Why Kurt Cobain insisted on not improving as a musician

In essence, Kurt Cobain He was a punk musician. That’s why it surprised a lot of people that his band, the Nirvanaachieved enormous commercial success, since many of the vocalist and guitarist’s practices seemed to be, at least from an initial perspective, anti-commercial.

One of them even involved his improvement as a musician. The artist who died in 1994 said he made a point of not evolving technically in his duties. And depending on your point of view, his explanation was even convincing.

In a 1993 interview with journalist Edgar Klüsener (via Far Out Magazine), Cobain He explained why he wanted to remain limited, especially as a guitarist. For him, mastering a wide range of techniques affects originality, so that his compositions would no longer be so spontaneous.

“I have no desire to become a better guitarist. I don’t like anything about this side of musicality. I have no respect for such musicality, I just hate it. Learning to read sheet music, or understanding arpeggios and Dorian modes and everything else is a waste of time. This hinders originality.”

And how do Kurt Did you learn to play the guitar? According to him, on the basis of “imitation”.

“I never learned to read music. When I was younger, I just copied other people who took the time to learn how to read. I was so simple. Even at that age, I saw no reason to learn anything someone else had composed.”

Minor and major chords? What nothing

Still in his statement, Kurt Cobain He commented that he didn’t even know how to make major or minor chords on the guitar. His execution was intuitive, based on what he thought would sound best.

“I have no idea of ​​knowing how to be a musician, whatsoever. I don’t know the name of the chords to play, I don’t know how to make major or minor chords on the guitar. Everyone knows more than me.”

The stubborn Kurt Cobain

This does not mean, however, that Kurt Cobain didn’t have what it took to become a successful musician. And one of these characteristics was little noticed by the public — at least according to the businessman of the Nirvana, Danny Goldbergwho spoke about the subject in an interview with the podcast Whatever Nevermind(via Igor Miranda website).

“They came to me because of the ambitious side he had. Although he didn’t show it, it was part of what made the art successful. It was obvious from the first meeting that he had very strong ideas about where he wanted the band to go, and this was reinforced every other time I spoke to him. […] Kurt was very intense when it came to his art. He insisted on rehearsing every day, and if you look at his diaries, he had all these drawings from when he was a kid, imagining Nirvana headlining and playing in arenas. He had an exact vision of what Nirvana became – a very successful band that spoke the international language of mass rock ‘n’ roll, but was rooted in the cultural values ​​and intimacy of American punk.”