One of the most iconic riffs of the late 2000s! “Kids” by MGMT was everywhere when it dropped, and that synth line is instantly recognizable. Featured on the Oracular Spectacular album, it’s a perfect example of how electronic music can translate beautifully to acoustic instruments. Let’s learn to play Kids my MGMT on the ukulele.
What Are We Learning To Play?
Below is a video of what you will be able to play by the end of this post.
Ukulele Tabs
This is another one of those easy riffs for ukulele beginners—no complicated techniques, just clean note playing. If you’re familiar with this song, you should be able to pick it up quite quickly.
For your picking hand, you can either use your thumb to pluck the notes or use your fingernail to amplify the sound. The fingernail approach gives you a brighter, more defined tone that mimics the crisp attack of the original synth line.
We are jumping around the fretboard quite a bit, so learning the riff slowly is definitely the move here. This speed trainer I built could be useful—start at a comfortable tempo and gradually work your way up to the original’s pace.
The key to making this sound smooth is planning your finger movements ahead of time. Since you’re covering different areas of the neck, think about which finger will be most efficient for each note. Don’t just use your index finger for everything—spread the work across your hand to minimize unnecessary movement.
A |-----4-7-9---11-9-7-4-------|-----4-------------------|
E |-5-7--------------------7---|-5-7---7-5-7-5-----7-5---|
C |----------------------------|-----------------6-------|
G |----------------------------|-------------------------|