If there’s one thing most of us remember from elementary school, it was learning the multiplication songs for kids that still have the power to become earworms today. While repetitive and sometimes silly, multiplication songs put an element of fun into math lessons that help with memorization and make the next math quiz that much easier!
If you haven’t considered using multiplication songs in your classroom yet, there is plenty of research that supports the idea that musical intervention in the classroom helps students memorize and recognize mathematical patterns. One 2013 study on the effects of music on basic mathematics fact fluency in third graders notes that “Prior to the intervention, only 68% of the students enjoyed working addition mathematics problems, while 100% enjoyed addition problems following the intervention.”
Another 2013 study published in the Journal for Learning Through the Arts concluded “The music-math interdisciplinary lessons had positive effects on multiple mathematical ability areas.”
With all that evidence, we thought it was time we shared the best songs for multiplication fact songs we’ve come across in our years in education! The teacher team at Teach Starter put their heads together to create a comprehensive list of multiplication songs to help your elementary students build their memorization skills, including hits from the Animaniacs, Schoolhouse Rock, Jack Hartmann and more.
The Best Multiplication Songs for Kids
Keep reading for links to each song, read snippets of the lyrics and find out why each particular song might help your students. We have to warn you — some of these songs might just get stuck in your head!
1. Musical “Array”ngements
There’s a chance you’ve heard songs from Musical “Array”ngements from bby Publications if you grew up in the 90s! Each number from 1-10 has a distinct song, which can quickly become earworms (the good kind!). The YouTube videos of these songs include the lyrics and the numbers in red as the song continues.
“I see three sitting in a tree. Throwing apples at you and me. I see 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30. Yes, thirty apples under that tree.”
The video above is just one fun example. Here are all the skip-counting songs in the series:
- Two Shoes
- I See Three
- Four Here, Four There
- Eat a Slice of Watermelon (Fives)
- I Can Count by Sixes
- Seven into Heaven
- Counting By Eight
- Nine Oh Nine
- I Can Count by Tens
2. Schoolhouse Rock
Speaking of nostalgic multiplication songs, teacher-favorite “Schoolhouse Rock” celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023. This animated learning video series was among many that aired on ABC in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including “Multiplication Rock,” “Grammar Rock,” and “Science Rock.”
Schoolhouse Rock even won four Emmys!
Their 33-minute video covers the multiplication tables from “zero is my hero” to “hey little 12 toes” to help your students remember all their multiplication facts.
Take a look at these fun lyrics:
“Making people happy, that’s my favorite game. Lucky 7 is my natural name. Slippin’ and slidin’ my whole life through, still I get everything done that I got to do ’cause I was born ‘neath a lucky star! School is where you are, ah that’s not hard. Let me show you something. You multiply seven times one. I got seven days to get that problem done. Multiply seven times two, take fourteen laughs when you’re feeling blue…”
3. Jack Hartmann Multiplication Songs
Indiana teacher and Teach Starter resource producer Brittany Collins immediately recommended Jack Hartmann’s videos, saying, “They were a huge hit in my classroom!”
With high-quality videos and memorable tunes, it’s no wonder that Jack Hartmann has over four million YouTube followers on his Jack Hartmann Kids Music channel.
Need a taste of the lyrics to see if Hartmann’s right for your class? Here’s one of his motivational bops:
“Now climb that mountain, a little faster! 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90…100!”
Hartmann’s videos are perfect to use when your students are getting antsy and need a few minutes stand up and to move around. With Hartmann’s videos, kids will not only get some energy out, but they’ll also learn skip counting as they copy his movements.
Need a fun game for your students to practice their multiplication? Download one of Brittany’s recommendations!
4. The Juicebox Jukebox
Juicebox Jukebox has fantastic visuals paired with the lyrics to count by twos. The animations literally demonstrate skipping over numbers to only highlight the even numbers as the song progresses.
This will help your visual learners, and the Jack Johnson vibes of this song will bring a calm approach to skip counting.
“So if I count the numbers one through ten, take some out and leave some in. I just cross out the odd ones, the numbers left are called EVEN! 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, that’s what you do when you count by twos.”
5. Mr. R’s Songs for Teaching
Cute characters, lyrics included on the screen and fun jingles create a great combo for learning skip counting with Mr. R’s songs for the classroom.
The YouTube favorite has 30 videos highlighting skip-counting songs to help build multiplication skills, including themed tunes for Halloween, Valentine’s Day and more.
This Count by 2 video is a cheerful example of repetition. Kids will chant 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 a few times before continuing on to 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20 to really solidify the first segment of numbers before continuing on. Different animations make this video easy to watch and follow along.
“2, 4, 6, 8, 10, won’t you sing it again, won’t you sing it again? I said 2, 4…”
6. Times Table Multiplication Song
Along with songs and chants, following a multiplication table is a great tool for students to use while they study their times tables. This song/chant by Kids Learning Tube demonstrates how to use a multiplication table with animations and highlights. Grab our free Desk-Sized Multiplication Charts for your kids so they can follow along while the song is playing.
“Let’s use this 2 from the vertical side and multiply it with the 7 on the horizontal guide. Run a line from the 2 if you know what I mean, and a line down from the 7 to see where they meet. Where the two lines collide will be the answer you seek…”
7. Scratch Garden
Another teacher-favorite YouTube channel is Scratch Garden, which has plenty of multiplication songs to help your students learn skip counting. Their “Counting By” songs are space-themed, and they remove the frills and fuss of an over-the-top sing-along with a simple chant to get straight to the point.
“Now you start with the number 5 and as you go along, jump five numbers and practice this song.”
8. Mr. C
Short and to the point, Mr. C highlights skip counting by three in this video with the help of Taylor Swift. Repeating this 23-second song a few times with your class will get them counting by threes in no time!
‘After 18, there’s 21, 24, 27, it must be exhausting counting all the way from 3 to 30.”
9. Multiplication Mash Up
Also inspired by pop music, McCarthy Math Academy compiled some clever lyrics for multiplying numbers from 0 to 12. The numbers are written out completely in mathematical form to help students visualize what they’re memorizing (1 x 1 =1, 1 x 2 =2 etc.). They also kindly have each number group highlighted under the video so you can jump to the section you’d like to practice.
“I knew ONES weren’t trouble when they walked in. In fact they’re so easy just count like 1, 2, and 3…”
10. Mr. DeMaio
Randi Smith, one of Teach Starter’s senior resource producers, highly recommends Mr. DeMaio’s videos. As she says, “He does modern tunes, and Uptown Funk is my favorite!”
DeMaio’s upbeat cover songs for learning times tables are sung while he interacts with fellow teachers and dances around his school. His videos will help get your kids into the multiplication spirit!
“This here, that three times, that 3, 6 and then 9, that 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, we’re counting, so astounding, I can count by threes in my sleep…”
Download Randi’s favorite multiplication must-have!
11. Times Tables Song 1-12 for Kids
Silly School Songs makes things easy by including the times tables 1-12 all in the same video with an index below the video to jump to the number you’d like to focus on.
Numbers are fully written out on the screen so kids can follow along as they chant the equations with fun background music, colors and patterns.
“If you want to multiply by 8, there’s a cool little song to help you get it straight. The 8 times table is something you should know. Multiply with us, are you ready? Let’s go! 8 x 1 = 8…”
12. Multiply Numbers 1-12 For KidsWith Miss Patty
Using the same tune for all the multiplication tables, Multiply Numbers With Miss Patty is great for chanting the times tables without learning any additional lyrics. The numbers are included on the screen as the voice sings along.
“4 x 1 is 4, 4 x 2 is 8, 4 x 3 is 12, multiply by 4! 4 x 4 is 16, 4 x 5 is 20, 4 x 6 is 24, multiply by 4!”
13. Counting Songs
Have Fun Teaching puts the fun into their counting songs! With dance break moments and upbeat music, your kids will learn skip counting from 1-12, all in the same video. Below the video are key points of the song which can help you jump to the precise numbers you’d like the class to practice.
“Slide to the left, slide to the right. Count up to 30, we’ll start with 6!”
14. Count by Sevens
Grab your sunglasses for this laid-back, cool way to learn to multiply by sevens. This song is sure to become an earworm that you’ll actually enjoy humming! Yahosh’s singing jumps right into counting by sevens but then transitions into how to count by sevens on your hands.
Students can follow along with the finger trick and practice a few times before the song gets increasingly faster.
“Counting by sevens is just fine. But I’ve got a secret for you. If you count them off on your fingers baby, you can multiply by sevens too! Sing it now, 7, 14…”
15. The 12 Times Table Song by Numberock
Numberock brings the beats to the multiplication tables through his rockin’ tunes. Make sure you’re at a point in the school day where dancing at the desks is appropriate! Both the numbers and the lyrics are included on the screen while the music progresses.
His channel has a variety of multiplication songs if your kids enjoy his approach to numbers, but we suggest kicking things off with the 12 Times Table Song.
“If you’re feeling the beat, dance on the classroom floor! Lift our voices high, as we multiply. The twelve times table and we get them right every time.”
16. Multiplication Rap
Students will get their wiggles out and knowledge in as they rap along with fun characters from Rock N Learn’s Multiplication rap. A favorite among the teachers on our team, this kid-friendly rap video video includes multiplication times tables from zero to 12.
“I am a winner, I work hard in school. I won’t ever drop out ’cause I’m no one’s fool. 4 x 1 = 4, 4 x 2 = 8…”
17. Number Blocks 30 Minutes of Multiplication
Numberblocks has parallels to a Disney movie as they cover multiplication in their 30-minute long math video. The first 10 minutes use animated block characters to demonstrate how skip counting makes counting easier and quicker.
The blocks pop in and out, demonstrating how large they are in a group versus individually, and break it down piece by piece with the digits at the top of the screen.
Around the 10-minute mark is where the songs begin and continue for the rest of the video. They cover counting by ones, twos, fives and tens.
“When you’re counting slippers or flippers or shoes, this is the method you’ll need to use. A table for twos! One two is two, two twos are four, three twos are six, are you keeping score?”
18. Three Times Table Song
Any Toy Story lovers out there? If so, the Three Times Table song sung to the tune of “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” is a lighthearted helper as students learn their threes.
Along with the lyrics, the video also includes the digits for ease of following along.
“You’ve got a friend in three! Counting the corners on triangles, or the wheels you find one some tricycles. You just remember what your old pal said! You’ve got a friend in three! You’ve got a friend in three! One times three is three. Two times three is six…”
19. 6 Times Table Song (Moana Cover)
The upbeat, popular song “You’re Welcome” from Moana is a kid favorite and the base of this times table song to learn counting by sixes. After singing all the sixes multiplied through twelve, the rest of the song does the inverse: six divided by six equals one, twelve divided by six equals two, eighteen divided by six equals three, etc.
Including both multiplication and division makes this a good practice song for upper elementary students.
“I see what’s happening here! You’re faced with lots of questions and your brain, it doesn’t know where to begin. But learn to count in sixes this can change! One six is six, two sixes are twelve, three sixes are eighteen…”
20. Animaniacs Multiplication Song
This Multiplication Song from Animaniacs combines a cartoon with a happy song about why multiplication is easy and fun. Though not singing through the multiplication table, kids will enjoy this three-minute introduction to solving multiplication by hand.
“Oh ho! It’s multiplication, it’s math education, hey Albert Einstein said it’s so easy to do! It’s simple it’s breezy, it’s fun and it’s easy, just buy a calculator and you can multiply too!”
21. Multiplication Trick
We realize it’s not a “song,” but this hand trick is a great way for students to learn their nine times tables. After watching the video, you’ll undoubtedly see some students looking at their hands during the next multiplication quiz!
Comments