Table of Contents
Intro to Learning Teen Spirit
I haven’t really figured out copyright law, so I guess I can’t throw out any tab or note-for-stuff for this classic Nirvana song. I hope this helps anyways!
In some ways figuring out the song from a basic framework (with your own ear) may allow you to improve your ear and in the end gain a better feel for the intentions of the artist. It may take a little longer up front, but you’ll learn the song better in the end! Best wishes and have fun playing!
Main Sections of Smells Like Teen Spirit
There are a few main sections to the song.
- Chorus -the famous riff- it’s four power chords.
- Verse -the mellower two note riff.
- Bridge – where he yells “hey”
- Also there’s the solo which is basically the melody to the song played on guitar. Check out the Justin Guitar video below.
Main riff – chorus – Power Chords
First time: 0:02 minutes in video
The main chords of Smells Like Teen Spirit– four power chords. F, Bb, Ab, Db.
- F => 6th string, 1st fret
- Bb => 5th string, 1st fret
- Ab = > 6th string, 4th fret
- Db = >5th string, 4th fret
I would just play along with the recording to get the feel! You can slow do the video to practice at a slower speed, too. Or check out Transcribe!
Two note riff – verse
First time: 0:27 minutes in video
The two note riff is C to F. You can play it on the (first fret, 2nd string then first fret, 1st string) but Kurt plays it up:
- 3rd string, 5th fret
- 2nd string, 6th fret
Bridge
First time: 1:27 minutes in video
- Two power chords – F and Gb ( 6th string, 1st fret to 6th string, 2nd fret)
- When he yells ‘hey’, bend B up to C more or less. B is the 3rd string, 4th fret
Smells Like Teen Spirit Video
Hope this helps!
There’s plenty of places to get tab and stuff. But give your ear a chance! And if you do get tab, still slow down the song so you can get real locked in with what they are really doing!
Video Lessons
More Articles to Check Out
- How to Play Drums (for Guitarists)!
- Playing Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix
- Beginner’s Course
- Play what you sing, Sing what you play!
- Learning Songs: Listen, Sing, Play
- Better time (Ideas to Improve Your Time), Part 2
- 12 ways to improve musicality
- 12 ideas for good health (Wellness for everyone including musicians)
- 10 Ideas on How to Cultivate Better time (for Musicians)
- Make your Own Backing Track (5 Minute Practice Ideas)
Violin, Bass, Percussion Trio Version!
We recorded this in Seattle maybe around 2015. My bassist friend really loves Nirvana and Jimi, so this was our take on a really monumental song. I’d probably re-mix it at this point (2022), but would need to go an epic search for the hard drive 🙂
Special thanks to BandLab for the free online mastering!
2 replies on “Learning to Play Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana”
Thanks for the help and the video tutorials they were really helpful while I was learning how to play this song on the guitar and I was still getting the hang of playing the guitar in general but now try to play this song whenever I can as practice though I am not very good at it I still practice getting better at it.
You’re welcome – glad it helped! (I’m just checking comments, my apologies for the delayed response) Best wishes!