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BONUS for Patreon supporters: watch 2 full play-along covers I made of this song (one in standard tuning, the other in E-flat tuning) @ / 57270986
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View my additional notes for this lesson: songnotes.net/lessons/395/
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Hello, my friends! Today I'm excited to show you how to play The Man Who Sold The World, as covered by Nirvana on their 1994 album MTV Unplugged. This song is originally written & recorded by David Bowie (1970), but this lesson will work perfectly well for his version too. This song is a blast to play. In addition to being one you can strum & sing in a straightforward manner, there's (1) the distinctive one-string riff, (2) the chorus scale riff, and (3) the ending solo -- which also uses only one string -- which altogether make for a true delight to play around with. No matter which of these you want to tackle, this tutorial has you covered.
Video timestamps:
0:00 Preview & Lesson Summary
2:16 Tuning Notes (Standard vs. E-flat)
2:46 Intro Riff Basics
5:33 Intro Riff, While Strumming
7:25 Chord Shapes
10:27 Strumming the Verse
15:04 Strumming the Chorus
17:30 Chorus Scale Riff
24:15 Ending Solo w/ Tab
⭐️ Patreon Bonus! Save 50% on the licensed sheet music
Get the members-only discount code here: songnotes.net/discount
⭐️ Patreon Bonus! Watch my full play-along cover video
Based on popular demand, I’ve created a separate video showing TWO play-through covers of this song. The first is in standard tuning (using a simple strum, and no backing guitar tracks) while the second uses E-flat tuning (using a percussive strum, along with the chorus scale riff played over a backing rhythm track). Taken together, I feel you’ll be in very good in hands in seeing the different ways you can approach this song.
Watch my play-along cover video here: / 57270986
🎓 Related Lessons
Here's some additional lessons I've made to help you with the techniques used in this song:
- Playing A-major with One Finger (Lesson #46) songnotes.net/lessons/46
- Percussive Slap Strum Technique (Lesson #197) songnotes.net/lessons/197
- F Chord Cheat Sheet (Lesson #392) songnotes.net/lessons/392
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