Pumped Up Kicks Chords & Tabs
"Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People (2011)
Guitar tab by You Ruined It.
Here's how to copy the guitar parts in Pumped Up Kicks. Basically, play the bass riff
for most of the song, just palm muted but there are some changes to keep it a little interesting.
e|-------------------------------------|
b|-------------------------------------|
g|-------------------------------------|
D|-----------------1-1-----------------|
A|-------------1-3-----3---1-1-1-3-----|
E|-1-1-1-3-4-4-----------4---------4---|
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Play and repeat during the intro and all the choruses. Guitar is silent during Verse 1.
During Verse 2, the first half of the riff is a bit different. I'm not 100% but it's
pretty close. Feel free to improvise a little bit.
[ Tab from: https://www.guitartabs.cc/tabs/f/foster_the_people/pumped_up_kicks_tab_ver_6.html ]
e|-------------------------------------|
b|-------------------------------------|
g|-------------------------------------|
D|---3---3---5-----1-1-----------------|
A|-3---3---3---1-3-----3---1-1-1-3-----|
E|-----------------------4---------4---|
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
During the instrumental break, play around and strum these four chords:
Fm, Ab, Eb, B#
Listen to the recording as how to strum it. Slowly and mysteriously. Once the vocals
kick in for the last chorus, play the intro/chorus riff again. Note that only the guitar
plays the riff until the drums kick in, at which point the bass kicks in as well.
That's how it's done on the studio recording. Feel free to improvise as this song is
really repetitive. Have fun and happy jamming!