Looking at the chords in the biggest hit, Teen Spirit https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/nirvana/smells-like-tee...
there seems to be a minor chord every 5 seconds or so which doesn't really fit the title?
Nevermind, an album on major chords
81–90 of 114 posts
Re: Nevermind, an album on major chords
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
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When it comes to cultural significance and catchiness the fact that people have been doing it for a long time doesn’t matter. In fact, the ability to tap into mass media only makes the impact of a song greater. Access to electric instruments and effects only gave them more ability to create interesting music. I’m a fan of all kinds of music old and new. But anyone saying German leders or old timey civil war ditties a…
It's an odd thing to even compare. Musical styles and genres come in and out of fashion. Instruments and timbres likewise. People clamour both for novelty and also familiarity. There's no "best" music, just music that has more or fewer fans.
Ideally, the measure of timelessness of a tune is how many people will still go to the effort to play it or reference it once all people who were alive at its release (the people who "liked it before it was cool") are dead. By that measure, the one-hit-wonder of Pachelbel's Canon in D is probably top of the list.
Re: Nevermind, an album on major chords
#83Pretty much every chord he played was a power chord. Thats just a root and a 5th. It’s neither major or minor, because you need the 3rd to establish that And nearly every punk and metal band uses predominantly power chords, without any real care in the world as to what the progressions are. It just sounds good to them. There aren’t any rules because punk is a DIY genre. If you told him he was doing a thing, he’d do t…
That’s just not true. Off the top of my head Lithium, Dumb, About A Girl have critical minor and major chords. Also part of what made him so good was how he played vocal melody and rhythm off of chords. So in some songs you might have plain power chords but the melody hits important major or minor notes. I don’t know what your definition for genius is but the guy wrote some of the best songs in human history and did…
Surely if genius is to maintain any usefulness as a word at all, it has to mean more than that the person didn't work with a big production crew or have a "primary collaborator", whatever that means. How irrelevant!
I'm not sure if this notion of "genius" helps people appreciate music or if it just worsens the idolising/othering aspect of it. If we are going to use the word, though, can we not attempt to reserve it for the uncontroversial candidates, like Art Tatum, for example.
Re: Nevermind, an album on major chords
#84Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don’t know how you can say with a straight face that smells like teen spirit isn’t one of the greatest modern rock songs. That riff is etched in music history at this point
It's really twofold. You could also identify the song just from Dave's riffs.
Dave’s riffs are also stolen from disco. Which again, is fine! I love them!
Source: https://youtu.be/dZCrdSC2-1I
Re: Nevermind, an album on major chords
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
FWIW, I'm a huge fan of both John Lee Hooker and Jimmy Reed, who had similar vamp-based playing styles and were untutored, couldn't read music, &c. One of my guitar teachers knew Hooker and he even imparted "the secret of the guitar" to him, which he then passed down to me. But yeah, feel, instinct, and having good ears can carry you a long way especially for solo artists. I'm still glad I can read music and wouldn't…
Yeah absolutely, I'm not arguing against theory by any means. I'm happy I know it, but often times I wish my early music teachers spent more time with me on following my ears than whatever it was they were trying to do. It wasn't until I was an adult that I found someone that really cared about that. But also... what's John Lee Hooker's secret of the guitar??? Don't hold out on us!
It's supposed to be transmitted orally, like a story from Homer or something, so I won't copy and paste it here, but you can find it easily enough by searching. Basically, without quoting it word-for-word, it's old bluesman advice from the "diddly-bow" era that when starting out on guitar, string it with one string only and play it until you can provoke emotion from an audience with one string. When you can do that, add another, repeat the cycle, add another string, until all six strings are on the guitar.
Re: Nevermind, an album on major chords
#86Finally the text in not-ask-submission do not become just a comment to HN post?
Re: Nevermind, an album on major chords
#87Kinda like the Beatles there are clasically "wrong" chord progressions that just work. (EG V-IV-1). Just a classic punk album.
I am under impression that almost every progression works as long as you are in the key, am I wrong?
"There are no rules of music, only rules of style" - Arnold Schoenberg, Harmonielehre.
Re: Nevermind, an album on major chords
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
I like Nirvana as much as the next 90s kid but there is no way these are the best songs in human history, or even in rock history, or even in "modern rock" history.
I don’t know how you can say with a straight face that smells like teen spirit isn’t one of the greatest modern rock songs. That riff is etched in music history at this point
It was culturally influential, signaled the end of glam rock, and was even dubbed the anthem of a generation, but it didn't showcase great songwriting. It's not fair because he had time to grow as an artist, but "Everlong" is a better song.
Re: Nevermind, an album on major chords
#89Pretty much every chord he played was a power chord. Thats just a root and a 5th. It’s neither major or minor, because you need the 3rd to establish that And nearly every punk and metal band uses predominantly power chords, without any real care in the world as to what the progressions are. It just sounds good to them. There aren’t any rules because punk is a DIY genre. If you told him he was doing a thing, he’d do t…
> punk and metal band uses predominantly power chords, without any real care in the world as to what the progressions are Somewhat true for punk, mostly incorrect for metal. A lot of metal is very analytical, deeper in musical theory than most popular genres (rock, pop, rnb…), they care _a lot_ about it. Metal is often very technical, it bred some of the top musicians in the world, it’s no surprise they give a shit a…
And only somewhat true for punk. Once you're a mediocre guitarist, you finger the whole chord in case you strum too far.
Re: Nevermind, an album on major chords
#90[deleted]