SCALES
There’s no solo or scale-based playing in Lithium, but Kurt’s songwriting magic is exposed if you compare the notes in the chords to those of the song’s key – the E major scale (E F# G# A B C# D#). If you use only the notes from E major you can expect a safe, stable ordinary sound. G5, C5, D and D5 all include ‘outside’ notes – from E minor (E F# G A B C D) it turns out. Switching between two keys is something you can try out in your own songs.