Genuine musicianship right there, even tho possibly he knew a few but downplayed it. Where some people go wrong with playing the guitar is they focus too much on chords, without learning to play by ear. The fact that he wrote and composed his music shows how brilliant he was to be able to put things together so quickly, as is reported about him writing songs on the way to his gigs etc. He really was brilliant like that.
I am sure he knew the basics of music theory enough to write music. He listened to a lot of music and learned A LOT of pop songs over time it probably became second nature to him. He also had a very high “AESTHETIC” and “TASTE” which is something a lot of musicians lack. A lot of musicians struggle to balance their artistic and player sensibilities. That’s the real difference between the amateurs and pro’s. By pro’s I mean actual artists NOT session musicians.
Kurt was the King...of downplaying himself and modesty. He practiced his ass off for hours on end. I love how he tries to sell that. But because of that attitude, he influenced A LOT of kids to just go for it. Myself included. I only learned by ear and watching his hands. I truly believed lessons would ruin my creativity. It's both helpful and limiting in that sense.
As a old rock dude I always admired how this band slaughtered what was so huge throughout the 80s...There will still be rockstars..but never again to the levels the pre internet dudes...you gotta just jam these days cause you love it...I caught the rock bug when I started guitar 25 years ago...its a great thing
I don't think I've heard a single opinion from Kurt that I disagreed with yet. As a guitarist, I never really learned music theory too deep. I probably learned more than Kurt, but not because I wanted to. My parents started me out on learning classical acoustic but then I went into rock guitar on my own. Another thing he said is that he never understood why people want autographs. I view that in the exact same way. The entire concept of autographs has never made sense to me.
einstein once said the difference between a genius is keeping your sources a secret. kurt was an anti source. if he learned by ear he coupled it with learning other songs and seeing the patterns on guitar. like oh, you have a verse using D and F of course i can go to G for the chorus, or vice versa. This is probably why his guitar playing took a hiatus from metal meandering to a more formal structure like on nevermind. but did kurt know music theory? no. he knew chord names and patterns but mostly used his ear. Nobody writes songs on bleach by knowing theory. thats not how those songs were composed, they break too many rules. take big long now for instance.. he clearly was using the G chord formation and kept sliding it up until the open strings sounded OK again. would kurt have learned what he was doing in time? absolutely. most guitarists over time reach a new level both mentally and physically. Kurt got really lucky and put a lot of pressure on himself. and the amount of accessible information around in the 80s and early 90s, he probably didnt want to learn theory because metal heads did that. and i mean nevermind was really smooth and lucky. the fact krist stayed completely in key with his lines and everything was analagous, it makes you think there was help there. But i think between them their ears were tuned. they werent toned deaf.
This is ex’s why he felt like a fraud, people put him on this pedestal he didn’t want to be on, how can one say what he was trying.To say? What’s obvious is many of their songs borrowed from other peoples guitar riffs …if they came out with the same records then NOW, they’d be hit with multiple plagiarism lawsuits, anyone new to these facts go down the rabbit hole of so many songs used in Kurt’s compositions ….Nevermind was great of course because of their skills but the producers and studio magic ……that’s why he felt like a sell out,even in utero had a lot of mixes he didn’t want released and Courtney had them released later saying those were the ones he liked …Kurt was skilled, so skilled I feel he was able to learn to play music phonetically…..
Ask a magician to reveal his magic 🤷🏻♂️ Uh , i dont know 🤔 major , minor , Dorian , i dont know He knows , he was just playing dumb because thats what you do when asked a dumb question
Every shit guitar player who’s been at it for a while knows all the major chords, minors, 7th’s, 9th’s and power chords. Also moving inside chords..forget even lead guitar, nobody cares about being Van Halen. Kurt was just pulling his interviewers chain..😂
I think what kurt means by not knowing chords is just that he’s not bothered to learn them, and just plays what sounds good to him.
Genuine musicianship right there, even tho possibly he knew a few but downplayed it. Where some people go wrong with playing the guitar is they focus too much on chords, without learning to play by ear. The fact that he wrote and composed his music shows how brilliant he was to be able to put things together so quickly, as is reported about him writing songs on the way to his gigs etc. He really was brilliant like that.
4:32 nah he was being honest. Every punk musician is about on this level. It’s by ear, he’s just saying that.
I am sure he knew the basics of music theory enough to write music. He listened to a lot of music and learned A LOT of pop songs over time it probably became second nature to him.
He also had a very high “AESTHETIC” and “TASTE” which is something a lot of musicians lack.
A lot of musicians struggle to balance their artistic and player sensibilities. That’s the real difference between the amateurs and pro’s. By pro’s I mean actual artists NOT session musicians.
Kurt was the King...of downplaying himself and modesty. He practiced his ass off for hours on end. I love how he tries to sell that. But because of that attitude, he influenced A LOT of kids to just go for it. Myself included. I only learned by ear and watching his hands. I truly believed lessons would ruin my creativity. It's both helpful and limiting in that sense.
As a old rock dude I always admired how this band slaughtered what was so huge throughout the 80s...There will still be rockstars..but never again to the levels the pre internet dudes...you gotta just jam these days cause you love it...I caught the rock bug when I started guitar 25 years ago...its a great thing
Kurt Cobain will always be a legendary guitarist RIP ❤😢 have a wonderful day and also I have a cold 😥🤧
Cobain was a melodic genius, actually. And one doesn't have to be cognizant of music theory to be a melodic genius.
Great content ,,thank you!
He loves to say Dorian 😂 seriously he probably did practice tabs, everyone does. He knows all the terms, minor, arpeggio… so he knew about them.
Dorian mode the E7th chord and blues chords.
I don't think I've heard a single opinion from Kurt that I disagreed with yet. As a guitarist, I never really learned music theory too deep. I probably learned more than Kurt, but not because I wanted to. My parents started me out on learning classical acoustic but then I went into rock guitar on my own.
Another thing he said is that he never understood why people want autographs. I view that in the exact same way. The entire concept of autographs has never made sense to me.
5:56 Dave admits Kurt is a good drummer :)
In love with an apparition…
einstein once said the difference between a genius is keeping your sources a secret. kurt was an anti source. if he learned by ear he coupled it with learning other songs and seeing the patterns on guitar. like oh, you have a verse using D and F of course i can go to G for the chorus, or vice versa. This is probably why his guitar playing took a hiatus from metal meandering to a more formal structure like on nevermind. but did kurt know music theory? no. he knew chord names and patterns but mostly used his ear. Nobody writes songs on bleach by knowing theory. thats not how those songs were composed, they break too many rules.
take big long now for instance.. he clearly was using the G chord formation and kept sliding it up until the open strings sounded OK again.
would kurt have learned what he was doing in time? absolutely. most guitarists over time reach a new level both mentally and physically. Kurt got really lucky and put a lot of pressure on himself. and the amount of accessible information around in the 80s and early 90s, he probably didnt want to learn theory because metal heads did that.
and i mean nevermind was really smooth and lucky. the fact krist stayed completely in key with his lines and everything was analagous, it makes you think there was help there. But i think between them their ears were tuned. they werent toned deaf.
I love Big Long Now! Definitely a hidden gem, prob top 3 on Insecticide Album for me.
@@loungeact1212 🐛 🪲 🐞 🕷
Kurt played and practiced a lot..
All you’d have to do is look at his fretting fingertips to see how much he played.
Just keep practicing -Kurt.
more than me lolersauce
This is ex’s why he felt like a fraud, people put him on this pedestal he didn’t want to be on, how can one say what he was trying.To say? What’s obvious is many of their songs borrowed from other peoples guitar riffs …if they came out with the same records then NOW, they’d be hit with multiple plagiarism lawsuits, anyone new to these facts go down the rabbit hole of so many songs used in Kurt’s compositions ….Nevermind was great of course because of their skills but the producers and studio magic ……that’s why he felt like a sell out,even in utero had a lot of mixes he didn’t want released and Courtney had them released later saying those were the ones he liked …Kurt was skilled, so skilled I feel he was able to learn to play music phonetically…..
8?
I know a guy who writes 5 songs every day before he eats breakfast you have to be dedicated to make it
Ask a magician to reveal his magic 🤷🏻♂️
Uh , i dont know 🤔 major , minor , Dorian , i dont know
He knows , he was just playing dumb because thats what you do when asked a dumb question
Every shit guitar player who’s been at it for a while knows all the major chords, minors, 7th’s, 9th’s and power chords.
Also moving inside chords..forget even lead guitar, nobody cares about being Van Halen.
Kurt was just pulling his interviewers chain..😂