Nirvana: Smells Like Teen Spirit

Hi GMC! This is my first “famous song” lesson!

Nirvana is the band that put Seattle 90’s grunge scene in the mainstream thanks to Nevermind album’s first single called: “Smells like teen spirit”. This is the most famous Nirvana’s song and also one of the biggest 90’s rock hits.  I still remember the first time that I saw the video of this song in MTV.  I was blown away with this simple but very effective riff.  I was starting to play the guitar in that time so this is one of the first songs that I learnt.  That’s why I thought that it would be a really good idea to cover this lesson dedicated to all the beginners that like rock.

The song is in F minor.  The chord progression is the same in all the song (excepting the bridge 2).  The song evolves thanks to the different guitar arrangements, sounds and also thanks to the great Kurt Cobain’s vocal melodies.   One of the most distinctive characteristics in Nirvana’s style was the guitar sound contrast between the verses (clean) and the choruses (overdriven).

SONG SECTIONS:

Intro: 4 bars (clean) + 8 bars (overdriven) + 4 bars (verse)
Verse: 8 bars
Bridge: 8 bars
Chorus: 12 bars
Bridge 2: 4 bars
Verse: 12 bars
Bridge: 8 bars
Chorus: 12 bars
Bridge 2: 4 bars
Solo: 16 bars
Verse: 12 bars
Bridge: 8 bars
Chorus: 20 bars

We’ll work guitar aspects like power chords, rhythm, alternate picking, vibrato, bending.

Ok guys! Let’s start to rock!