https://guitarnoise.forum/easy-songs/nirvana-songs/ Guitar Noise Discussion Board en-US Thu, 04 Jun 2026 19:19:10 +0000 wpForo 60 https://guitarnoise.forum/easy-songs/nirvana-songs/#post-170571 Fri, 07 Apr 2006 09:36:04 +0000 Easy Songs Saber https://guitarnoise.forum/easy-songs/nirvana-songs/#post-170571 https://guitarnoise.forum/easy-songs/nirvana-songs/#post-170516 Fri, 07 Apr 2006 02:42:57 +0000
Nirvana Tabs]]> Easy Songs Wes Inman https://guitarnoise.forum/easy-songs/nirvana-songs/#post-170516 https://guitarnoise.forum/easy-songs/nirvana-songs/#post-170452 Thu, 06 Apr 2006 15:31:34 +0000
in a nut syncopation is when you miss a strum wether an 8th or sixteen note one.

Let's take a 4/4 song: you have four beats for each measure so you have to count one to four to complete the measure. The easisest way to play is to play a downstrum every beat. Let's say that instead of playing just a downstrum you also play an upstrum for each beat you will play something like

du/du/du/du

of course you could skip some upstrum to play something like

d/du/du/du

or

d/du/d/du

All these patterns are straight ones because you always play a downstrum "on the beat":if you keep the tempo with your foot each time you tap your foot you play a downstrum. Please notice that with these patterns you play all the upstrums when you raise the foot (on the so called "offbeat").

Syncopation is where you skip some strums on the beat to play just on the off beat. Let's take the most commonly used syncopated pattern

beat 1 =d
beat 2 =du
beat 3 =u
beat 4 =du

you will see that with this pattern in beat 3 you skip the downstrum playing just an upstrum on the offbeat. The resulting sound is amazing for a beginner ears because you don't listen the strums where you would expected (most of western music is based on playing on the beat). Syncopation is used everywhere in rock music also with sixteen notes patterns so in most case when, playing on the beat, you are not able to catch the pattern of a song, there's a chanche that it is a syncopated one: try to skip some downstrums and you should find a fittable one.

Last thing: to listen a syncopated eight notes pattern should sound just check the following songs in Nirvana's Unplugged: About a girl (bridge and chorus), Come as you are (2nd measure and chorus), Jesus doesn't want me for a sunbeam (all song), Man who sold the world (verse), Pennyroyal tea (all song), Dumb (chorus) Polly (each 2nd measure of the verse and chorus), All apologies (chorus)

Matteo]]> Easy Songs matteo https://guitarnoise.forum/easy-songs/nirvana-songs/#post-170452 https://guitarnoise.forum/easy-songs/nirvana-songs/#post-170408 Thu, 06 Apr 2006 06:29:43 +0000 Easy Songs Saber https://guitarnoise.forum/easy-songs/nirvana-songs/#post-170408 https://guitarnoise.forum/easy-songs/nirvana-songs/#post-170393 Thu, 06 Apr 2006 03:35:09 +0000 Nirvana has very advanced songs that are deceptively simple at first glance.

Lately I've been interested in Kurt's distortion sound.
According to the guitar mag I read recently, Kurt had a fondness for cheap gear.
I'm pretty certain, however, that he had some top rate guitar techs.
My guess is that their mods were the real secret to his sound.]]> Easy Songs PRNDL https://guitarnoise.forum/easy-songs/nirvana-songs/#post-170393 https://guitarnoise.forum/easy-songs/nirvana-songs/#post-169338 Thu, 30 Mar 2006 17:53:52 +0000
a) playing syncopated eight notes patterns
b) being able to anticipate chord changes even if they're half measure

Just take Polly: the verse pattern is Em-G/D-C, the chorus one is D-C/G-A#-. In the first measure you play a simple D/du for Em and du/du for G, while in the second one the pattern is Du/du/u/Du but you have to change chord on the upstrum of beat 2 (anticipation). The same goes for the chorus where you anticipate every chord change on the upstrum of beat 2 of the measure. Believe me it is not the easiest thing to do for a beginner, you must have a quite solid foundation in rhythms to do it properly (depending on individual talent, I would say no less than six-eight months months of playing guitar): Or take "about as girl" (by the way it is in the ESDb) if the verse is an easy Em-G with D/du/du/du pattern, the bridge employs no less than four different patterns, including an anticipation!


it is C-G (D/du/D/du)
F (du/du/u/du)

played twice

than E (d/d/du/du)
D-C (du/du/u/du), with chord change on beat two offbeat

Come as you are is simpler as the verses pattern is D/du/du/du/du/du/u/du including syncopation evrey second measure.

"Where did you sleep last night" is a bit difficult because it is played in 3/4

To be faithful to the original you would also learn power chords and donw-tune your guitar, but this could be skipped since you could also play them with open chords.

Anyway I suggest you to try to play alongside the Unplugged (as I did), and if you can play a few syncopated rhythms you would get most of the songs quite easily


Matteo]]> Easy Songs matteo https://guitarnoise.forum/easy-songs/nirvana-songs/#post-169338 https://guitarnoise.forum/easy-songs/nirvana-songs/#post-169311 Thu, 30 Mar 2006 15:28:37 +0000
Then Smells Like Teen Spirit.

Then, if your up for a challange, try Purple Haze.
What can i say, i love Jimi.]]> Easy Songs amazing_ness https://guitarnoise.forum/easy-songs/nirvana-songs/#post-169311 https://guitarnoise.forum/easy-songs/nirvana-songs/#post-169029 Wed, 29 Mar 2006 11:21:25 +0000 here might be of use

and lose the text speak i'm far too old to understand what the hell your saying

:wink:]]> Easy Songs fingersnfumbs https://guitarnoise.forum/easy-songs/nirvana-songs/#post-169029 https://guitarnoise.forum/easy-songs/nirvana-songs/#post-169027 Wed, 29 Mar 2006 11:02:16 +0000
You might also want to check out Something in the Way - this is on Unplugged. Nice and easy in drop D (lower your low E string to D)

all the best

Matt]]> Easy Songs mattguitar https://guitarnoise.forum/easy-songs/nirvana-songs/#post-169027 https://guitarnoise.forum/easy-songs/nirvana-songs/#post-168991 Wed, 29 Mar 2006 07:55:35 +0000
But yeah, google.]]> Easy Songs Saber https://guitarnoise.forum/easy-songs/nirvana-songs/#post-168991