For our David Gilmour style guitar lesson Tech Session track I have drawn inspiration, gleaning guitar techniques, compositional ideas and guitar licks & phrasing from such David Gilmour solo tracks as “On An Island” and “Mihalis”. I have also included a “nod” towards some classic Pink Floyd, namely the “Animals” period and “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”.

Bars 1-2: 

Kick things off with a raked Emadd9 chord, performed with sparse chord arpeggios, reminiscent of the tracks “Breath” and “On an Island”. Bar 2 includes a G Lydian chord change, with the A/G to G triads, (written as A/E on the transcription, as it's written in relation to the chords lowest note, and not what is implied by the bass guitar). This change is very similar to harmony movement heard in the track “Dogs” and “Mihalis”.

Bars 3-4: 

Include a classic Gilmour chord figure based around the A7 chord. This chord is embellished with the shifting minor 7^th and major 6^th shapes, performed on the 2^nd and 4^th strings, with the 3^rd string allowed to ring out. This section concludes with the Cmaj7/G to B7 chord. Again these chords feature a fairly sparse rhythm and are embellished with arpeggio techniques.

Bars 5-8: 

Repeat the previous four bars, with a few rhythmic and performance variations. With this verse section really try to be dynamic, and laid back with the performance, and try to sit back on the beat.

Bars 9-11: 

Features a bridge section including the bare chords of E minor, B minor, A major and G major. This section concludes with the altered chord of B7#9 shifting to B7b9, before resolving to the Emadd9 chord. Also pay attention to the shift in time signature, 12/8 bar to 6/8 bar and back to 12/8 bar.

Bars 12-13: 

Kick the solo off over a new section, with the accompanying chords of Em11 and Am. I have given the “Shine On” chord a huge nod on the backing track, by performing it a tone higher than normal, with a capo at the second fret,  helping with the Floydian vibe. The solo kicks off with the B minor pentatonic over the Em11 chord, which is a technique often used by Gilmour. You can add a fresh sound to your pentatonic soloing by simply using a pentatonic scale a 5^th above the chord you're playing over. This technique outlines the 2^nd or 9^th, adding a modal sound without you needing to know any new scales! We shift back to the E minor pentatonic over the A minor chord, which again uses the 5^th  above technique.

Bars 14-15: 

Kick off with an extended E minor arpeggio that is embellished with whammy bar slurring. This is an extended arpeggio that covers a wide portion of the neck, so take care with the position shifts. We then introduce the new chord, C/F, aiding an F Lydian sound, which is outlined with a climbing series of string bends.

Bars 16-18: 

Features some classic Gilmour bluesy based licks, as well as a whopping two tone bend! Really pay attention to the pitch of the bends and the feel of this section, as we mix searing bends with fluid lines.

Bars 19-21: 

Conclude with a descending bending figure that follows the “Shine On” inspired chords of F major, C/E, D minor, Dm/C to B7. We outline the B7 chord with an arpeggio that isn't used that often by Gilmour, the B dominant 7^th arpeggio, but I've performed it in a Gilmour-esque way to show how you can add flavours of his playing to other techniques and approaches. We conclude with bends that outline the chords of E7#9 to E7b9 before concluding the solo over the final.