www.holistic-songwriting.

com

The Formula
100+ Chord Progressions
 www.holistic-songwriting.com

The Mindset
“Why the hell would you even make a guide like this? Clearly there is no one formula to summarise all of
Nirvana’s work, right?"
Right. My intention with this PDF is to a) give you a quick start into writing grungy chord progressions next
time you’re sitting down to write and b) to understand Nirvana’s band sound better. I’m not claiming that
using this formula will turn you into the next Kurt Cobain, but maybe it will help you find your unique sound.

2 crucial things to remember:

1) Power Chords only
Cobain almost exclusively uses Power Chords. He might occasionally add a fifth on top (1-5-8-5 instead of
1-5 or 1-5-8) when he’s playing in Drop D though (otherwise this voicing is very uncomfortable to play).
2) Write in Major, then simplify
Even though power chords are neither major or minor, most of Nirvana’s chord progressions have a major feel
to them (most songs have no more than 1 minor chord - i.e. Lithium is D - F# - Bm - G - Bb - C - A - C). When
writing your melody, play all chords as major triads and adapt the melody. Your melody will sound grungier
this way. When you’re finished writing your melody, simplify the chords to power chords again.
 www.holistic-songwriting.com

Symbols! Formulas! What???

"You’re using new terminology for this PDF than classical music theory. Why?”
Because Cobain wasn’t thinking in classical music theory terms. Using functional harmony to describe what he’s
doing reads rather unpleasantly because he often changes key mid-song or uses (traditionally) nonsensical chords.
As you will see, the terminology I use has more to do with the actual chord-to-chord movement than how the chords
relate to the key (similar to Neo-Riemannian Theory). This mirrors how a guitarist with no musical education
approaches chords: visually (not thinking in terms of “thirds” but in terms of “moving up 3 steps”).

The terminology explained

X, Y, Z: any chords that are different from one another (these will be power chords)
(M): major feel, i.e. even though this chord will be a power chord, write your melody playing a major triad here.
(r): the bass note from this power chord comes from the relative key, i.e. if your chord progression is set in C major, this will be a
bass note from C minor.
b3, 3, 4: move a minor third (3 half steps), a major third (4 half steps) or a fourth (5 half steps) to get to this power chord.
b3: move a minor third (3 half steps) to get to this power chord.
+, -, ±: move up, down or either (you choose).
Example:
X+b3±4(M)-b3/3 reads as start on any power chord, move UP a minor third (3 half steps), choose whether to move up or down a 4th (5
half steps) and play that chord as a major chord, then move down either a minor third (3 half steps) or a major third (4 half steps). So
this formula could mean: C5-Eb5-Ab-F or C5-Eb5-Ab-Fb5 or C5-Eb5-Bb5-G5 or C5-Eb5-Bb5-Gb5.
 www.holistic-songwriting.com

Formula #1: X(M)±b3(M)

“I want to write a simple, 2-chord chorus in the style of Nirvana. What chord progression
would you recommend?”
Oh me, you always ask the best questions, you handsome devil, you. Let’s start with this
classic Nirvana chord progression, found in In Bloom, Come As You Are and Drain You.

Examples
C-Eb: In traditional harmony, this would be called moving up to the chromatic mediant.
C-Ab: In traditional harmony, this would be called moving down to the chromatic mediant.
In classical terms: I-bIII or I-bVI
 www.holistic-songwriting.com

Formula #2: X(M)±4(M)+b3(M)±Y(r,M)

“I was always bad at maths. Could you explain this in plain English?”
Anything for you, voice-in-my-head-that-tells-me-to-kick-toddlers. Start on any power chord and move
up or down 5 half steps. Then move up 3 half steps (when you’re writing a melody to your chord
progression, play this as a major chord). End on a major chord built on a bass note from the relative
minor key. When you’re writing a melody to these chords, all chords count as major chords.

Examples
C-F-Ab-Eb C-F-Ab-D C-G-Bb-Eb C-G-Bb-D
C-F-Ab-Ab C-F-Ab-G C-G-Bb-Ab C-G-Bb-G
C-F-Ab-Bb C-F-Ab-Eb C-G-Bb-Bb C-G-Bb-Eb
 www.holistic-songwriting.com

Formula #3: X±b3/3±Y(M)+b3(M)

“This looks complicated.”

It looks more complicated than it is. Just go through it step by step and you’ll be fine.
Just pick a starting chord and move up or down a minor or major third. Then pick another
chord and move up a minor third.

Examples
C5-Ab5-F-Ab C5-A5-F-Ab C5-Eb5-F-Ab C5-E5-F-Ab
C5-Ab5-F#-A C5-A5-F#-A C5-Eb5-F#-A C5-E5-F#-A
C5-Ab5-G-Bb C5-A5-G-Bb C5-Eb5-G-Bb C5-E5-G-Bb
C5-Ab5-A-C C5-A5-Ab-B C5-Eb5-Ab-B C5-E5-Ab-B
C5-Ab5-Bb-Db C5-A5-Bb-Db C5-Eb5-A-C C5-E5-A-C
C5-Ab5-B-D C5-A5-B-D C5-Eb5-Bb-Db C5-E5-Bb-Db
C5-Ab5-C-Eb C5-A5-C-Eb C5-Eb5-B-D C5-E5-B-D
C5-Ab5-Db-E C5-A5-Db-E C5-Eb5-C-Eb C5-E5-C-Eb
C5-Ab5-D-F C5-A5-D-F C5-Eb5-Db-E C5-E5-Db-E
C5-Ab5-Eb-Gb C5-A5-Eb-Gb C5-Eb5-D-F C5-E5-D-F
C5-Ab5-E-G C5-A5-E-G C5-Eb5-E-G C5-E5-Eb-Gb
 www.holistic-songwriting.com

Formula #4: X ±? ±Y ±?
“I want more chord progressions!”
If you want to craft your own Nirvana-esque chord progressions, I got one more for tip you: A lot of Nirvana’s chord
progressions are built on sequencing out chord movement. In other words, you start on a chord (X), move that
chord somewhere and remember by how many semitones (±?) you moved. Then you go to any other chord (Y) and
do that same move (±?) again. All of this is easiest to see on guitar where the chord shapes give you a visual clue.

Example:
You start out in C and randomly move to F. That’s up a fourth (5 semitones up). So X=C and ±?=+5. Now all
you have to do is pick another random chord Y. Say you pick Eb. That will make the last chord (Eb+5
semitones=) Ab. So your final chord progression will read:
C-F-Eb-Ab
Here’s a few more examples using different intervals and random Y-chords:
C-G-Eb-Bb (up a fifth), C-G-D-A (up a fifth), C-Ab-B-G (down a major third), C-F#-Eb-A (down a tritone), etc.
 www.holistic-songwriting.com

What’s next?

“This was great! Now tell me everything you know!"

You got it. If you liked this PDF, the courses are the next logical step. Since you already let
me know that you’re into music theory by downloading this guide I’ve taken the liberty to
pre-select two courses that might interest you as well:

The Hook/Melody Master Files

If you’re looking for a real brain cruncher, this is it. Definitely my heaviest
course, but packed to the brim with 7 approaches to writing interesting,
memorable hooks. Get it at holistic-songwriting.com/products

The Addiction Formula

If you like what I do on the Artists Series, I KNOW you’re gonna love the book since it’s
essentially doing the same thing: connecting things you already know into a holistic web.
Get it on Amazon or holistic-songwriting.com/products