Nirvana made me rethink the chords I use | Follow The Sound
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- Nirvana's unique usage of simple chords allowed them to create complex, unforgettable melodies
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i really hate when nirvanas music gets set to the tone of "teenage angst" or puberty. sorry but at 36 years old the lyrics are just as relevant and you dont have to be moody or angsty to think that way. its more than that. its clever.
Has paid off well though 😅
I was learning in Bloom other day and I was pretty surprised how complex it was to but what a great song this is thanks for sharing
That song uses all 12 notes of the musical alphabet
@@vosoryanwhich is just crazy given how melodic and successful it is. Can’t think of any other example that comes close to the pop-sound of In Bloom whilst using every note possible.
guys that don't know theory just kinda do this if the ear tells them to
I learned most songs on by the way and john frusciante gave me a lot of chords as an advantage of rather power chords and it paid off learning those songs after learning the entire nevermind album, melodies are beautiful even if I don't know too much theory but now I have a lot of complex chord shapes
Especially guys with a genius ear
I was going to say the same. Kurt said he didn’t see any value in music theory. I’ve wondered if he was f’ing withe interviewer or not, but it does make sense that it is the reason he was able to do what’s so original. Also, his genius ear, of course.
That's exactly what The Beatles did!.
The same thing with Jimi, it's even more amazing that they knew all this "theory" instinctively!.
I'm a professional composer. Kurt was uncanny. He knew theory backwards. He just didn't know the names of things. If he had it would have totally screwed him up.
Make more lessons about Nirvana songs that use borrowed chords
It was all instinct, i can guarantee Kurt didn’t know anything about parallel minor keys
Great songwriters just play what sounds good in their head, no amount of music theory knowledge can make you a great songwriter
@@bedplanks1641theory is a mixed blessing. It can really restrict you. Kurt wanted nothing to do with it but he still does complex things intuitively.
@@mrsherwood2599 imo theory is only interesting when you use it to explain what’s going on within a good song. I would say pick up an instrument, learn chords, and practice your favorite songs as well as improvisation. Then you’ll know if you’re good by whether or not you like what you play. Theory overcomplicates things, even knowing basic chords can put you in a box at times
@bedplanks1641 I agree up to a point. That said, it has kept me employed for 30 years. Somewhere in your 30s you'll have a natural desire to understand what you're doing.
I could write a book on his melodic sensibility, but Drain You is my favourite example. If you extrapolate the power chords (or accidental majors and sus4s) the full chords would sound as A C#m F#m Bm / A C# F# Bm/B/B5/whatever. It's just such a crazy and unique approach to parallel majors/minors. The way he straddled the major/minor third was actually very bluesy. I always said Nirvana is the only genuine blues form for white folk.
Rape Me and Dumb both do the implied Em right up to last bar when he sings a G#. Drain You does the same.
Lithium has that too in the bridge. When it goes to the C (which sounds as Bb) he's singing e g d# / e e d e e.. which makes the C a Cm.. or a C Neither. It' defies melody on paper and yet is SO tuneful. I just don't get it.
Kurt also loved using 6ths and sharp 11ths. In fact the 'Nirvana scale' if there was one, would be something like i, ii, biii, iii, #iv, v, vi, bvii. It's a cross between lydian diminished and what is apparently called the acoustic scale (lydian dominant).
And my other favourite is Sappy. More #4s.
Well said! It’s crazy how naturally he created these complex harmonic/melodic combos. Especially for someone who knew no theory at all. Thanks for watching!
@@ericrobertsmusic Any other songwriter would have played Am G F E for Drain You and F#m D A E (the axis chords) for On A Plain, and they would be right, but boring. It was like he wrote two different songs and just haphazardly layered them and they worked somehow.
That was an amazing video. Thanks bro
Dude! This is great stuff!
Subscribed. Great vid
great voice. great video
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it
Great video! Very interesting analysis on Kurt's compositions, and it landed very well with my recent thoughts on my own compositions, some of which I was considering if I leaned on power chords, for more liberty in the melody, or if I used more "conventional" chords. This thougth started on the necessity to reach out of a major scale, in the same vein of these examples.
One of the best bands ever for borrowed chords, especially from parallel scales.
There's usually a tonal center, chords from the parallel major and minor scales both point back to the same tonal center. Power chords on the I/i, IV/iv, and V/v further reinforce the tonal ambiguity. Its like a super scale with all the chords from the major and minor keys.
Well said!
Nice vid. Theres a Nirvana "easy tab" book with the vocal lines transcribed. Good for study or even making instrumentals
Elliott Smith also used many borrowed chords. Love that about both of them
Elliott Smith was just next level. He was such good cross between intuition and technical knowledge.
Fair enough.
“If you’re guitar is out of tune sing out of tune” -Kurt Cobain
About a girl def doesnt use the minor note. Kurt had a knack for muting the 3rd, which allowed him to use distorion to create ringing power chords. About a girl and rape me are prime rxamples of this. Cool video, bro. Thanks for sharing
De did like 3rds on major power chords in the A shape
That's in Unplugged, I don't remember Bleach but in live versions he used to play the third.
Great video. In my opinion, I do think there are better examples of borrowed chords being used in rock music. I think nirvana has been celebrated enough and the beauty of their songs is that they had a lot of energy and not a lot of thinking behind them.
I disagree. What makes Nirvana great are their melodies and song structure. Cobain could compete with the best as a song writer. The music is so unique and interesting but also super catchy. The music doesn’t sound complex because it works so well that the ear thinks it’s simple but that’s part of what makes it genius.
Both great points! And for me this little dive into their music was a good reminder not to overthink when writing. I’ve killed many a song by trying to be too cerebral or clever or theoretical. The genius, like you mentioned, is in letting the beauty of simplicity flow out naturally, fueled by real emotion. Glad to hear there’s interest in this topic!
Funny, when you listen to the vocal melody of the YEAH part of Lithium without the chords, its basically the Baker Street saxophone part 😂
Also, neither of these songs are in dropped D. For Lithium, he's in standard but down a whole step, and Polly is just standard. Everything on In Utero is just standard down a half step, except HSB and All Apologies, which are dropped D flat.
You forgot Scentless Apprentice :)
@s13180sxSR20DET oh yeah, that one too 😂
Wow Baker Street I never noticed that one.
It's PARALLEL just for the record. Good information, thanks.
You found my typo! 😅
@@ericrobertsmusic so to do this you borrow from the relative minor of the key you are in ? Or I need to rewatch this ! lol
@@ericrobertsmusic I'm so bad about posting comments and then having to edit it 3 or 4 times! Seems like spell check in the 90s worked better than my stupid smartphone. I see allot of great content on your channel have subscribed.
I would, invest early in this channel.
Yeah the only songs from Nevermind that are in Drop D are On A Plain and Something In The Way. Lithium, Drain You, Come As You Are and the outtake Verse Chorus Verse were all recorded in D standard (DGCFAD).
Something In The Way's actually in between drop C and drop Db :p
@@barthurschmorgan Fair enough, although when performed live it was in drop d (or c#). The point was that Lithium, Drain You, etc. were not in drop D
While I think I get the point you were trying to make, for the purpose of demonstration especially when it comes to power chords drop d and D standard are functionally the same thing@@magraretsbane6274
*2:40* Pixies aren't *technically* a "punk band" (they're more of a "surf-rock" band in their first incarnation) but I'm sympathetic. I always feel Pixies were closer in spirit to the Sex Pistols than a lot of US punk bands
Interesting take but Lithium, Polly and Pennyroyal Tea are all played in either standard tuning or half step down. None of these songs are played with low E string dropped. Dont take my word for it, watch any of the live performances - Paramount is standard tuning. Reading is in half step down. The songs with low string dropped are Negative Creep, Heart Shaped Box, Scentless Apprentice, All Apologies and a few other ones I cant think of right now.
They dropped tuning half step down because Kurt's voice, Lithium was originally recorded in standard tuning. If you watch live shows they use drop D on few songs.
@@RUTJA.yeah I named most of the drop D songs. None of the songs in this video are played in drop D tho. All are standard or half step down depending on which show.
@s13180sxSR20DET Lithium was recorded d standard tuning, but live they played it which tuning they used at the time. It doesn't sound right in drop tuning because Kurt used to lift his hand when changing chords and let open strings ring, he did that lots of songs
@@RUTJA. Lithium is a whole step down on Nevermind, same as Come As You Are and Drain You. The Smart demo was standard.
@stitchgrimly6167 yep. Don't remember tunings, and in 90s nobody cared a lot about them. Nirvana used live tunings fron E standard to D standard, and If I remember correctly Heart Shaped box box was dropC#. I don't think Lithium played in drop D sounds like Kurt played it, because he let sometimes open strings ring when changing chords
Good video but the pixies is not a punk band, school is about kurt being a janitor at his highschool and polly and lithium are in standard tuning
You can’t really borrow chords from the relative minor, it has all the same notes.
this is an awesome video! i would like to ask though, would this translate if you played lithium in its actual tuning? kurt actually played lithium in D standard or full step down on the album
Thanks glad you enjoyed! Yes the same chords apply. The only differences are going to be slight timbral nuances because of the lower tension on the strings and maybe the articulation of some of the notes/chords he was able to finger and pick differently because of the chord shape. Hard to compare tho since he used different guitar/pickups/amp/pedals/etc. Tuned down to D standard sounds better to me. Thanks for mentioning this!
Do you know if he was actually in drop d or is it drop c#?
It really doesn't matter, no point in fixating about which tuning to play since they constantly changed tunings when playing concerts anyway. Only reason to care about that is if you are going by the recorded version of each song.
the point of this video is literally about the chords used, which is affected by tuning@@davidchez513
That's not how you play Lithium or Polly. Neither of them are even in drop D
Perhaps not, but it still sounds good to play in Dropped D if song has a lot of D chords or in key of D or sounds like it should (more modal).
I used to double a guitar part by having one guitar in dropped tuning. Not so much now I don't write my own music these days.
He tuned down to D
Literally doesn’t matter dude. It’s all about tone. You can change shit up as long as the tone and vibe is right.
Kurt may not have played it in drop D but you can still play it in drop D, he is still playing the same notes.
Lithium’s in d standard actually
Pixies werent a punk band. 80s punk was Misfits, Black Flagg, Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, etc. Pixies were College Rock with REM and XTC. Pixies did spawn almost every 90s band from England. They were bigger in the UK than here for a long time.
I think REM had a much bigger influence on UK indie than people realise.
Absolutely they did. I just have heard that there was a Pixies concert that had a Sex Pistols effect on Blur, Radiohead, etc.
Pixies took a lot of influence from husker du, yeah they were more of an alt rock band but it’s not much of a stretch to call them punk the sound is there
Okay so I’ve been told Kurt knew nothing about music thoery at all just had really good ear but I just think surely he knew the basic and what to do with chords progression and stuff. Anyone know if he really did know any music theory?
There's just something genius about south-paws from the Pacific North West.
What's parallel minor I know relative minors
the minor version of a major key
Sorry, but Lithium wasn't done in drop D. The whole guitar was tuned a whole step down.
Lots of uptight nerds in the comments. It literally doesn’t matter what tuning Kurt played in, you could even change the key, it still wouldn’t matter. It all comes down to the relationships between the notes.
If this was a video about how Kurt played guitar, then sure, let’s get picky, but it’s about songwriting.
Thanks for paying attention 🙂
Well yeah but he's not playing the correct notes for polly
How the hell could he do all this without knowing any theory at all?
Feelings. Passion. ???
Ko'Trane
Joy this video, until it gets pulled off for copyright content strikes
lithium isnt in drop d
Kurt: It’s not that deep bro 🤪
Lithium & Polly are not in drop D, it’s standard tuning, texturally it makes a huge difference. Nice effort though.
Lithium along with Come As You Are and Drain You are in D Standard
You’re confusing the bridge with the chorus.
The chorus isn’t yeah yeah yeah… this is the bridge
The chorus is I like it, not gonna crack, etc
That's a different, but valid way to see it! To me the "Yeah" part feels like a chorus because it uses the same chords as the verse but brings the dynamic up. The "not gonna crack" part feels bridge-y because it goes somewhere different harmonically than the other parts. Thanks for watching!
Oh, I thought you meant 'borrowed chords' from the Who, Cheap Trick, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith and Boston. 😳
🙃
Nice video but your voice is buried under way too loud sound effects and music that make it hard to understand sometimes, example there ; 1:03
But again, nice video. Good watch.
That is good feedback, thank you!
I always hated finding out the word was crack, and not cry.
It’s about a relative going mad after his wife died. He’s trying not to have a complete mental breakdown. It’s heavier than crying
1) he didn't play everything in drop D. So it is weird to make out this is what he was doing.
2) what was the point you were trying to make in this video? It was very unclear.
algorithim
he's no Rick B.
If he were Rick, he'd spend 20 minutes ranting about how bad vocal tuning and quantizing is, whilst praising songs that literally utilize all of those techniques anyway.
Bleach is their only good album. That and unplugged in NY.
U wanna seen different so bad
@@cambi0111 ikr
@@cambi0111 how so? Everyone's entitled to an opinion :/
Id disagree that it's their only good album but bleach is my favourite "nirvana" record also. But if you can include the mixtape Kurt made before nirvana then that is my favourite followed by bleach and in utero. not cos I wanna seem different I just really really like the harsh tones and the crazy screams. Nothing wrong with that lol
Nevermind, incesticide and hormoaning had good songs too.
Imo Bleach from start to finish was their most listenable.
OK Boomer
"I'm not like the other girls" combined with "I like their stuff from before they got popular" energy
Kurt: random druggie who happened to play guitar.
Random TH-camr: Kurt was about to crack the theory of everything with his power cords.
Kurt was a random guitarist who became famous and turned into a druggie.
Kurt had little to no musical theory crafting in writing his songs. Attempting to break his art down to some sort underlying method completely misses the message.
And Lithium isn't in drop D.
Kurt didn't know it by theory, but he knew it by ear. It doesn't matter which method you use. The point is that now we know it by theory, and can use those tools as we choose. (paraphrase from Rick Beato) Analyzing music you like is pretty common practice, and don't give me some "punker than thou" crap about how "knowing theory makes you uncreative". You don't have to learn theory, but if you do, it certainly won't make you worse.
@@swissarmyknight4306 I doubt that's the point that OP was trying to make.
It's just simply about not overanalyzing Kurt's music as if there was some hidden structure or extremely well thought out musical composition. Sometimes the simple answer is the correct one: If it sounded good, then it sounded good.
@@swissarmyknight4306 My comment is based on over 3 decades as a musician growing up with his music in addition to * Kurt's own words * when asked about this very subject in numerous interviews.
Your overthinking it lol they were an overrated garage band , he wrote vocal melodies over simplistic chord progressions he had no clue about theory
oh, did you know him personally?
@@fermi7776 th-cam.com/video/tSNUYTBao7I/w-d-xo.htmlsi=QYxGkUTM4UVfglcn
Lol no but he told the whole world guess u didn’t get the memo not everything has a deep meaning or theory he was a hack it was his vocal Melodie’s over the songs that just came into his head nothing worked out at all
@@billhinsperger8120 lets take the word of a man desperately trying to look cool in a culture that celebrated apathetic rock stars as gospel. read between the lines bill.
Overrated garage band with most expensive and rare gear ever used to make a record. You cant even buy such amps and microphones now, you will never get such sound, Metallica, Rammstein, AC DC, everything is easy with 5 minutes and internet, Aaron Rash spent two years to find out how to make impulse responses that will sound like in Utero album, and that was with help of Kurts guitar engineer and a guy who recorded that album. Also should mention they were recorded by best audio engineers of all time. Considering how big Foo Fighters are, we can make a conclusion: that music is sum of greatest minds and talents, it's not just Kurt's achievement.
Lol 30 seconds in and this is not #punk at all