I figured it was high time that I got around to doing a Nirvana tutorial on the ukulele and this seemed like as good a starting point as any.
This is probably the easiest song to play that I’ve recorded to date so if you’re a complete newbie then this is a pretty good starting point for you.
The Chords
The original chords are E, D and A and it sounds like it’s tuned down half a step. To make things easier on you I’ve transposed it so that we’ll be using A, G and D to avoid playing the E chord which is quite frankly, a pain in the ass to play on the uke.
The Verses
The verses follow this pattern…
A | G | D | D
Playing that through 4 times before you get to the chorus…
The Chorus
Slightly different from the verses using this pattern…
A | G | A | G | A | G | D
The Rhythm/Strumming Pattern
Keeping this one nice and simple I like to use the good old down down up up down up strumming pattern. If you’re not already familiar with this pattern then now is a good time to get it nailed down as you’re going to be seeing a lot of it in the future.
D-DU-UDU
That rhythm will comfortably get you through the song. Feel free to mix it up a bit though to keep the song dynamic sounding interesting.
View Comments (4)
You're an excellent teacher!
Thank you!
Hi David, its Dylan Hewitt just gonna say how in the world do you play like that on Ukulele?? Have a good one!
Hi Dylan - just a lot of practice and I'm not even that good but thanks for the nice comment!