8 Easy Nirvana Songs to Play on Guitar [TABs & Tutorials]

When you buy your first guitar the only thing you want to do is play songs of your favorite band. 

If you are a musician, you know what grunge is and what group was the pioneer in this beautiful genre.

Needless to say, we are talking about the well-known band from Seattle, Nirvana. 

Today I’m going to show you the 8 easiest Nirvana songs to play on guitar, so you will be able to impress everyone at parties.

Here they are:

1. Something In The Way
2. Drain You
3. Lithium
4. Polly
5. Rape Me
6. In Bloom
7. Hear-Shaped Box
8. Smells Like Teen Spirit

As you may think, most Nirvana songs are not so difficult to play. 

Although some of them are tuned lower than usual, in most cases you could play them using standard E tuning.

What is more, Nirvana songs are mainly composed using just a bunch of power chords. 

That is perfect for first learners because these kinds of chords are quite easy and comfortable to play.

In this article, you have a list of pieces that you can learn quickly after a few days of playing. 

In addition, every technique used in each song is described and, what is even better, you have links with guitar lessons and tabs. 

1. Something In The Way

This song from the well-known album Nevermind is a fantastic piece for those who are starting on guitar. 

It is an easy song to play because consists of a slow tempo and is played on acoustic guitar.

Although the song is dropped in the sixth string and tuned half step down, you can practice it on standard tuning but dropping the low E to D will sound nice. 

The verse and the chorus of the song share the same notes and that is why is simple.

What you need to do is to strum the strings playing the two chords along with the entire piece except for one section in which a simple arpeggio occurs. 

You can use a pick or just your bare hand and as it doesn’t have a solo you won’t require any other technique.

Here’s the song:

Link to tabs

Here’s a tutorial:

2. Drain You

We have again a song from Nevermind but now we are talking about the 8th track of the album, Drain You. 

This song requires better control of the strumming and in this case, is played on electric guitar.

If you are accustomed to playing power chords this song will be quite simple for you. 

Drain You implies a bunch of fifth chords mostly played by using down picking.

The interesting thing about this song is that in some sections a distortion effect appears and it also occurs in the solo which is a pretty simple line played on just one string applying slide technique. 

Is in D standard tuning so you will have to tune all the strings a whole step down but again, you can try it in standard tuning.

The intro and the verses are the same, the chorus is repeated twice, and on both occasions is the same, the only section that changes is the interlude which is a G# chord (if you use D standard tuning) or an F# chord (using standard tuning) played repeatedly to continue with the solo.

Here’s the song:

Link to tabs

Here’s a tutorial:

3. Lithium

Lithium is an obscure and happy piece, one of the most famous of Nirvana’s songs and the perfect excuse to carry your guitar to a fireside on the woods or the beach.

Although the song is played on electric guitar, it sounds amazing on acoustic pieces.

Like many of Nirvana’s songs, Lithium is detuned a whole step, is tuned in standard D tuning but you can play it on standard E tuning. This piece consists of five parts; intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, and outro being quite similar among each other, except for the chorus.

The intro and the verses are the same, an arpeggio in the first section and then power chords. 

The pre-chorus implies exactly the same notes but instead of doing the arpeggio at the beginning, the entire section is played with fifth chords.

The rhythm of the song is not hard at all and there is no solo section so it would be a really simple song to learn. 

I recommend using a pick to play this piece but if you are more fond of fingerstyle you can apply it too.

Here’s the song:

Link to tabs

Here’s a tutorial:

4. Polly

We continue with songs from Nevermind and on this occasion, we have another wonderful piece to play with friends reunited around a fireside. 

To play Polly the only thing you need is an acoustic guitar and five chords.

This song involves just two different sections or three if we count the interlude but it is like a variation of the main line. 

The verses are always the same four chords whereas the choruses are made of three chords from the verses plus a new one.

However, the chords used in the verses change their order on the choruses. 

Then, we have the interlude which is a plucked part playing the fundamental of the chords in the verses.

Is a perfect song for practicing your strumming on acoustic guitar and is quite easy. 

It doesn’t demand a lot of difficult or barre chords, just power chords and a plucking part not difficult at all.

Here’s the song:

Link to tabs

Here’s a tutorial:

5. Rape Me

For the first time, we have a song from a different album. 

In this opportunity, we have a song from In Utero, the third and last album by Nirvana. 

Rape Me is a mixture of sweet arpeggiated lines and rough-sounding power chords.

However, let me tell you that is a simple song because the chords are the same during the verse and the chorus. 

In the verse, you will find four arpeggiated chords while in the chorus you will have those four chords again but played as fifths.

There is one more section that varies but is composed of power chords as well. 

Furthermore, it won’t be so hard to learn and remember it. 

Another remarkable aspect is that this song is tuned in Db standard tuning, so you will need to tune all your strings half step down. 

However, I encourage you to play it on standard tuning.

Although Cobain played Rape Me on electric guitar, the contrast between the power chords and the arpeggios will suit really nice to the acoustic guitar.

Here’s the song:

Link to tabs

Here’s a tutorial:

6. In Bloom

Hi there, Nevermind! Here we go again! 

This is one of the most popular Nirvana songs, everyone instantly recognizes this piece when the intro starts. 

Although is a famous song, is not that hard to play.

In Bloom consists of five main sections: intro, verse, chorus, solo, and outro. 

The beginning and the ending of the song are exactly the same and between the intro and the chorus, there are no huge variations although are not equal. 

The whole piece uses power chords with simple strumming patterns, slides in some segments, and a few ghost notes when changing chords. 

The hardest part may be the solo which is played just in two adjacent strings, it involves some bendings, slides, and vibratos but after a couple of tries, you will truly get it.

Here’s the song:

Link to tabs

Here’s a tutorial:

7. Heart-Shaped Box

We are reaching the end so we have the last two songs and they are the “most difficult” of the easiest. 

The first relevant thing is how this song is tuned, it uses drop C# which means that every string should be dropped half step except for the low E that should be a C#.

Heart-Shaped Box is in a way similar to Rape Me because it has that dark hue that the arpeggio provides but then goes to those fifth chords at the end of the chorus. 

This is a nice song to practice your arpeggio skills and also your bendings.

The intro and the verse of this piece are almost the same, the chorus consists of power chords combined with bends and little arpeggios and it has a simple solo in which bendings predominate. 

After you learn each section what you have to do is to remember the right order.

Here’s the song:

Link to tabs

Here’s a tutorial:

8. Smells Like Teen Spirit

Last but not least, we have the song that marked the 90s, the most famous song of this group, that piece that every starter wants to learn. 

Smells Like Teen Spirit has a fast tempo in the first part and during the chorus but the rest is very quiet and easy to play.

The intro is a crunchy progression of four power chords with ghost notes that produce a scratch between each chord. 

The verse is an uncomplicated line that alternates only two notes in adjacent strings.

Then, the chorus is the same as the intro plus come power chords and a single bending. 

The solo replicates the melody of the vocals, a simple plucked section that involves more bendings.

Here’s the song:

Link to tabs

Here’s a tutorial: