Kurt Cobain didn’t usually give himself much credit when it came to musicianship. Throughout his career, the Nirvana singer and songwriter relied on his self-taught method of playing guitar, which revolved around his unique take on power chords. There was rarely a distinction between major and minor chords, with Cobain simply making the same shape and letting the chord progression movement dictate what was going on.
There were, of course, notable exceptions. The beautiful melancholy of ‘Dumb’ relies on a strong knowledge of the difference between major and minor chords, while the atypical progression of David Bowie’s ‘The Man Who Sold The World’ requires a keen ear to learn correctly. Still, Nirvana songs tend to translate well to beginners because Cobain’s philosophy was all about simplicity.
“I have no desire to become any better of a guitar player,” Cobain told German journalist Edgar Klüsener in 1993. “I’m not into musicianship at all. I don’t have any respect for it, I just hate it. To learn how to read music, or to understand arpeggios and Dorian modes and all that stuff is just a waste of time. It gets in the way of originality.”
Cobain explained that the only instrument he played as a kid was the snare drum in the school band. Even then, Cobain wasn’t interested in learning any of the basics. “I never learned how to read music. I just copied the other people that took the time to learn how to read,” Cobain added. “I was just so simple. I copied them, just to pass. Even at that age, I didn’t see any reason to learn anything that someone else has written.”
“I have no concept of knowing how to be a musician at all, whatsoever. I don’t know the name of chords to play, I don’t know how to do major or minor chords on a guitar. I couldn’t even pass Guitar 101,” Cobain claimed. “Everyone knows more than I do.”
Cobain’s casual approach to guitar playing came through in his choice of equipment as well. Although he occasionally played Fender Stratocasters, they were usually cheaply made foreign models. Famously, Cobain’s favourite guitar was a Fender Mustang, the same kind that he used in the video for ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. Even then, Cobain pointed out the guitar’s flaws.
“They’re cheap and totally inefficient, and they sound like crap and are very small,” Cobain told Guitar World in 1991. “They also don’t stay in tune, and when you want to raise the string action on the fretboard, you have to loosen all the strings and completely remove the bridge. You have to turn these little screws with your fingers and hope that you’ve estimated it right. If you screw up, you have to repeat the process over and over until you get it right. Whoever invented that guitar was a dork.”
