How Nirvana Writes A Chord Progression | Artists Series S2E2 

how kurt actually made progressions: move the power chord shape around the fretboard until you finding something that sounds cool

Kurt was quoted, "I was lazy and waited to the last minute and just wrote down a bunch of garble. Then spent all my time trying to explain what the songs actually meant".

"I have no concept of knowing how to be a musician at all, whatsoever. I mean I don't know the name of the chords I play, I don't know how to do major or minor chords on a guitar at all. I couldn't even pass you know, Guitar 101. Everyone knows more than I do" - Kurt Cobain

if kurt made this video himself it would be 30 seconds long. "just find a chord you like and branch off and be creative"

I don't think Kurt realized any of these things at all

Another explanation for major where you expect minor is that an overdriven major chord sounds way sweeter then a minor one. Good video!

6:48 That's not Breed that's In Bloom

So to write a Nirvana tune, start on happy chords and end sad chords or start on sad chords and end on happy chords. Distortion is optional on either parts depending on your mood. Sing in a major note on the sad chords, sing on the minor for the happy chords. Screaming or yelling is optional depending on your mood.

"pro legalization of MARY-YU-ANA"

Kurt Cobain was a power chord musical genius. You can always hear the influence of Pixies, Wipers, Buzzcocks etc. who wrote great unexpected melodies on top of their fast, hard-rocking music but Kurt just took it to a next level. If there's actually people sneering at the mere thought of a power chord they should watch this video. You don't even see it coming as he's playing the same power chord as before but the song's already in a different place when the melody goes from major to minor or vice versa. Playing those full chords to Smells Like Teen Spirit felt like spoilers to something where there's no real ending or solution. It just felt wrong. Fun experiment though, and a great video, thanks!

God I wish I knew what any of this meant

8:30 The reason you hear that chord as major and NOT minor is because Kurt Cobain plays that chord as a major chord more often then not as an accident. This is because of his technique with power chords. Kurt uses only his index and ring finger, and (as you see and hear in live performances) Kurt barres his ring finger across the fifth and the octave and sometimes hits the next string down from that ( in this case, the g string ). This adds an affect you can hear very clearly when Kurt builds his power chords from the E string. When Kurt builds his power chords on the A string though, he barres across and usually hits the B string, making the chord overall a major chord. In smells like teen spirits case, this means the chord progression actually goes like this: F5 - BbMaj. - Ab5 - DbMaj.

Kurt was self taught. He literally made stuff up...and it worked. Creative Genius!

I'm so high and this is way too deep

I have literally never heard anybody use the word "gender" to describe chords.

Kurt had perfect voice leading. If you take the melodies out of the context of rock and play them on the piano they sound really beautiful and very sophisticated. The influence of The Beatles especially John Lennon is undeniably there.

came for a music lesson left with a philosophy lesson... love it

I have no idee what you are talking about. Yet I see the whole video.

I always thought Cobain was a musical genius. He had this ability to change keys in the middle of a song, sometimes in the middle of a riff, which was so fluid and effortless that no musician can match him in that regard. That, and he was a melodic genius as well.

A thought for anyone who says "Kurt just played chords until he found something that sounded good.. and it worked for him, so therefore I don't need music theory".... We weren't there when the songs were written so we have no concrete way of knowing exactly how Kurt's creative process worked. Maybe he was just an intuitive genius who stumbled onto brilliant creative chord progressions and matching melodies. Maybe he was influenced by another band member (Dave Grohl for example is a serious student of music). Maybe he found some older song transcriptions and repurposed the chord progressions and/or melody to his style. We don't know. My point is... your brain might be tempted to tell you "music theory is for nerds, Kurt wrote brilliant music and he was just messing around." There's no way of even verifying that premise, and --- even if it is true --- I think clinging to it is just a cop out for the lazy who wish to believe that they can achieve greatness by just casually messing around on their instrument. Hey, maybe you can. But I can't see the downside of acquiring new knowledge and expanding your capabilities; and I would encourage you to look very skeptically on any idea that might dissuade you from doing so.

Best quote: "Even nihilism has it's formulas"

1. Outcasted 2. Careless 3. Unprofessional 4. Experimental

"It's not even a chord it's an interval." Mad me laugh so hard Lol

Nirvana: heavy, melodic, great lyrics and a lot of screams.

This is the first of your videos I've seen, and I have to say I really dig it. There's so many videos about playing and technique, it's cool to see someone approach the writing side of pop music. Looking forward to checking out more videos!

This is by far the best video I've seen about his songwriting. I definitely love it when educated people like you understand and appreciate Kurt's music. I find it totally amazing that a guy like him who "technically" knew nothing about music wrote such brilliant songs. Personally, I owe him a lot for what he did, for the impact that he had on me. It's a gift that he lived.

I don't know if anyone else has mentioned but the unplugged album gives an even bigger insight into his chords. Good video thanks.

I did do this: 1.angst 2. youth 3. disillusioned 4. distrust We are a bit different

I have a good hypothesis for your Bb major chord in Smells like teen spirits. The Major third is actually a frequency present in the sound of the guitar because of the distortion. Distortion adds a lot of overtone and increases the volume of the overtones. The major third is a pretty early note in the overtone series, which explains why you hear it in a chord that only has the root and fifth.

I think that what made Nirvana was the lack of so called 'musical education' which allows for going places that education would tell you was wrong.

First video of yours I've watched, now I'm an instant fan. It's nice to watch a well-produced series for people who already know music theory. A lot of youtube content I've come across always takes its time explaining concepts to people who presumably know no music theory.

Please i need more of this kind of videos. You really helped me in terms of finding inspirations in songwriting. Thanks a million, Hollistic!

Trent Reznor/ Nine Inch Nails next please. =)

I remember playing Nirvana on the guitar all the time when I was younger, and then having trouble transitioning to bar chords as I moved on to other bands. I admire how Kurt juiced out so much melody from power chords. Playing Nirvana with bar chords completely changes their sound for the worse, I believe. It really confines the sound and impairs the melodies. I genuinely think the way he unified the simplistic limitations of power chords with the most succulent melodies was genius. It's incredibly difficult to sound distinctive with such basic tools, but he managed it.

You forgot to mention what the genius of Cobain was. How he combined melodies from the beatles and other 60s pop hits to the power chord progressions that you lay down here. That's what made them so catchy.

Hey, man. I know this is an old video, and nobody will see this, including the author of the video, but Kurt was in a school band, and anyone in a school band will attest to the fact that you can't be in band if you can't read music a little bit. I appreciate the effort put into this video and think a lot of what you said is super valid, but that part should get a rethink.

These series are SO great. Thank you! I should warn, though, there are some mistakes: - at 6:48 , the video says it's Breed, but you're playing the verse of In Bloom - at 7:49 the second chord of Drain You is C#, not C.

You should do the Beatles next

One of the few channels that I know I have to set aside some time, hit pause constantly, and take notes. You are a swell fellow FF.

As a musician I love your channel. Keep analyzing bands, and styles. Thanks dude.

I WAITED SO MUCH FOR THIS! Thank youuu

I'm a huge fan of nirvana and this video is amazing thank you so much for the video

if kurt saw this, he would laugh his ass off

pivoting between keys is totally authorial, there are so many ways to pivot. Kurt even pivots off of natural harmonics. So much ingenuity.

Season so far has been great Friedemann! Really dig the more theory intense stuff being discussed. Looking forward to Muse! What about a episode on The Beatles? They have very complex harmony at times, Lots of minor plagal cadences and let's not forget I am The Walrus.

Really liked the video, first time seeing your channel. Subbed, definitely going to get some popcorn and binge watch your channel at some point. Typically, when I see people who can read script and are familiar with theory talk about Kurt, they talk about him as if he's an amateur simply because he didn't learn; I'm glad you were able to recognize his talents and explain them in an introspective way whilst remaining formal, rather than condescending.

Why do I like the sound of this guys voice so much haha so satisfying

Kurt did not need to be able to read music to make music, he simply felt it, resulting in something soulful and actually beautiful, in a way breaking music theory "rules" and yet sounding great.. He defined a his own type of music.. These strange progressions actually have a feeling and that's what its all about.. RIP you LEGEND

Elliott Smith please!

9:58 Kurt Cobain's moving-up-a-minor-third trick reminds me of why some people say that they're "worried learning music theory will stifle originality and creativity." While it is true that a lot of people might not think to borrow a chord outside of the key like that if they're strictly following more basic music theory, one thing to remember that music theory is just a tool. It helps us talk about, explain, and remember what we've seen in other songs and how we can repeat it or avoid it in our own. In fact, we're talking about borrowing a chord outside the key with music theory terms. While these are considered more advanced topics, don't worry; they're just fancy names for "Doing something that we didn't think would normally work but it totally does," which is exactly what people who don't want to learn music theory want to do in the first place. You're still allowed to use power chords and other weird combinations of notes if you learn music theory.

This is exactly why i listen to nirvana. I like to be able to sing the music i enjoy and singing nirvana takes you through switching scales, and it's fantastic! Anyway, thirteen minutes well spent with this video, thanks a lot!!!

I know so little of what the hell you are on about but still find it interesting to try to understand. Thank you for sharing this.

01. Aberdeen 02. Punk 03. Who Cares

5:46 "Through his melody, he turns an e flat power chord (which should be a minor chord) into a major chord, thereby changing its gender... and yes it would be really amazing if he did that purposefully as some kind of statement on gender fluidity or sexuality" what the fuck

I love his use of chromatic melodies, as well as that moving up a minor third to another major chord, sometimes not even in the key. That's all signature for him -- and it makes for a very unique sound.

Even though they’re from Aberdeen, WA. Not Seattle. Grunge was a term coined by the mainstream. I’m sure no one involved in that subculture used that term.

I swear I seen a documentary about ufo's with a person who narrarted the same freakin way but just older.

Kurt lied about the lyrics being last minute and that he didn't know theory, he worked on all of the songs on Nevermind and the albums that followed for years before they were professionally recorded. He also knew music theory and even the names of all the chords and notes he was playing. His writing in his personal song notebooks details clear drawings of his chord progressions, along with the chord names and possible positional changes in each song, plus the lyrics. His whole "lazy" persona was just made up to boost his image as the "apathetic genius". He knew what he was doing.

Wow, this is one of the best youtube recommendations that I ever had, thanks for this great video

Excelent video! Keep up the job..! You couldnt explain everything better!! Good speech and perfect speaking, clear and finally i found your video because nobody knows about original style of power chords and his unique way to make legendaries songs. And i know for the most part the meanins of them. So some of them you can give the meaning from your point of view.

JOHN FRUSCIANTE pleaseee!

How about a Video about Rage against the Machine or (for all germans around here) Die Ärzte?

Just discovered this channel today and it's brilliant

Dude... Your breakdown of "all that" (as a guitar player myself)...freaked me out !! Bravo !

Awesome series, Friedemann!

Dude called me TF out when I didn't pause to think about Nirvana... Call me out, man... call me out

Do bring me the horizon!! I don't even care what style of them you choose! Thank you for all the knowledge you spread too man

Thirds relations always work with a tonic, whether the large (major) or small (minor) third. Thus, going from C to either A flat, A, E flat or E will work, as you will have at least one shared chord tone

You need to do Queen!!!!!!!!!!! Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you could do ‘Tool’ would be great!

I like how people think they are interesting in the comment section saying "you are analysing too much, Kurt wasn't thinking about this....", stop saying that "it's only feeling", i'm sure these kinds of videos could help a lot of people, music is something you do at the moment, without thinking but you can learn it to. I like these kind of videos, it's really interesting and it helps a lot.

Great vid man, dude mindblowing physiological guitar progression

Awesome episode Friedemann!

Your voice is godly

Julian Casablanas/The Strokes! Super keen sense of style from day 1, very melodic hooks everywhere, and that tight locking-together of the different rhythms

I think kurt just showed his feelings with his voice guitar and l song melodies or chords... This shows how he really felt in his short life and he really did give us that feeling.. feeling sad and happy at the same time or kinda nevermind things around us and being high at the same time.. fun experience thanks kurt.

You make a video about OPETH? I think it's interesting because they have [had] such a unique style and for me it's a lot about the chords and intervals they use but also the rhtymn in many songs (they even have one specific rhytmn pattern)! And acutally a lot more ;)

I think they just came up with some cool riffs and made it work. Do people really use theory when they when they write music? I never have. I just think of riffs in my head or noodle around until I do something that sounds good or gives me an idea. I don't think of chord progressions I just know where I want it to go. I just have to get it from my head to the fretboard. I can see how theory could help if you are stuck but I feel it is better to think of what you want to hear rather than let theory dictate where you should go.

I'm glad Drain You made an appearance. I love the melody of that track

His use of the Tritone on In Utero is amazing

YES YES YES NIRVANAAAAAA- u need to do Catfish and the Bottlemen as well 👌

Oh good old days :´)

show biz being show biz. The man probably knew alot more than he let off. excellent video, i cant wait to read your website material! Thanks so much for sharing!

Great work! Great translation into everyday language! Can't wait for you to switch from pop to blues, gospel, country! ..even Mozart!!!

Awesome video! I’d like to suggest St. Vincent

Pink Floyd!!!

Your Channel, Sir, is awesome! Just stumbled upon it and immedeately subscribed. Very interesting concept! Keep up the good work!

He’s a bomb ass guitarist. His home records show proof how he was a foundation to all hit songs.

Very interesting music theory calls for a B minor but the sound was made famous with major, which just shows an example of what can be done by not following what other have done already. Oddly enough thats why i liked Nirvana now that i think about it, they had that not expecting it to go there chord feeling rather then something predictable. The clean to distortion thing enhanced that effect. Back in the day a guitar friend of mine always thought the chord in Rape Me should of been an A Minor also when i was showing him the chords one time, which is wasnt, but maybe the same thing was going on. Cool video.

PLEASE DO AN ELLIOTT SMITH EPISODE. This show is absolutely great.

I tried to answer that question you ask @ the 0:40 mark.. & It made me realize that Nirvana is one of the only bands that entire catalog takes me places. & I feel like I couldn't even begin to accurately describes the places their music takes me, or the vibes, images and auras I get off the music they make. I get a surreal feeling off some of the songs that Kurt wrote, especially with a lot of the raw recordings that I would listen to on the "with the lights out,' set. The only other artist to do what they do musically for me is DJ Screw. DJ screw is in a completely diff genre so this band has always stood out & been one of my favorites. I can tell Kurt put his soul into all of his music and put his heart into writing most of the songs that were made. Some tracks actually make me feel like I go on a journey that contradicts time in the fact I literally feel as though the message & matters Kurt was trying to convey is communicated on a level that couldn't even be reached by conversation in person with some one. That's what makes Nirvana more entertaining to me than watching movies, or TV. Kurt was one of the only artists I have found so far that could sonically produce a picture that feels realer than film. I also get this understanding that the group has an energy to it that gives that type of vibe of "This type of thing will only happen one time in history," feeling that Zeppelin has. A uniqueness that will always keep them in a spot of their own an separate them from even the best of the copy cats. I know some people won't get it & would prefer other types of music & I feel sorry for people like that because music is one of the greatest blessings I could imagine us having & is one of the most entertaining things point blank . When it's good

AWESOME VIDEO I really appreciated this one, and I'd love to see something about White Stripes sometime in the future. Keep up the great work! Thank you

Krist said “but I love him” talking in presence rather than past tense. Poor guy just never excepted his death as the rest of us fans haven’t either

Alice in Chains!!

I dig the descriptive chord changes. He definitely tried to make things fresh.

the chord in that part of come as you are are G5 to Bb5, as the song is written with the guitar one step down. (although it can easily be played by just dropping the E and A strings a step each)

Captain Beefheart, let's make it happen.

I approve.

Awesome lesson Friedemann - Many thanks. I vote for Queen!

You could read ANY book, and I would enjoy it with that voice!