Pumped Up Kicks – Foster The People

From the 2011 album Torches, Pumped Up Kicks was a massive hit for California’s Foster The People. It translates pretty well to ukulele using just 4 chords and is a nice easy song to play…

Chords

The chord progression is the same throughout which makes it pretty easy to play along to, particularly if you’re singing too. None of these chords are particularly difficult and if you’ve been playing a while you’ll find them a breeze.

Pumped Up Kicks Ukulele Chords

Em to G can be a bit of a tricky change. If you’re having trouble you could try fretting the G as normal and dropping your pinky onto the C string at the 4th fret. That way when you need to switch from Em to G all you need to do is lift your pinky up! Simple.

Strumming pattern

I’d go with the good old fashioned down down up up down up but have a little play around with it – the chord progression is the same throughout so it makes sense to mix it up a bit.

If you’re relatively new to strumming I’d probably start up by playing the slightly easier D DUDUDU and getting really comfortable with that. When you’re playing that without thinking you can then try and drop out the 3rd down strum. It can seem strange at first but with a little practice is will become 2nd nature.

Pumped Up Kicks Ukulele Strumming Pattern

If you’re looking for a bit of inspiration when it comes to strumming patterns take a look at my list of 32 strumming patterns. They should keep you busy for a while!

Songsheet Download

Pumped Up Kicks by Foster The People – PDF Songsheet

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