Learn to playPumped Up Kicksas made famous by Foster The Peopleon drums
The drum beat in Pumped Up Kicks is a laid-back, muted kick-and-snare groove with airy hi-hats that gives the song its relaxed, understated indie pulse.
With our step-by-step drum lesson you can recreate the beat behind Pumped Up Kicks. We’ve broken down the main sections of the song and will take you through each part beat by beat, with video demonstrations.
Pumped Up Kicks
Drums Tutorial - Step by Step
Intro
Start the groove on the hi-hat, Moving your hi-hat hand around the toms while you maintain the backbeat on the snare.
Verse
Continue the hi-hat groove, moving to play the low tom at the end of each 4 bar phrase.
Chorus
For the chorus, play the longer tom phrase at the end of each 4 bar phrase between the mid and low toms.
Outro
After the break, come back in in bar 8 with the snare on 4, and continue the chorus groove.
Combine and play
Now combine the sections to play the full arrangement.
Learn to play
Pumped Up Kicks
with Melodics
Behind the track
Pumped Up Kicks
by Foster The People
Pumped Up Kicks blends a breezy indie-pop groove with a minimalist, slightly lo-fi production style. The track centers on a repeating bassline, sparse drums, and light percussion, creating a laid-back, almost sun-washed feel. Synth textures and subtle guitar lines add brightness without cluttering the mix. Its arrangement relies on steady repetition, giving it a hypnotic, understated momentum.
Mark Foster’s vocals are soft, detached, and almost conversational, reinforcing the song’s contrast between upbeat sound and dark lyrical content. His delivery keeps a light melodic touch, with airy falsetto layers in the chorus that enhance the track’s catchy, floating quality.
Tips for learning Pumped Up Kicks on drums
Tip 1: Slow it down
Break it down: Tackle each section of Pumped Up Kicks individually for precision mastery. With Melodics, you can slow the pace of the song and work up to full speed.
Tip 2: Review your performance
Identify growth areas: Listen to playback of your performance to learn where you need to develop your timing, technique & rhythm. Melodics provides instant feedback on your performance.
Tip 3: Practice makes perfect
Stay consistent: With regular, focused practice you'll see rapid progress when learning the song. Even a short session each day will make a huge difference.
- Get access to 100s of interactive lessons and popular songs
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FAQs
- Pumped Up Kicks is an intermediate level song. Fortunately, there are beginner versions of the song available on Melodics to check out!
- You will need a solid basic groove, and ability to deviate from it to play tom fills.
- 128 bpm.
- 4/4.
- New songs are released every week on Melodics! And we love to take requests - the best place for this is within our Discord community where you can also connect with other music learners around the world. Check out https://melodics.com/info/community.