Master Grunge Guitar: Dive into the Iconic Sounds of the 90s

About the Course

Welcome to the world of grunge guitar, where raw emotion meets iconic sound. This course is designed to immerse you in the gritty, powerful rhythms that defined the 90s music scene. Whether you're a beginner or a low intermediate player, you'll find that grunge guitar is accessible and exciting. By exploring the styles of legendary bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden, you'll learn how to transform simple chords into the expressive soundscapes that grunge is known for. This article focuses on Chapter 1 — the starting point of the full course available inside the Gibson App. Dive in and discover how grunge rhythm guitar can become a part of your musical journey.

Chapter 1

Intro To This Guide

Transforming Chords with Open Strings

An introduction to grunge rhythm guitar begins with understanding how to give your playing that distinctive 90s sound. By applying basic concepts to your chords, you can achieve an iconic grunge style. Start with an F-sharp major chord using a bar at the second fret and holding an E shape. Removing the bar exposes the open top two strings, transforming the chord's tonality. This technique, associated with Jerry Cantrell from Alice in Chains, is a staple in grunge music.

Exploring Iconic Riffs

In this course, you'll explore riffs and chord progressions inspired by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and Stone Temple Pilots. Each musical example introduces a new concept, allowing you to combine riffs and play over a grunge-style backing track. Designed for beginners to low intermediate players, these riffs will help you achieve an authentic 90s grunge sound.

Soundgarden’s Sus4 Chord Picking

Atmospheric Chord Progressions

Dive into the guitar style of Soundgarden, focusing on Kim Thayil's chord style. This riff utilizes a sus4 chord in a progression inspired by "Black Hole Sun." The progression is expressive and atmospheric, using an E bar chord shape to create a unique sound.

Mastering Down Picks

The riff involves picking the bottom four strings with all down picks, emphasizing timing due to the space within the riff. This chord picking style captures the essence of Soundgarden's music, allowing you to play through the progression with precision.

Nirvana’s Power Chords

Iconic Rhythm Guitar Style

Nirvana's music revolutionized the early 90s, and Kurt Cobain's rhythm guitar style is central to this transformation. Focus on power chords with root notes on the E string, using the third finger to maintain shape across strings. This approach creates a unique sound associated with grunge.

Sinister Intervallic Jumps

Kurt Cobain's chord progressions often feature unusual intervallic jumps, adding a sinister sound. Practice the rhythm with down, down, up strokes, allowing open strings to fill gaps during chord changes. This style captures the essence of Nirvana's music.

Pearl Jam’s Pentatonic Riff

Shifting Pentatonic Scales

Explore Pearl Jam's riffing style, inspired by their debut album "Ten." This riff shifts between minor and major pentatonic scales, incorporating open strings. The technique is straightforward yet effective, capturing the essence of Pearl Jam's sound.

Hammer-On Techniques

Focus on hammering onto frets without re-picking, maintaining timing consistency. The riff concludes with a chord progression featuring F major and C major, played on the push rather than the downbeat.

Alice in Chains’ Open String Chords

Atmospheric Open String Chords

Jerry Cantrell's rhythm playing is atmospheric, using open string chords to create a stylistic grunge sound. Hold an E bar chord shape while exposing open strings, allowing the fretted notes to interact with the open strings.

Position Shifts and Consistency

Practice position shifts while maintaining chord shape consistency. Arch your first finger to expose open strings, creating the stylistic sound associated with Alice in Chains.

Soundgarden’s Inverted Power Chords

Heavy Grunge Sound

Inspired by "Outshined," this riff explores inverted power chords and unusual time signatures. Achieve a pseudo drop-tuned sound without changing tuning, using inverted power chords on the E and A strings.

Navigating Seven-Four Time Signature

The riff is in seven-four, adding complexity to the rhythm. Practice counting carefully, separating pairs of strings, and adding palm muting for a heavier sound.

Stone Temple Pilots’ Triads

Triad Chord Voicing

Inspired by "Plush," this riff uses triad chords with interlinking tones. Focus on triad movement and chord voicing to capture the Stone Temple Pilots' sound.

Maintaining String Clarity

Keep the third finger fixed on the third fret of the top E, ensuring clarity in triad notes. Control your picking hand to strike only the top three strings, allowing the triads to interact stylistically.

Play-Along

Combining Riffs

Jam along with the backing track, combining all learned riffs. Start with the A sus4 chord and progress through each riff, maintaining timing and rhythm.

Performance

The Full Course

Chapter 1: Rhythm

Chapter 1 lays the foundation for grunge rhythm guitar, exploring iconic riffs and chord progressions. You'll learn techniques from Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and Stone Temple Pilots, transforming simple chords into expressive soundscapes.

Chapter 2: Lead

Dive into grunge lead guitar with Chapter 2, focusing on five iconic licks from Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and Stone Temple Pilots. Learn techniques like bending, hammer-ons, and pull-offs, capturing the essence of grunge solos.

Chapter 3: Play A Full Song

Combine all the riffs and licks learned to play a full grunge-style song. This chapter emphasizes musical application, allowing you to perform confidently over a grunge-inspired backing track.

By the end of this course, you'll have a deep connection to grunge guitar, feeling confident in your ability to play and create music inspired by the 90s grunge movement. From rhythm to lead, this course guides you through every step, ensuring you master the iconic sounds of grunge.