Nirvana - Pennyroyal Tea - Guitar Lesson

In Utero

1993 3:39

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About Pennyroyal Tea

Few Nirvana songs reward close guitar attention quite like "Pennyroyal Tea." Where much of In Utero leans on noise and aggression, this one strips things back to a fingerpicked acoustic intro that sits at the heart of the arrangement. The picking pattern feels deceptively simple, but keeping it even and relaxed in A minor takes more control than it looks, especially when you need to carry that quiet, hollow mood. When the electric guitar enters and the song shifts dynamic, the challenge becomes contrast: you want the strummed sections to feel heavier without forcing them. Nirvana built the whole track on that push and pull between sparse and full, so your picking hand dynamics matter more than any single chord shape. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the intro fingerpicking at reduced speed until the pattern sits under your fingers without tension, then build the tempo back up gradually before adding the electric sections.

• The song opens with a fingerpicked acoustic guitar pattern in A minor that requires steady, controlled picking-hand dynamics to maintain its fragile, understated feel.
• The arrangement contrasts quiet acoustic fingerpicking with heavier strummed electric sections, so practising the two parts separately first helps you nail the dynamic shift.
• Because the intro pattern loops with small variations, using the Practice Toolbar to slow it down and loop it is the most efficient way to lock in the fingering early.