The Man Who Sold the World

by Nirvana • Lesson #395 • Oct 11, 2021

Video lesson and sheet music

Licensed Song Sheet 4 pages

Follow along with my print-friendly guide for this song! It’s available for purchase at Musicnotes.com, the web’s leading provider of licensed sheet music.

On the fence? Here's a guide I made showing the purchase & print process, including answers to common questions about my song sheets.

Buy at Musicnotes.com

Editor’s notes

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

Full Play-along Cover

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.

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The Man Who Sold the World

Video lesson and sheet music

Licensed Song Sheet 4 pages

Editor’s notes

Full Play-along Cover

Related lessons to help with this song

Playing A-major with One Finger (Lesson #46)

Percussive Slap Strum Technique (Lesson #197)

F Chord Cheat Sheet (Lesson #392)

Unlock My Secret Stash!

Browse Related Lessons

Enjoy My Lessons? Show Your Support!

Looking for More Song Lessons?

Featured Courses

Strumming & Rhythm

Fingerstyle & Travis Picking

Blues Starter Kit

Reading Music for Guitarists

Learning Lead Guitar

Beginner Chord Guide

Practical Music Theory

Using a Capo

Fun & Helpful Tools I've Made

Fret Monster

Capo Captain

Key Master

Blank Tabs

Subscribe to my YouTube channel

Recent Lessons