measure, it creates a pleasant harmony, so many friends can join in by staggering their entries in order.
The more people who join at different timings, the higher the difficulty! Once you get used to it, increase the number of participants or combine it with the hand motions to enjoy different patterns.
In conclusion
We’ve introduced various rounds—what did you think? There were lots of fun songs that make you want to sing along, weren’t there? When it comes to rounds, it’s easy to get pulled along by the person before or after you, so they’re unexpectedly tricky.
But the charm of rounds is that even while saying “This is hard,” you can still have fun singing.
Be sure to try singing them joyfully together with your children or friends!