If you’re like me, music is a HUGE part of your day and your teaching experience.
One of the most common questions I get asked and see online is “Hey, what music are you playing right now, I need a new playlist”
So today I want to guide you in your quest to find the PERFECT PHYSED PLAYLIST!
If you haven’t read my previous posts on music you can check them out below:
- My process for making awesome music playlists
- How I use Bluetooth Streaming to stay mobile while teaching
- An overview of my Stereo Setup
Music is a HUGE part of my management strategy at school.
When the kids are moving the music is always on, when the music turns of the students know to stop and listen for instructions. I even have my bathroom and water fountain procedures tied to music (see below):
A while back I tried to get a social media share fest going on social media with the #physedmusic but it didn’t really take off very well. So, next time you’re wondering what I’m playing – come back and check out this blog post. Each time I update my music you can check the Playlists below to see what I’m playing.
My main source of music is either streaming Amazon Music (free streaming with Amazon Prime), downloading from iTunes or converting Youtube songs that I can’t find in iTunes. Below you’ll find my Amazon Playlists and Youtube Playlists – feel free to drop a link in the comments if you already have a pre-made playlist on another music provider (Spotify, iTunes, Fit Radio etc)
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Ben’s Youtube Physed Music Playlist
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Ben’s Youtube Instrumental Physed Music Playlist
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Ben’s Amazon Music Playlist
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Ben’s Instrumental Amazon Physed Music Playlist
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Ben’s Apple Music Phys Ed Playlist
Note: You can stream music for free if you have Amazon Prime, but if your wifi goes out you need to have a backup plan. I always have music ready to go on my iPod in the case that I can’t stream music.
Amazon Prime free 30 day trial: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial
Random Notes on Music
- The music I listen to is mostly upbeat and a mix of stuff that I like (electronic, pop, dance beats). Normally I’ve found that about 3 out of 100 top 40 Pop songs are actually clean enough to play in school, but Pop Music is great because kids know the music and sing along during class, which is always fun.
- Sometimes I let kids request a song – this is a great way to find new music and see what your kids are interested in
- Go Instrumental – if you want to check out some of my favorite bands that are instrumental, look at the links above for some ideas, lately I’m really into an instrumental band called Tycho, last year I was into a band called Madeon
- Kidz Bop – Pretty sure everyone knows about this, but if you don’t – it’s kid appropriate Pop Music, sometimes I can do it, but sometimes I just can’t deal with it… I will say they are getting less annoying and the production quality is going up, so check it out and see what you think. The main plus of Kidz Bop in my experience is most of the kids are familiar with the songs.
- When I create a new Playlist on my iPod, I just date the playlist with the Month & Year (March 2014) – that way whenever the playlist I’m currently listening to get’s old… I can “Go back in time” to 2012 or whenever and listen to my playlist from back then – this keeps my music from getting too stale and doing the music time warp is kind of fun.
- Another thing I tend to do is find a band that I really like with upbeat music and find their songs with clean lyrics and then just start listening to a bunch of their music in class. A few examples (Madeon, Chrvches, Saint Lucia, Tycho, Owl City).
Disclaimer:
Your views/opinions on what music is appropriate for school might be different than mine, so make sure to double check lyrics, remember to get edited versions and be responsible, ultimately you’re responsible for the music you choose to play in your classes 🙂
P.S. You can also get some recommendations for tunes for PE Music on a great PE blog created by Nick Williamson here Phys Ed Beats
Good luck on your PhysEd Music finding adventure!
Got your own playlist? Drop a link in the comment section
Eugene A Buczynski says
This is amazing. Thank you for taking the time to share your playlist!!! I have a couple playlist that I use but it was getting stale. This is a huge help!!!!
Marcus says
You’re welcome Eugene!
Glad you’re enjoying the resources!
Dave says
Scrolling the black hole that is the internet for new, fun, engaging songs for my PE classes. Found your oasis of a playlist. THANK YOU!
PE teachers are a great community. You have given my kids (and me) a 50% boost in energy.
LET’S GO!!!!!!
Marcus says
Hey Dave!
Thanks for scrolling! 🙂
Glad you found some jams to pump during class!!
Debby says
Amazon playlist not working
Marcus says
Hey Debby,
Sorry about the issue.
We just checked the link and it is working for us. You may want to try to up it in a new window or incognito window (google chrome).
Hope this helps!
FakeAccount says
Thanks! I am a fellow Physical Education teacher, and I have been struggling to find a good age-appropriate playlist that my students can listen to.
Thank you so much!
Debra Smith
Marcus says
You’re welcome Debra!
Glad you’re enjoying the resources!
Kristin Barrows says
Hey Ben Landers,
Thank you for the awesome PE playlist. I subscribe to Amazon Music and have been enjoying it in class for years. Today, however, the playlist is ‘no longer available.’ Are you updating it, or do you think it will be available again?
Thanks,
Coach B
Ben says
Hey Coach! Sorry about that, I’m not sure why it would say that, but it must have been a temporary issue with Amazon, I just checked and it’s still live so hopefully you can still access it
Abi says
I have noticed Amazon Music has been dictating what you listen to. You can load up a playlist but it only plays in the order they want you to play. Very frustrating. I have Apple Music free trial at the moment and I am bit of a fan.
Marcus says
Didn’t know that Abi. Thanks for sharing!
Brittany Staggs says
Is there a way to remove the ads from the Youtube playlist? I normally put youtube videos in my Google slide presentation, but it won’t let me put the playlist into the presentation.
Thanks!
Brittany
Marcus says
Hey Brittany,
Thanks for reaching out!
There are different ways to prevent ads from popping up on YouTube:
1. Purchase a YouTube Premium subscription, this will allow you to download the videos
2. Use a third party video player like Safe Share to play videos
To help students, we usually add videos to our Google Slide and embed them from Google Drive.
Hope this helps!
Jill Moore says
Hey there. I am trying to find Call it Macaroni. I think by Greg and Steve and cannot find it anywhere. I used it years ago and I think it was on a CD? Any clue where I can find it? Thank you, Jill Moore
Marcus says
Hey Jill,
Greg and Steve have a website where you can purchase their music:
https://www.gregandsteve.com/
Hope this helps!
Angela Nadeau says
Thank you for sharing your stuff!! I am a PE teacher for a Christian school so I go the instrumental route that way no one gets offended by any lyrics. I love the energy music brings to PE and often times I tie in the music that the Music Teachers are using in their PE classes!
I’m sharing my list with you!
https://music.amazon.com/user-playlists/2d386c330b3b4084838b877a41b5c9b5sune?marketplaceId=ATVPDKIKX0DER&musicTerritory=US&ref=dm_sh_q2xQjJXsOf8s1RpzUSIwO4xeK
Marcus says
Thanks for sharing! We will check them out!
Brian says
Ben,
Here’s a Spotify playlist I’ve been using at the elementary level for years now. I am constantly updating it, vetting it, and looking for new songs, so thank you for sharing!
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5t8WHbrBkRFaJ0XdDlHP75?si=EljpJBr9QDqaJqCHr48_Vg
It’s called “PE Playlist” by The Langs. Enjoy!
Marcus says
Thanks for sharing Brian!
Always appreciate new jams!
Marcus says
Thanks for sharing Brian!
Fredrik says
Hi, I am a PE teacher in Sweden and I find it hard to play music in class that is leagal.
Here it is not ok to play music for a larger group if you don´t have the right licence and that is not easy to get. And the schools are not willing to pay for it.
This is a problem that everybody avoids by just playing from their own spotify acount and if you raise the question you are just beeing a pain.
How does it work in America?
Marcus says
Hey Fredrick,
Thanks for reaching out!
We have the same issues over here as well. Teachers here also use a streaming service to play music in class. Others purchase music to have access without the internet. So teachers also find copyright-free music to play in class as well.
We are lucky enough to have music files from CD’s long ago. We also stream music like the post suggest.
Hope this helps!
Laura Lynch Ellis says
May be dated…but I find my kids seem to also enjoy disco!
Marcus Nellems says
Nothing is dated when it comes to music! Students love it all!
Lauren Machamer says
Another great app is iHeartRadio Family. It is free and its kid friendly! Many genes but the downside is that you can skip the song.
Marcus Nellems says
Thanks for sharing Lauren!
Kayley Cook says
https://open.spotify.com/album/5eU8DCQKzpinsnzAAJwlbf?si=7UjU6NK9RD21U367w-ZTnw
Marcus Nellems says
Will have to check that out Kayley! Thanks for sharing!
jeff says
Ben, the Youtube Physed Music Playlist and the Amazon Music Playlist do these songs all have clean lyrics?
Marcus Nellems says
Hey Jeff,
Yes sir, we vet all of our songs to make sure they are good to play in the gym! We recommend to do a double check on the lyrics for yourself but all of our songs are clean!
Hope this helps!
JM Forbes says
Not sure if others have mentioned this but :Banana, Banana, Meatball by Go Noodle has been a tremendous hit at my school this fall with K-2…..it is a song about patterns and the kids have come up with their own dance moves for part of the dance when the song doesn’t give specifics of what to do…. some of the stanzas have specific pattern movements but others do not…
Thanks Ben, the music portion of the K-1 class has been very helpful
Marcus Nellems says
Hey JM,
Thanks for the idea. We will have to check out the song. Go Noodle is awesome and the students love it!
Thanks!
Cheryl McCameron says
Fell in love with Spotify this year. ALL kinds of good music on there plus you can download playlists for when you have to go mobile.
Ben Landers says
I know! I’d like to get it, but my school won’t let me download it on my school device and I don’t want to use my personal phone all day, so I haven’t made the jump yet.
Bonnie Dingman says
I can’t find your playlist under Amazon music. It just takes me to Amazon. What is it under? Thanks Bonnie
Ben Landers says
Weird, thanks for the heads up – I think I’ve fixed the issue – Here’s a new link that should work
Playlist name is “Phys Ed Music – Pop/Dance/Electronic”
Ana says
How are you?
Do you have a playlist on Spotify?
Ben Landers says
I don’t use spotify, but I think there was one posted in the comments from another teacher.
Annie says
This is great! Thanks so much!!!
Ben Landers says
Sure thing – glad it’s helpful!
Maleeha Rahim says
Hi Ben! Are there certain instances where you find it better not to play music during a game or activity, or do you play music for any game or activity everyday? Thanks.
Ben Landers says
I always play music for any time the kids are moving, it’s just part of my program now and it feels really weird to me and the kids anytime people are moving and the music isn’t on.
Antonete says
Hi Ben,
Can you download music from Amazon Prime or Youtube onto a Flash drive? My WIFI at work is terrible and our speakers are compatible with flash drives.
Thanks
Antonete
Prefer not to say says
How do I convince my school to let me listen to music during Gym?
Ben Landers says
Explain all the reasons I went over in this post about why it’s a great idea for management, motivation and positive associations with movement.
Kat Dean says
Thanks, Ben! You might also consider smooth jazz music – it’s upbeat, usually no lyrics and great BPM for lots of movement!
Ben Landers says
Great recommend! Funny you say that bc I’m listening to this playlist right now: https://youtu.be/gwDoRPcPxtc
Great working or studying
Ashley says
Thanks for sharing! I’ve been enjoying researching your videos and am a first year teacher. I find my kids enjoy Kids Bop, and usually like and sing to the songs. I have a k-2 grade mix and a Halloween mix too. Here’s the Spotify link https://open.spotify.com/user/12123588583/playlist/2VZIzQcdBFndV1O83xvtaE?si=ER1YylZKQguzohRf1ZWMJA
Ben Landers says
Awesome – thanks for sharing
Gabe says
Hi Ben
Could you please tell me how to find your Amazon Music Playlist? When I click on the link provided it gets me into Amazon but I don’t see your name or playlist.
Thanks
Ben Landers says
When you click the link that says “Ben’s Amazon Playlist” it goes to an amazon playlist – just checked and it’s working for me
Linda says
Hello,
I was looking at your your playlists and noticed on the amazon one some said explicit. Do these have bad language or are not suitable for schools? Thank you!
Ben Landers says
Nothing I play at school is inappropriate in my opinion and definitely doesn’t have bad language – but like I said in the post – you should listen and check lyrics on your own to make sure you agree and are OK with your students listening to the songs you play
Malinda Rossi says
I know it gets expensive, but I usually treat myself (and my students) each year to the most current CD of Kidz Bop. At least I know the lyrics are “clean.”
Ben Landers says
Yep, I know that’s a popular Go To – FYI – if you’re an Amazon Prime member you can also stream all of them for free.
John Sheehan says
I’ve been using a Music app that I pay a monthly fee of 9.99 but I can get any song instantly. It used to be called rappcity and then napster took them over. I would recommend Any physical education teacher looking into it. It works amazing. I use it at home for my Sonos system and found my self using it in my gym the last 10 years.
Ben Landers says
Nice – thanks for the recommendation
Anonymous says
Just get Spotify lmao
Brian LinsnerI says
I use the SmartBean bluetooth receiver and it’s rang has been exceptional in the gym. Good quality for less than $30. Check it out on Amazon.
Ben Landers says
Good stuff – thanks for the tip
Paige Oliva says
Since I have young children of my own, I often listen to Radio Disney in the car and see all the latest animated movies…so I tend to do a lot of soundtrack music! Kids love recognizing a song from a movie or television show and often run up to me and say, “This song is from….” with such enthusiasm! Good Vibrations from the Emoji movie is a fun one right now, as well as the soundtrack from Disney Descendants 2. Some movie soundtracks are mostly instrumental and do not have all of the upbeat songs that are in the movie, so make sure to listen to a few before purchasing a soundtrack.
Ben Landers says
Yes, thanks for mentioning that. Kids love the soundtracks – my students were all about the Trolls soundtrack last year.
Lori Kunz says
Ok, I’m old…….how do I put some of Ben’s songs from one of his playlists onto my phone? I don’t have any songs on my phone yet, so I don’t have a collection to add to and not sure how that works. Android phone. (LG )
Ben Landers says
If you want them physically on your phone you’ll have to download them on iTunes or import from a CD then put them on your phone from there, or if you want to stream them through wifi and you have Amazon Prime you can add them to your playlist there by using the app “Amazon Music”. Or you can use another music streaming app like Spotify.
luke says
let me try those songs out. thanx rery much
Stacy says
I teach high school P.E. and I have two apps that I used all the time, almost daily! #1 – Tabata Pro. You can set intervals and play music from your phones playlists! It is fantastic with stations or HIIT Tabata workouts as I am not screaming and yelling to switch or move, the music and the beeps in the app do the cueing! #2 – FITT radio. This one isn’t free. I pay $3.99 a month during the school year. But the beauty of this app is you can stream pre-made workout mixes. An hour of continuous music. I hate when the kids are supposed to be moving and STOP because the music is in between songs. This keeps them pumped up for periods of time (like during a long run or playing games) and has high energy, popular music to choose from. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had my whole class singing along! They love it. Music really does make everything more fun!
Enjoy!
Ben Landers says
Those sounds like great tools! Thanks for sharing!
Michael Haring says
Any discussion about using Spotify would be greatly appreciated!
Here are my Spotify PE playlists. You’ll need to copy and paste the links…
KidsPE>> This is the one I aggregate music to if I hear something I’d like to try..
https://open.spotify.com/user/michaelharing/playlist/2ink04vmnu9eeqe0nAJ4gW
AfterBurn>> This one is for cool downs, transitions, or my clean up time. .
https://open.spotify.com/user/michaelharing/playlist/2JjLO0dDiwZVLZZKkCeKYf
I have noticed some particular music pieces go missing occasionally with Spotify. I think this may be because of licensing issues. One of my favorites went missing recently; Coffin Nails by MF Doom. This track has worked well for leveled games like Fire and Ice tag. High Energy, yet short enough to bring the groups back for reflection and instruction.
You can find it on YouTube here >>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nruUwYobgM
Best Regards and Aloha!
Ben Landers says
Awesome, thanks for sharing – I know lots of people use Spotify
Michael Haring says
Pretty seamless with so many folks using chromebooks now.
Swanna Hart says
Ben,
Not really technologically advanced but here are a few songs my kids really like:
1) Faith (feat. Ariana Grande) from movie Sing
2) Gimme Some Lovin’ (The Voice) by Ray Bourdreaux
3) Can’t Stop the Feeling – Justin Timberlake
4) Clap Your Hands – Leo Soul (A Cinderella Story)
5) Just the Way you Are – Bruno Mars
6) T-R-O-U-B-L-E by Travis Tritt
7) Cake By the Ocean – Kidz Bop 32
8) Believer – Imagine Dragons
9) Cotton Eyed Joe
10) Try Everything – Zootopia
11) Boomerang – JoJo Siwa
12) Sirius, Johnny B. Good, Shake, Rattle, & Roll – 35 Jock Jams – Stadium Anthems
13) Hit the Road Jack – Buster Poindexter
14) Rock This Town – Stray Cats
15) Just Like Fire – Pink
Ben Landers says
Nice – thanks for sharing!