Below is the lesson for “Kids” by MGMT.

Helpful Tips

A fun, fingerstyle take on a modern classic by indie rock band MGMT. This song features one of the catchiest riffs. And while it’s fairly easy to play, from a fingerpicking perspective, it can become syncopated at times.

Syncopation means that we are accenting the weak beats (the &’s). This can be tricky because accenting weak beats doesn’t come as natural as accenting strong beats (1, 2, 3, 4). Therefore, I’d recommend tackling the syncopated bars ‘by ear’, but also ‘by counting’ the rhythms.

Playing by ear simply means to memorize the beats. In other words: if you can sing it, you can play it. Whereas counting rhythms requires an understanding of rhythmic notation.

If you really want to gain a thorough understanding of rhythmic notation, there is no better way than by learning to read standard notation.

P.S. Want to learn how to transform a simple chord melody into intricate fingerstyle playing? We’ll show you how in this lesson which demos 3 levels of complexity for the song “Kids” by MGMT.

Part 1 – Performance & Free Lesson

Tab Play Along