The Nirvana Hit That Uses All 12 Notes

In today's episode I talk about a Nirvana hit song that uses all 12 chromatic notes in its melody and harmony.
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[@RickBeato]

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[@frictionhitch]

We need a "Beato UnPlugged" No auto-tune No hackery Just an (perhaps up and coming) artist and your mics

[@coryfeldman-hz2yj]

I thought there was a song on def leppards hysteria that had not just all 12 but every note on the fretboard. Don't tell my ex but...nirvana was good..

[@ezekielbrockmann114]

Saying that the last E note, the b9 sang in harmony over an Eb Maj chord is applicable and should count as a valid melody note in your "All 12 Notes" claim is pretty dubious, in my opinion. I'm not sold on the idea. That D chord before the chorus is really wild, though.

[@manuelpena54]

Rick!!!!! Can I send you a DM about the course?

[@acivitano8426]

Is it for one year of access?

[@randalclarke5487]

As a fellow songwriter- musician it was very clear in the early 90s that Cobain's chordal inclinations were quirky, Beatlesque and richly complex. He had done his homework and it showed yet he wasn't copying anyone. It was a beautiful time in music 😊

[@yosode]

Great descript👍

[@jonlohrenz5446]

That is why the recent Nirvana revisionists are sorely mistaken. Cobain, although he was not a musician trained in the traditional sense, his musical instincts were amazing.

[@godamidiot]

​@jonlohrenz5446 Indeed. You cannot find a single, successful musician that would call either the Beatles or Nirvana over-rated.

[@AzzaTwirre]

I am a lifelong Nirvana fan and Kurt Cobain copied everyone he liked, from a little bit to near completely.

[@flyfermin]

He did copy

[@StasLeo1987]

Kurt did it intuitively, and it sounds amazing. For me, that's exactly the definition of a genius.

[@MrBriankjeld]

only took 30 years for everyone to realize it.

[@VaultBoy13]

@@MrBriankjeld What are you talking about? We all knew he was a genius when the music was coming out.

[@Nic.kname.09]

Did he, though? What if the first 11 notes were intuitive, then he realised and threw in that D to complete the 12? Then maybe he thought he wouldn't make it obvious and put it in a part where the vocals could easily obscure it, and it's like an Easter egg, waiting for people to find it.

[@southie3177]

@@VaultBoy13this

[@diggie9598]

@@MrBriankjeld Everyone exept most likely millions of people.

[@Fearzero]

Kurt's genius was his ability to weave a memorable melody through a parallel harmony based chord progression basically.

[@Alex-js5lg]

Good way to put it. I think Rick has said something similar: he employs sophisticated jazz techniques despite not having formal music training.

[@Fearzero]

@@Alex-js5lg As geniuses seem able to do.

[@benjamink7105]

Luke Skywalker threading the photon torpedo through that exhaust port.

[@MrBriankjeld]

folk punk Jimi Hendrix id say.

[@dbest71]

@@benjamink7105photon torpedoes are from Star Trek 😅

[@SongSecretsMomNeverTaughtYou]

Paul Simon's "Still Crazy After All These Years" and Jobim's "Girl From Ipanema" uses all 12 notes!

[@rafaelvalle8989]

Brazilian bossa nova is full of fancy chords. Really nice

[@dylanjwebmusic]

Them Bones by Alice In Chains does too. Took me a while to check and make sure but it's true. One of the notes is only contained in the backing vocals. Does Bohemian Rhapsody use all 12? It seems like it must

[@GreedyLittleFokker]

I'm pretty sure Girl From Ipanema uses MORE than 12 notes! LOL

[@words4dyslexicon]

Yoko made up some new notes..

[@vincossissonsable5689]

Also "Les Lacs du Connemara" by Michel Sardou

[@desrtsku]

"He didn't know, but I know, and now you know." I swear I hear a variation of this quote everytime Rick covers a Nirvana song. This time he just added a little spice to it by saying Kurt's ears also knew.

[@sagittated]

Kurt knew.

[@andrewpappas9311]

It’s stuff like this that shows how great of a songwriter Kurt was, dude had a great sense of melodicism when it comes to writing guitar parts

[@wolleyreikivalley]

great sense of melody* melodicism would’ve been underlined red, no? his melodies are also more prominent in the vocal, whereas guitar is more harmony

[@thehalodown7250]

People just don't know

[@rome8180]

"Just" by Radiohead uses all 12 notes. It was a deliberate challenge between Thom and Jonny to see who could write a song with the most chords.

[@AlexDainese]

Knives Out is the only Radiohead song featuring all 12 notes.

[@dennisjhodges]

@@AlexDainese nope, "Knives Out" is not the only one. rome8180 is correct about "Just." The guitar parts alone use all 12 notes, without even adding melody notes

[@akeithing1841]

I think Paranoid Android as well! It has too! It has like 20 different chords

[@dennisjhodges]

​@@akeithing1841 that makes sense- I thought of and checked "Just" first. "Paranoid Android" to my memory doesn't use any kind of F#/Gb, C#/Db, or B root chord, but those notes APPEAR in vocal parts (and the bass line is super chromatic), which Rick was counting here

[@colintreacy3328]

Great song, very complex songs in Radioheads library

[@williamcopen]

I've been waiting my whole life for the right time to say this. Clearly, that time is now. The 1969 hit single "Tracy," by The Cuff Links, contains not just all 12 notes, but all twelve major CHORDS. And six of the twelve minor chords, too.

[@216trixie]

Lolol

[@jwprimetime9795]

I just had to look it up. That is the most 60s sounding song ever. And only like two mins. All over the road but fun!

[@benjamink7105]

What a song! Seriously that was like a perfect two minutes wow.

[@kalinjax]

Oh man one of my favorite songs ever!

[@mundijey]

Yo estaba esperando este comentario xD

[@michaelboggus9993]

In bloom is 33 years old. I think I am going to sit down 😂

[@kristopherguilbault5428]

Hey sonny want a Werther's original? Lol we're old 🤣

[@himynameis3664]

Jesus that's my age. And I grew up loving this song, it was the first song I asked my instructor to teach me when I moved onto barre chords.

[@sandollor]

Yeah, because our knees hurt lol.

[@ParticleLarry]

You actually got up?

[@stevelaferney3579]

Still trying too.

[@Ristofec]

So tired of people who believe Kurt didn’t care about learning music or playing well. A lot of his persona is a misnomer. He carefully crafted EVERYTHING, even the clothes he wore. He wanted to look like he didn’t care, but in reality he obsessed over it

[@Tryptich]

Kurt himself said that he was a narcissistic person. I mean he was an artist, in the most complete way. He took care of EVERYTHING. He admired Andy Warhol and Bowie a lot, that explains how he aproached his career.

[@joeblowjohndoe206]

I agree. You can’t be that good without trying at all. Part of his cool factor though.

[@PlayNowWorkLater]

Professional musician for 30 years. Was into Nirvana big time when they were releasing albums. Nevermind came out when I was in high school. I always thought he was a genius writer, but all my musician friends and fellow classmates during college while studying music thought I was crazy for liking them. I am proud that I have been, and always ways a fan. Kurt was amazing at taking weird chord progressions and making beautiful melodies. Nice to see him being appreciated. ***I remembered I also loved the lyrics of this song in particular because it was about someone who likes Nirvana’s pretty sounds but “knows not what it means”. And it was a cheeky way for Kurt to acknowledge that as he got famous that their were going to be fans that sang along, but didn’t really get who they were. And where they came from. Genius!!

[@autosmiley1532]

I couldn't agree more. I went through the same thing... I was 17 in 1994. I didn't listen to the radio very often, let alone TV, and I'm a little French boy (Daft Punk idiot haha) so I wasn't aware of what was happening at the end of 1991 and a friend (who had introduced me to Blodd Sugar Sex Magic) told me : « you absolutely have to listen to Nirvana, it's huge… » And because he was mostly a fan of gansta rap, I was seriously blasted. I said « okay, I'll see when I’ll got time… » Then I bumped into a guy I introduced to metal culture few years before, a pretty simple guy... And I mentioned it to him, like : « Have you heard of it ? » And he said : « Well, all the songs sound aslike the same… » So I left it at that, several months... Until I suddenly heard Smells Like Teen Spirit at a party (in the summer 1992) very amplified... I was literally hallucinating ! I was in, immediatly, understanding what happenned really. Then I discovered an extremely varied and well-written album. Later, I was the only one around me who understood what this pure musical instinct it was. And I listened to In Utero over and over again… Some guys near to me appreciated a bit, but few understood the immensity of the phenomenon. Finally, since I'm strongly a musician, I think it’s in my deeply in my mind, in my sensitivity. Very later one of my psychiatrists diagnosed me as « being a potential genius and not just HIP/HEP » and I laught and tried to explain to her a long that genius did not really exist and this is more complex (personnal history and immersive works) but she said in order to conclude « sorry but I did not understand a word of your explanation » LOL… But notice that : I have the same pathology as the concerned guy today (Kurt Cobain), so it brought us closer together in terms of sensitivity, I think. You are maybe « someone like that » too I guess, to understand really this, I mean... And it is quite rare even if many people were touched by this great music. 😉

[@Overlorddz]

Its not just about anyone, it's about Kurt's friend Dylan, the frontman of the band Earth.

[@tencentpistol1]

@Overlorddz was just going to post the exact some thing. Kurt finished in bloom in April 1990 at Butch Vigs studio in Wisconsin. He had been working on the tune for a while before that so yeah, the misconception that its about the "fans" that came later as the OP claimed is wrong. Funny that so many people think they know what KC was inferring in his lyrics but most of the time he didn't even HAVE lyrics until right before the song was finished in the studio. Some of them written in the LAST HOUR OR SO!!!

[@anonymouse527]

But hey, your friends learned what a suspended triple sus7 chord is 🧐 (who cares).

[@PlayNowWorkLater]

@@Overlorddz That’s interesting, I’d never read about that reference. I guess I just made up that story myself or someone else told me. I just remember being blown away by Kurt’s lyrics back in the day. Still am. He was brilliant in throwing together stories and little burns in his lyrics. Personally I’m not much of a lyric person either. I write, and I usually come up with melody and try to figure out some words to fit more as an afterthought. Son when I first got Nevermind I hummed along to songs and picked out words where I could. I would read the lyric page later on. And i had this moment when I first read in Bloom’s lyrics when I was listening and singing Along when I realized what he was saying about “sing along to all our pretty sounds” and “knows not what it means” and I just though You Brilliant motherfucker!! Haha. Here I am, a big dope singing along to a catchy tune, and he’s taking about someone singing along to his catchy tune. It blew my mind how smart that was

[@CHIG5748]

Everyone should play a musical instrument. And the better you get, the more you appreciate great musicians

[@cro3678]

👆🏻👆🏻👆🏻👆🏻👆🏻

[@nicholassharp3799]

Been playing 30 years, 10 of them semi professional circuit.....and the more I learned the more I realized these so called amazing talents aren't any better then bar band players that got lucky and in cases like his we held a junkie on a pedestal by teenagers.

[@TIDoesAnything228]

I agree. The more I looked at Grunge the more I started to become absolutely obsessed with it. I love Grunge so much now looking at bands like Soundgarden, Green River, Nirvana, and Alice in Chains. Very talented musicians.

[@deelight3469]

Pleased that i worked out which song it was on my own. So grateful for Nirvana. The music made being a teenager bearable

[@HarlanHarvey76]

So did Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stone Temple Pilots, Smashing Pumpkins, The Offspring, Metallica, Pantera, Marylin Manson, White Zombie, I mean, I could go on and on and on. Being a kid in the 90s was to be musically spoiled like the kids in the 60s.

[@C.dieslevonankwek7]

Truth I was born in 80 and I don't think kids these days will ever experience what we had back in the 90's. Remember buying a CD and putting it in just to listen from start to finish..the internet instant gratification ruined that experience for kids getting into music these days, the internet has its pros and cons but music in that decade is unmatched

[@toadsixeight]

@@C.dieslevonankwek7I hear you. I’m only 16 but I still pick up CDs of bands that I’m trying to get into, or have gotten into before, because my car doesn’t have aux, or Bluetooth, or whatever. Just a plain old CD player. But it’s so nice that I can be able to sort of feel like what early 90s to 2000s kids felt.

[@fathernojoy2706]

I love the excitement that Rick has about discovering something new in a song he has heard a million times.

[@weezadam]

“Aneurysm” immediately came to mind but “In Bloom” was the next obvious choice. The former arguably a top 3 Nirvana song.

[@danielmrtns]

Listen… I’m going to say Aneurysm is #1. Would love to see Rick cover this song. Only he could explain to me why I’m so impressed by it (I’m not a musician, I have no clue).

[@Marleystrummer]

Aneurysm live especially at Reading is fucking dope

[@Geoff_24]

​@Marleystrummer my very favorite Nirvana song. I like the studio version too but it's sooo much better live imo

[@JockoJonson17]

Aneurysm wasn't even remotely a hit so figured it wasn't even a choice.

[@kkrsnn5632]

This and Dive.

[@morganhale3434]

As a non-musician I find this fascinating, but "In Bloom" is just a great choice. One of my favorite Nirvana songs, I find the lyrics to be so interesting and fun to listen to.

[@toni-ko6zz]

I‘m sitting here in a city in Germany with my morning coffee just before a really long work day in my Nirvana shirt and enjoy this video so much. And I have no clue of musical theory. I love how enthusiastic Rick is about great melody writing.

[@cascade3769]

Düsseldorf?

[@pitpride1220]

Most of the bands in Seattle were incredibly intelligent songwriters. Soundgarden,AIC, Pearl Jam etc. Just incredible stuff.

[@amslu]

Wow, multi million bands have intelligent songwriting? We have Sherlock Holmes here

[@trashyraccoon2615]

@@amsluNews flash: many very famous songs only use 2-3 chords and the melodies are super basic. Welcome To pop music!

[@andercoyote4170]

MELVINS.

[@colico14]

@@shruggzdastr8-facedclown The Shins are from Albuquerque, Sleater-Kinney are from Olympia, and Iron & Wine is from SC.

[@ricemartini2135]

Don’t forget Hendrix, Heart, Sunny Day Real Estate, (and Death Cab for Cutie pretty much counts)

[@giovi.0]

What an immense fortune that we have a guy like Beato: immensely knowledgeable, deep, honest and entertaining.

[@davide.b8027]

Right? I wish I could find something that got me as excited as he gets about this stuff. Beautiful to see.

[@jennifersun2638]

dude is a pro

[@bobbyseelye92]

In Bloom and Lithium.. surprisingly sophisticated. Best Nirvana tunes.

[@kristopherguilbault5428]

The bass line mixed with the guitar is intricately gorgeous

[@Nmdixon-cu7vm]

No Nirvana song is sophisticated. That’s like saying a circle can be a square. Kurt was a good poet; terrible musician.

[@stanclips8227]

@@Nmdixon-cu7vmthey do exist. The majority was pretty simple. To say he was a terrible musician is so beyond naive it’s unbelievable.

[@Geoff_24]

​@stanclips8227 it's just a lazy take. This stream is by someone who knows music and theory inside and out, and he gushes about Kurt's musicianship the whole time.

[@kydelvetus642]

@@Nmdixon-cu7vm Nah, you're wrong

[@gloriathomas3245]

While I no longer actively play an instrument( it's been 3 decades), I love these educational pieces you're doing and constantly look forward to them. It makes me even think about getting back into music.

[@keestoft250]

Do it!

[@TonyHawkTuah]

Yup. Do it ! Today ! 😁

[@vestal9195]

Do it! Greetings from Colombia :)

[@johnpenningtoniii4706]

I like your response to the question about Kurt analyzing himself.

[@GovernmentalCtrl]

How come if Rick knows all these secret melody recipes, he hasn’t written one timeless melody, like nirvana did. Not one.

[@TonyHawkTuah]

​@@GovernmentalCtrlBecause skills, knowledge, and writing good songs are three different things.

[@newfreenayshaun6651]

​​@@GovernmentalCtrlhe's on a different level. The creator may not even know what he's doing but Rick will lay it out there plain and simple for dudes like me to "get it" in detail and with enthusiasm, intellect and total fascination. Example, I can do some tricky stuff on a guitar but have no clue how to write it out, what it's called, how to explain my actions or demonstrate it either. The man has this.. We need Rick Beato.

[@Bronco541]

He was a producer and now a youtuber. He probably has no desire to be a writer, a lot of people dont but can still understand and appreciate art. This kind of argument boggles my mind.

[@elpelicanojiji]

Beato would get the dave grohl's treatment on unplugged: oh just shut up

[@williamshafer1996]

Its awesome to find people who care as much about nirvana and their music as I do. Thank you for being fair and keeping your eyes open.

[@NeonRadarMusic]

What's fascinating is that the bizarre D power chord that shows up goes great with the F that Kurt is singing, and... it's technically not a chromatic chord. The song is in B flat major and the chord that's formed as a result of the note Kurt is singing and the chord below it is a D minor, the 3rd chord of the scale, which is actually a great way to bring it to the least chromatic part of the song, the chorus, until the 'Don't know what it means' bit, which Dave's harmony makes chromatic when he sings the E. EDIT: It's also worth noting that if Kurt had played an A power chord while screaming an F, it probably would have sounded even more dissonant as that F would have clashed with the E in the A power chord. Until that point in the song, he never sung over that chord. If anything, this song proves that even if Kurt didn't know music theory, his ear certainly did.

[@sagittated]

(Kurt knew music theory)

[@shuroom57]

That's a good point. It's almost as if, in the midst of all this chaos, Kurt said, "Wait! F note over an A major chord? _Let's not get crazy here!_ "

[@NeonRadarMusic]

@@sagittated I said 'if'. But there's a very good chance that his whole 'DGAF' image was put on. There's proof that his journals were filled with the tiniest details of the recording process of In Utero, which mics were used to record drums, which mics were used for which amp, the settings on the amp, how far the mic should have been etc etc.

[@CertainMood]

Cobain didn’t need to know a lot of music theory to be able to pick out the notes of each chord on his guitar and find a chord that contained the note he felt like singing. Or vice versa: to write a chord sequence and pick out notes to go with it. He definitely did not do these things purely by instinct.

[@Novolinemusic]

Its super interesting there's this surprises about the D chord. For me and probably a lot of others that grew up on 80s punk that was super riffy, this is really intuitive choice for me. At one point I even tried to stop using this "trick" because I felt I relied on it too much. If you listen to bands along the lines of Minor Threat, CroMags, Agnostic Front, Misfits (danzig era), and even Melvins; they did this all the time- albeit not in the middle of a song that already had all other 11 notes! but still; i think his choice to go to D there was coming from that influence. I noticed someone in the streamed comments mentioned Fang as an influence; I had totally forgot about them but they were also huge on riffs.

[@ruramikael]

I took a course in musicology back in 1994, and one of teachers was rally ecstatic about Nirvana because of the harmonic progressions (I saw and heard Nirvana at Roskilde in 1992).

[@davide.b8027]

Lucky basssstud

[@johnlindquister]

Saw them there too😀🙏

[@foto21]

I thought it would be Heart Shaped Box, which has such an unusual melody that drifts all over the place. Instead it turns out to be what SEEMS like a 'simple song' In Bloom. Cobain was a genius at turning the simple into the extraordinary, and since he wasn't a giant theorist, I think he got there basically by knowing the rock cliches and using them but also messing with them, mixed with following his natural talent with wherever it led him.

[@IamNothingNoWhere]

In Utero is my favorite Nirvana album. Heart Shaped Box and Rake Me are standouts IMO.

[@oldschool1107]

Perhaps surprisingly, Heart Shaped Box is a lot more simple than In Bloom.

[@morokeiboethia6749]

Kurt was not an athlete on the fretboard but he did have this way of coming up with cord riffs that fit the theme of the song and I've never heard any other guitarist quite like him in that area.

[@weezadam]

Like a 90s Jimmy Page

[@shuroom57]

​@@weezadamRight, as in "Rain Song", "Kashmir", "Over the Hills and Far Away", for example.

[@SteveAustin-q6d]

He did finger tapping in teen spirit video! 🤓

[@SilentAttackTV]

Elliott Smith had similarly complex chord progressions

[@DiamondCake2]

How gay

[@davide.b8027]

I love that people call Nirvana just so basic and just power chords, and then we have videos like this. Long live KURT!!!!!

[@Lacostanico]

yeah except he was very basic and power chords...some of the chords Rick threw in there Kurt never played, those are jazz chords...thing is, if you write melodies and songs this good using only 5ths you ARE A GENIUS...music is not a competition for who knows more is about moving people...

[@ABandCalledStoned]

I'm sure that those people have no idea what is real music. They think that mumbling over virtual instruments is called "music". In fact, there's one broad that got mad about being called a musician and said she wasn't a musician because she doesn't do magic. But I do agree with her that she isn't a musician bc she doesn't play an instrument. And of course, she doesn't do magic. Lol

[@JacobGrippenMusic]

In Bloom popped into my head as soon as Rick said the 12th note only appears in an immediate pre-chorus chord. Sweet

[@nothanks3146]

Same

[@Riffs79]

Rick's love for music is AWESOME! One of my favorite shows on KZbin!

[@sensationaldenny]

There's actually an earlier Demo version of In Bloom that was recorded just before Chad was fired from the band. Its fascinating because at the end of the chorus, Kurt actually sings a full octave above the nevermind version in that very last melody note. It sounds so cool though. Kurt had a unique understanding of range and harmonies. They probably changed it up for the Nevrmind recording since Dave was doing back-up and the lower octave sounded smoother with his voice

[@Feirin332]

Wow, this just took me back to the first time I listened to Nevermind (c. 1992). Smells like Teen Spirit was awesome but then In Bloom started and it simply blew my mind away. To this day it is my favourite Nirvana song.

[@FabioRabelodeCarvalhoGuimarães]

Same with me. When I first heard it, I was 13 years old and simply couldn't believe my ears. In Bloom and Lithium were my favourite songs from Nevermind. I listened to it over and over and over. This piece of art just changed my behaviour, opened my ears and my eyes and my mind. Helped mold my character. And I'm really thankful for this.

[@tcos332]

He was far from a “bad” guitarist. It’s a lot harder to be original playing power chords than using different scales and modes. The guy definitely knew his way around a fretboard. Like take SLTS for example. It starts in the Key of F, in standard tuning. Pre chorus he plays those two C and F notes, solo starts on an F and ends on an F and you’re not going to find a “bad” guitarist that can write a solo to a vocal melody, many times on the spot during recording, while staying in the right key and time throughout.

[@sjhudon386]

He had a good ear

[@johnbutera5805]

SET THEM STRAIGHT, RICK!! 😃 I'm so glad that you analyze Nirvana's songs in the manner that you do!! 😃

[@stephanlandshuter5237]

Seemingly off-topic but thematically linked on a deeper level: Tony Banks from Genesis wondered if you could write a song with as many chords as possible which all share the same top note. They ended up with the quirky song "Pigeons" (1977) which consists of 13 different chords which all share the note Bb at the top. Steve Hackett plays this note relentlessly the whole song through.

[@paulthegeek]

Perfect answer to the comment about Cobain not wanting to analyze his music. Perfect.

[@HectorsDolphin1977]

Kurt was very talented with melodies. I'm sure there is still a lot to discover in his legacy.

[@douglasdog1]

A real shame he’s gone. I think we would have seen some great stuff from him. He was working on more folk type stuff, aside from Nirvana

[@MaxKing222]

All that kind of stuff kurt don't care about 😂

[@wiseguy9202]

I've heard a few newly released songs on the radio recently. I'm sure there's more to come.

[@johnpickk7526]

​@@wiseguy9202LOL no you havent. Why lie.

[@alexsuarez1843]

@@douglasdog1w

[@RC_991]

'Falling For You' by Weezer has chords using all 12 root notes. Great song!

[@TheJugulousDeli]

Great song! One of my favorites off of Pinkerton 😁😁

[@amx1820]

​@luke5100 maybe he's too immature to talk about artistic values

[@danerd8978]

Guys read the users profile name. It's probably Dave G trolling us. It could also be Rivers Como.​@@amx1820

[@amx1820]

@luke5100 that artistaccount guy

[@80sMeavyHetal]

I knew it was In Bloom ;) Great analysis, we love you Rick!

[@Tom-b9k9e]

Best guitar lesson of this song around.

[@reddishrado7179]

Great example :) Also, I believe Elliott Smith Waltz#1 uses all 12 notes and has a clear distinction of every single note and is another melodic pop tune 😊. You might like it please check it out Rick

[@tarantinoish]

I’ve been playing this song for over 20 years and honestly never realized the D chord before the chorus until right now.

[@ignatiusjackson235]

Same here! Well, ten or 15 years... I would mess around with the chords quite a bit, having no bass player, so I'm sure I've hinted at it "by mistake," but I've never acknowledged the full chord before. Astonishing that we can learn so much from such a "simple" tune. That's what was so great about songs written before the internet age.

[@estebanquesadas.4983]

10:14 THIS ! Rick's the man .

[@marklong930]

Yeah man. Such a good point. I remember Rick saying on another video he did on Nirvana (may have been a WMTSG). "People say Kurt didn't know what he was playing, bur I know what he is playing and it's genius."

[@djjf45]

Exactly

[@briankennedy1192]

He does it often as his preparation to scream......

[@Marleystrummer]

Dave has always said that Kurt was a great song writer, especially with an ear for melody and harmony, the guy had it all, guitar skill, great voice and look 😍

[@Brad-iu9go]

He has? I only hear Dave throwing backhanded compliments. Dave is jealous bc FF will never rise to the level of Nirvana.

[@davide.b8027]

I loved how one of his exes described how he looked. I forget which one it was. But she said that everyone sees him on Unplugged and he looks like a little angel boy up there. All perfect and stuff. But she said he had horrible acne, terrible posture, and I forget what else she used to describe him but she did use the word "sloth" somewhere in there. Lol it was hilarious

[@viacheslavburov658]

Yet another confirmation of Kurt's genius and Rick's knowledges and ability to entertain people this way)

[@Riffmaster227]

Here we are now entertain us!

[@pavlohenrik]

Wish Beato and youtube was around when I was learning music because nirvana, its impresive, there is something very mistical about nirvana music, it amazes me seeing 13 year old boys and girls in 2024 learning to compose music because kurt and nirvana like me when I was 13 and in that time nirvana was already gone for years, I was completely stuned by nirvana, it changed my way to see the world for good or bad kkkkk but after almost 2 decades seeing teenagers feeling the same its very impressive

[@abuharam]

Yeah when you actually LEARN his chord progressions, there's a natural inclination towards chromatic progressions in his writing style that really feels like the kinda thing one might draw out of a course of jazz studies-moreso at least than a casual intake of Sabbath and the Beatles. I don't know. I think it really reflects on the kind of piercing gaze he had as a creative in general, a sort of natural radar for getting deep into the tissue of a concept without laying out obvious road signs along the way for his audience...

[@abuharam]

@@BigTimeBruh I disagree, and a lot of bebop players didn't read music, they learned by ear and feel

[@abuharam]

@@artistaccount lol did I SAY that? Ffs

[@dustinstewarttexas]

RICK- To the guy that said “Kurt wouldn’t analyze his own songs…” Well, in the documentaries that exist on him, it’s quite clear from his music journals that he analyzed the heck out of his songs. His journal has all kinds of notes and annotations about his songs on the pages, written in his own hand! Call it whatever, but he analyzed his AND bands like the Beatles’ songs quite a bit.

[@partycakes456]

Its like a musical blackout bingo.

[@AshtonRogers-se1zj]

Ha! Awesome.

[@lowkeylunatic]

This game should be played in a composition studies class😂

[@freeLA_saint]

What I always loved about Kurt and what really connected me to the music ... was that Kurt was a genuine ARTIST, not just a musician. And you heard it in the originality of the compositions within a lot of their songs, including "In Bloom" It sounded as if it was organically created by a genius making art.

[@mikeblue385]

ted greene said nirvana was the only new thing to happen to american harmony in the 20th century. i didn't expect that.

[@mikeblue385]

@@eliastristan1831 you'd have to ask ted. i'm sure he had it figured out.he gave out way more information than i could absorb in one sitting. it's out there somewhere.

[@danielhoskins4690]

@@eliastristan1831they weren’t American perhaps? Though they did take strongly from Motown.

[@roddybonaccorsi5777]

Brian Wilson has entered the chat…..

[@andercoyote4170]

Wow, ok you are officially tied for coolest internet comment of the week. 🍕🍕

[@melarrow6202]

@@eliastristan1831 By many miles when you consider they have a much smaller population.

[@BrianAnthony-h3z]

Oh Warren Haynes! I am so excited. Thank you!! One of my favorite guitarists ever! Cannot wait!!

[@AndrewPurcellmusic]

Missed it DANG BUT one song you've got to examine that fits the bill is "ASH" with their song "GOLDFINGER" it's got the most amazing key change in it and I think it ticks all the boxes

[@celam1244]

Excellent song!

[@Bellpipe41]

I’ve been hoping for a while that Rick would cover Goldfinger. The change-up near the end of the verse is particularly unusual for a popular song, but very satisfying. The fact that Tim Wheeler was virtually a kid at the time, is amazing.

[@nautje]

Yes! The key change in the last part of the verses is just genius.

[@dave-jk6en]

The most important part of a song is the melody and Kurt was a genius at writing them

[@TonyAguirreJazz]

Nice Rick, love the response to the comment @ 10:12 so true.

[@FMBlanket]

Rick when you interview Dave you have to ask him about recording the Nirvana harmonies. I've never heard anyone ask him in interviews and he does not mention it in his book. I recently saw the classic albums Nevermind episode and Butch Vig isolates the In Bloom harmonies Kurt and Dave recorded and recalls the recording session. It was pretty awesome

[@johnsidorovich]

Also check chromaticism and octave displacement In Soundgarden‘s “Cold Bitch.” Also “Pretty Noose.”

[@IanCrossland]

Dude, I was playing this song and recognized that D for the first time like 2 months ago, when you made this video. Something is vibrating in the ether.

[@MagnaMater2]

Seeing your face, I got the feeling he wrote it only to make his music teachers happy. He knew exactly what he was doing, every interview of his claiming differently, is understatement. He had chords drawn in his diary I had never heard of, though finishing music school. - Well, they are 'dentist-chords'.

[@CLaw-tb5gg]

I've always admired his songwriting, and something I realised - don't try and make sense of it. Kurt himself said he thought he was a better songwriter because he knew zero theory, and it allowed him to find odd and interesting things. When I've written Nirvanaish things myself, it's always been by picking a bed of practically random chords and then finding a melody that somehow works with them, and the wonkiness created by the randomness tends to create strange and beautiful melodies quite often. And he was a big fan of ~repetition legitimises~, driving what would be quite odd things into your head by making them incredibly simple and repetitive: look at "Breed". Nothing about that song makes any melodic sense. It only works so well because it's so repetitive.

[@tdawes33]

Kurt Cobain working his ass off to attain an advanced theory of music when no one's looking and now every musician going around saying he had "instinct" because he didn't change his underwear every day

[@nakumininja]

Lol

[@benjamink7105]

His unwashed hair, potent stench and incessant screaming acting much like Clark Kent’s sunglasses.

[@iunnox666]

The idea that you need to know theory to put your hands in a certain position or think that the sound from playing them sounds good is very ridiculous. Theory is no replacement for taste or talent.

[@1gbayfisher]

Wtf you mean?

[@emmanuelvictoria9268]

I've played with some great players that just play by ear and no no theory but they know theory without knowing what theory is. Do you get me?

[@medfielder]

Pure Instinct! Kurt and Dave and Krist in two words. This stream is beautiful Rick, thank you brother 🖤⚡️

[@axeslinger8434]

I thought it would be “Milk It” from In Utero. In the intro and middle he’s playing all kinds of random clean notes. He hits most of the notes on the fretboard! 😂

[@johnpickk7526]

You could say the same about Aneurysm with the lead up hahaha.

[@BullyMaguire4ever]

But it needed to be a Big Hit Song, not just a song.

[@krisfrederick5001]

Kurt would be so impressed how he wrote this song after he watched this. I love when Rick gets excited about Nirvana. When everyone says Kurt can't play guitar. He was the master...of downplaying himself. He knew what he was doing. And played it off as accidental. That was his brilliance and charm. You can't hide authenticity as sincerely you try.

[@rrCHRISxx]

Probably my favorite song on the album.

[@kat1701]

I just started relearning guitar after a 20 yr hiatus and learned in bloom a few days ago. Such good timing for this video 😊

[@realguitarthur]

Technically, this song is in Bb Dorian. One of my favorite Nirvana tunes! :)

[@dahawkins82]

Rick, don't ever change, brother. I just love this stuff!!!

[@mr.yellowstrat3352]

"Kurt Cobain wouldn't have wanted..." Good lord I can't stand those fans. He died before 30, we have no idea the person he would've become. He was still a kid really. It could've went any direction.

[@budsmoker4201120]

I agree.

[@mattd03411]

18 is an adult

[@mr.yellowstrat3352]

@@mattd03411 What'd you just turn 18 big boy? Happy birthday bud I remember my first cigarette 😅 I'm kidding but seriously, the older you get the more you realize you were a kid in your 20's. Most people refer to college students as "college kids"

[@humbucker08]

Kurt had such an amazing level of intuitiveness for songwriting. It’s incredible.

[@KevyNova]

I saw the title and immediately *_knew_* it was “In Bloom”!!! Kurt was a genius in the way he could write progressions that *_shouldn’t_* sound good but do.

[@Shayne_Mushin]

If it sounds good, but you think it shouldn’t, the problem clearly isn’t with reality. It’s simply yr misperception

[@chrismontmusic]

As soon as I saw the title to this video, I immediately knew which song it had to be.

[@JeffEppVideos]

All 12, Master of Puppets. It's chromatic, but still amazing.

[@Cr8Tron]

Rick's exclusively talking about the notes contained within the chords that are progressing--which, to be fair, he fails to specify in his video description. Using all 12 notes is actually very common, if we're not exclusively talking about the actual underlying chords. For example; how many chromatic lead runs have you heard? Ya follow me...?

[@neomancr]

​​@@Cr8Tronyou'd think itd be obvious what he's actually talking about since as you say it's not that hard to play a chromatic scale. Once people hear that's what you're doing it's just kinda accepted as being fine. Writing an entire song based on each of the notes being harmonies is something else.

[@radio-friendlyunitshifter4670]

Chad was actually the one who originally recorded this tune with them and Dave kept it very true to the original structure and vocal harmony

[@scabo33]

My guitar teacher always said “if it sounds good, it is good.”. Kurt just went with that

[@claudiasolomon1123]

When I first picked up guitar in the 1990s, one of the 1st songs I learned was Predictable by Korn because I quickly realized one of it's guitar riffs is literally a descending chromatic run. In the prechorus "I'M GONNA TRY, I'M GONNA DIE.." Korn's music is GREAT for a beginner who wants to be able to learn at least a few songs in their 1st year of learning guitar. Nirvana is also a great band for a beginner. This does'nt negate he had a sophisticated understanding of melody.

[@polimistik]

Loved this response! 10:09 to 11:04 "This is very sophisticated melody writing" . Keep it up Rick!

[@AllThingsEVM]

Love analyzing these amazing pop songs! Brings me back to my theory days in college. Use to try to break down NIN tracks. So good!

[@kristopherguilbault5428]

Can we talk sbout how great the Lithium bassline and guitar melody harmonize together?

[@jeffreyshaw3512]

And now put that amazing vocal melody on top of all that. So good

[@kristopherguilbault5428]

@@jeffreyshaw3512 absolutely!

[@benjamink7105]

That chord progression alone is from another planet! He has another one sort of similar, Verse Chorus Verse (aka In His Hands), but I don’t think it’s quite as bonkers as Lithium. But it’s still great and I love the structure. The bass on the Nirvana songs is very melodic, if Krist wrote his own parts he has a little bit of genius as well. Really filled out the chords between the 1st and 5th and 8th of the power chord and then whatever Kurt was singing (3rd a lot the time) and then Krist is like here’s the 9th note or here’s the 2nd, you know what I mean? Just really stacking the notes which is a neat trick to use to expand the sonic range of a three piece group. Add a drummer who can sing harmony and you have Nirvana! (Note: am novice so make corrections as needed)

[@BrianWolf-vv6bg]

New fan here Rick. I'm a musician as well. Mainly guitar and piano but love to play drums and bass also. Anyway I just wanted to thank you. I have learned so much about improving my playing from you. I got sober 4 years ago and am loving life. From Maryland near Baltimore City. Keep em coming brother you are a very good teacher

[@Eric777-71]

I'm one year younger than Kurt, and a musician, and I started Full Sail (recording arts) in 1991! And all of us were very excited about the records that were coming out at that time. And we were partying as hard as we were studying 🎸❤️ great times.

[@toddclarke1580]

We need a signature Beato Acoustic Gibson Guitar .

[@stevecurtis2202]

Hey Rick, I teach rock music to kids once a week, today we're attempting Royal Blood's Figure It Out, it's a fun song to play and uses all the notes too!

[@Ozonespider]

Rick, I highly recommend checking out Feed the Biirds' cover of In Bloom. Some really cool reharm and production choices. Would love to see you do an analysis of it

[@morphaybrothers3642]

That cover is so sick. Their whole Nirvana EP kicks ass. So well done

[@Ozonespider]

@@morphaybrothers3642 right???

[@MadMalikBand]

15:02 Chad wrote the drums for the entire song. Dave Grhl copied Chad's drums when he recorded Nevermind for the entire songs of In Bloom, Breed, Lithium, and Stay Away. Grohl also copied the entire song of drain you from the Melvin's drummer Dale Crover. Dale explains this in his interview with Daniel Sarkissian - you can look it up on youtube. Chad is in the original in bloom music video. Although it is dave singing harmony on the Nevermind version. I love your videos, Rick. Thank you so much for making this.

[@johnwebb4499]

Rick's so musical it's in his name.

[@justinlareau2227]

I was right because I was shocked when figuring it out on guitar myself, I was like it hits every fret for the powerchords and was impressed kurt was able to do that and make it sound so good.

[@MrBruinman86]

What about songs like Radiohead's "Paranoid Android" or the Police's "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"? They must come close.

[@guyallen2355]

This was a really fun one to watch. Love the Nirvana appreciation too!

[@teapulp]

"Chad was long gone" Chad was in the band when they first did the song. Look up "In Bloom (Alternate Version)" - it's the original music video, for the version they recorded during their session at Smart Studios circa 1990. Bonus trivia: Chad Channing appears on Nevermind. He plays drums on "Polly". It's actually the recording from that same Smart Studios session. Everything else was re-recorded with Grohl at Sound City. You can find the entire Smart Studios session as a playlist here on KZbin.

[@bhami]

Franz Liszt's Faust Symphony famously opens with a tone row! Year 1857!

[@87linceed]

Mozart symphony 40 last movement uses all 12, 1788

[@Cr8Tron]

Yeah, the list could go on... I'm not sure why this is even a conversation, honesty? I think Rick could've articulated the description a little better, by specifying that we're talking about a piece's chord changes, and the notes contained within all those chords that are changing through the progressions. Even then, I'd still argue that it's not that big of a deal, as there are plenty of examples. But think specifically "pop music", and such music that is *not* atonal... It might take a while, but I'm sure there's plenty that cover all 12 notes in a "pop piece", based on just their chords.

[@louislaz]

I guessed Lithium then In Bloom. This is a cool fact, it’s amazing how much Kurt did in such a short time.

[@VikingofRock]

I was like "I dunno if Aneurysm was really a hit..."

[@RosieHarp]

I don't have any Nirvana albums but every time I hear another of their songs I think 'Why don't I have any Nirvana albums?' I love these songs

[@ekted]

Awaken by Yes does the full circle of fifths.

[@americanpatriots4868]

Great video as usual Rick. I'm a Southern Rock kind of guy, but I will be the first to admit that Kurt Cobain was a genius.

[@tomnaumann2104]

I’m told the Cardiac’s “Dirty Boy” uses all 12. Lots of key changes in that song.

[@enlargementmeditation8890]

As a guitarist whose ancestry is heavily based in Seattle, I really appreciate the breakdown of the Seattle sound and the appreciation for the art. From a guy whose family name is on a Market in downtown Seattle and on a percentage of Starbucks coffee. Enjoy. I don't see a damn dime for use of the name.

[@07wrxtr1]

I grewup in Portland- my dad and I would do trips to Seattle and BC in the early 90’s - Seattle was a cool city and fun to stay downtown at that time… Amazing what poor policy decisions and emotional based voting has done to the place since then

[@johnsidorovich]

You missed Soundgarden “The Day I Tried to Live.” 11 tones in the main riff in key of E and C# but then consider that those 11 tones are power chords and there are harmonized at the 5th, so all 12 tones. Easy!

[@mavenofmacau6391]

thats a great fucking song, way better than in bloom. last song off of superunknown is the best though