Kurt Cobain, the iconic singer and songwriter of Nirvana, didn’t often praise his musicianship. Throughout his career, he relied on a self-taught approach to guitar playing, characterized by a unique take on power chords. Cobain’s style was notably simple, with little distinction between major and minor chords; he created the same shape and let the chord progression dictate the mood.
While there were exceptions, like the nuanced chords in ‘Dumb’ and the atypical progression in David Bowie’s ‘The Man Who Sold The World,’ Nirvana songs generally resonated well with beginners due to Cobain’s philosophy of simplicity. In a 1993 interview with German journalist Edgar Klüsener, Cobain expressed his disinterest in becoming a better guitar player and his disdain for traditional musicianship.
“I have no desire to become any better of a guitar player,” Kurt Cobain stated. “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 revealed that as a kid, he played the snare drum in the school band but wasn’t interested in learning the basics. His approach was simplistic, often copying others without delving into the intricacies of music theory. “I have no concept of knowing how to be a musician at all, whatsoever. I don’t know the name of the chords to play, I don’t know how to do major or minor chords on a guitar. I couldn’t even pass Guitar 101,” he admitted.
This casual approach extended to Cobain’s choice of equipment. Despite occasionally playing Fender Stratocasters, he favored cheaply made foreign models, notably the Fender Mustang featured in the ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ video. Even with his favorite guitar, Cobain highlighted its flaws and expressed his dissatisfaction with its design.
“They’re cheap and inefficient, and they sound like crap and are very small,” Cobain commented. “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. Whoever invented that guitar was a dork.”
Kurt Cobain’s distinctive and unorthodox approach to guitar playing, coupled with his candid opinions, continues to shape the legacy of Nirvana and his influence on the world of music.
