

This classic blues technique requires strong fingers and good pitch recognition, but is well worth the practice it takes to master.įinally, Gilmour carries us over the bar into the next section with a powerful lick descending towards the root note, hitting on beats three, four, and the one of the next bar. The second bar features a step-and-a-half bend between two full-step bends.
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To effectively execute this lick, use your second finger on the 16th fret, your first finger on 14th (fretting the G-string with the fingertip then pivoting to the B-string just above your knuckle) and your third finger to bend the B-string at the 17th fret, leaving your pinky free to hit the e-string. Gilmour slides into an F#m arpeggio in the first position pentatonic scale an octave above where the solo began. If the first two sections acted as an introduction, these next two are most certainly the climax. Gilmour ends this section with a long sustained bend to an F#, creating a sense resolution, for now… Notice how half-step bends are used to move lyrically between these minor scale notes.

These notes from the minor scale are peppered in to add a sweeter flavor to the melodies. You may have noticed that Gilmour frets or bends to some notes outside of our pentatonic scale. In the second bar, he responds with the bluesy major sixth interval (9th fret G-string to 9th fret e-string) to emphasize the notes that make up the A chord. This creates a call and response effect between the repeated melody and the varying blues licks. On his second go around the chord progression, Gilmour uses repetition and variation, echoing the beginning of his solo before moving into new territory. For some extra kick, try giving the 5th fret e-string note a quarter-step bend!

In the fourth bar, Gilmour slides into the second position of the scale for a more aggressive Albert King style blues lick, hinting at what is to come later. This slow introduction uses the first position minor pentatonic scale, just tracing the chords at the low end of the fret board.

Clearly, he’s in no rush and is leaving himself room to stretch out his chops later in the solo. The iconic sustained notes and bends in the first three bars show off Gilmour’s melodic sensibilities.
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The minor pentatonic scales find heavy use in this solo, especially in the first and second positions (shown below).Īs the song is in the key of F#m, the first position will begin on the 2nd fret and the second position on the 5th fret, each repeating an octave above at the 14th and 17th frets respectively.Īt the end, I’ll give you my five tips on how to play a guitar solo like David Gilmour, highlighting the key points talked about in our analysis of the solo. This will become important in our analysis when looking at Gilmour’s note choice. I also included the chords behind the solo above each bar. Below is a recording of the song so you can follow along.Ībove each line of tabs is a time marker, telling when in the song each section occurs. This Pink Floyd guitar lesson contains a detailed breakdown of the solo, four bars at a time, with tabs for each section and an analysis of what Gilmour is doing and why it’s so effective. In order to unlock the secrets of Gilmour’s playing style, we’ll be looking at the guitar solo from the song “Time.” This famous solo is a great example of how Gilmour tells a story with his guitar. He brings a certain sense of taste and melody to everything he plays. One of my favorite guitar players is David Gilmour from the band Pink Floyd. While this can be difficult and time consuming, it’s one of the most rewarding learning strategies for musicians of all levels. One of the best ways you can do this is to learn their parts - beat for beat, note for note.
