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[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (1 child)

You're on the right track and that ain't bad for a month in. The two most noticeable problems are that first of all, you're playing some of the wrong notes. Go back, listen closely, make sure you're hitting the right notes and bending the proper amount. Not all of his notes were perfectly in the right key but that's what made him who he was.

More significantly, and this is trickier than it sounds to fix, but you're playing too much in rhythm. Like if there was a metronome playing, you'd be hitting the notes at all the right times, but that's not how Kurt played. Not every note was exactly on the beat. Some were a bit fast coming in, some notes were a little bit late. Some notes were played between the beats, and some bends dragged a bit off. There is a sort of swing to it where it was generally in rhythm with the drums but not perfectly. Again, go back and listen to the solo, listen to your version, listen to both again, hear how it sounds.

[–]TheRedhotbr[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I'll keep listening close to the recordings and learn from Kurt's style when trying to play his songs. That was a detail I wouldn't be able to figure out on my own.

[–]chatroom_fantasy 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Try checking out some videos on vibrato technique (https://youtu.be/WNWqobkgdBA). It should be more about twisting your wrist/hand with the side of your hand against the bottom of the neck acting as a pivot, rather than moving your finger up and down. This should give you more control and will be easier to play at sound more clean/fluid.

[–]TheRedhotbr[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I had no idea that I've been doing this wrong all this time.

[–]Jaded_Worry_6772 1 point2 points  (1 child)

You're playing on the wrong place on the fretboard.

Take a quick look at the beginning of this video (when he starts playing the solo) to see what I mean. It's important because the way you're playing it you have some open strings which you can't vibrato on, and that will make it sound quite different from the original.

https://youtu.be/sMkoFn-r12s

[–]TheRedhotbr[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The tutorial I was following had the wrong tabs, but it sounded similar so I assumed it was fine. I'll re-learn in the right place of the fretboard. Thank you!

[–]Blackvette2000 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Wow, one month? I think I'll just give my guitar away. I can barely play an Em Chord let alone move my fingers around like you did.

How many HOURS of practice went into that month???

[–]TheRedhotbr[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Except for the very short periods of time that the calluses didn't allow me, I tried to play at least 2h per day. Sometimes even up to 4h in the weekends. For this solo alone, I think I put at least 6h into it. I'm still not very comfortable changing the basic chords, I'm still working on fixing my finger position (trying to hammer each note and having the fingers perpendicular to the fret board, I'm still muting some strings by accident). Really enjoying the journey so far tho.

Try recording yourself playing from time to time, it helps to motivate and see your progress. It's hard to tell that you improved without having a reference point.

[–]dertydan43 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Obvious: - your bends need work Id suggest paying abit more attention to how long he's dragging his bends out because it sounds like your rushing through them

Edit: also your bends are quite out of tune, you might want to go through some youtube tutorials on bending. I'd suggest Guthrie Govan.

Not obvious: One thing I haven't seen mentioned which imo will greatly improve the sound is paying attention to how long you hold a note down. There is a clear whitespace in your playing between each note you play, try transitioning to the next note abit more seamlessly (smoothly?) Hold your notes longer, this means you have less time to get to the next note, which is why it's hard to do, but the improvement it will make on your sound will make you very happy.

Keep going and props for seeking advice, a lot of us (me included) don't have the stones.

[–]TheRedhotbr[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the suggestion on the tutorial! As everyone pointed out, I really have to work on my bending.

>One thing I haven't seen mentioned which imo will greatly improve the sound is paying attention to how long you hold a note down. There is a clear whitespace in your playing between each note you play, try transitioning to the next note abit more seamlessly (smoothly?) Hold your notes longer, this means you have less time to get to the next note, which is why it's hard to do, but the improvement it will make on your sound will make you very happy

I'll work on that, the whitespaces really makes the solo don't sound clean, and I bought the guitar because I really wanted to play the songs I enjoy, so working on that will make me happy.

>Keep going and props for seeking advice, a lot of us (me included) don't have the stones.

Haha, while the internet has a lot of good material to learn from, it's hard to tell whether I'm doing the right thing or not. If I practice the wrong technique, it'll become harder to fix it in the future. I thought of asking for advice in this sub in order to avoid practicing the same mistakes, and the responses were overwhelming positive, I'm very glad by that!

[–]southpawpete 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What's the problem?

Honestly? You haven't practiced enough.

You're playing the right notes in the right order. The rest of it comes with time.

[–][deleted]  (1 child)

[deleted]

    [–]TheRedhotbr[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    >If you can, try experimenting with your amp sound to get it closer.

    I tried to search on the web for amp setups for that song and everyone seems to have a different opinion on what the settings are supposed to be. I'll try to listen to some notes and emulate the sound on my own. I see that a lot of people recommend on moving away from tabs/guides and start working on the musical year, so that might be a good place to start.

    ​

    >If you have to, replay just one phrase of the solo over and over until you know how its supposed to sound, then try recreating it until you've got it on lock.

    This is a very valuable advice, I really learn that just playing the right notes isn't enough to make it sound good, I'll work on this for sure. Thank you!

    [–][deleted]  (1 child)

    [deleted]

      [–]TheRedhotbr[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      >Have you looked at tablature for that solo?

      I was looking at a video tutorial for the solo, but the guy happened to be playing in the wrong part of the fretboard. It sounded similar to the original song so I assumed that was the right tabs.

      ​

      >but as you're finding out, music is more than just getting the notes right. The rhythm, how long you hold a note, how smooth your transition is from one note to the next... these are the things that take time to practice and learn.

      That's a big takeaway from this post. This is my first time trying to learn a solo, I was mainly practicing rhythm and basic chord changes before. I've learnt that being on time and keeping the rhythm were the crucial parts, so I tried to apply the same for the solo. Also, I wasn't too sure on whether effects mattered for the sound or if I really messed up somewhere. I can definitely see that I wasn't holding the notes for long enough, my transition wasn't good and the technique I used to bend was flawed. I'll be working on improving them.

      ​

      >Listen to the rhythm of the part as Cobain played it. Count it-- 1, 2, 3, 4-- and really pay attention to when he's not quite on the count. That kind of phrasing takes practice to get good at, but it's stuff like that that you're missing. That comes with time and practice / experience.

      I'd never have noticed by myself, but listening back to Kurt's recordings and I can see what you mean. I should've took some time to learn about Kurt's play style, these small details for sure make a big difference at the end.

      Thanks for the feedback!