@@jonthomas83 To be clear, I'm not saying lethargic in a way critical to his playing or the quality of the solo, I'm talking about the pacing of the song. Some singers are very sensitive to hearing other singers who might be pitchy, I have a similar (and annoying) sensitivity to the tempo of a song. Whenever the Pulse version starts off, it is uncomfortable to me. I can't explain it.. I wish it didn't bother me so much. But for all the great in that version, I am just distracted the whole time. The Pompeii version doesn't have the same effect on me. Now if we focus on the actual quality of the solos, I don't really think you can say the Pulse one is any better from a technical standpoint. It's certainly more awesome from a nostalgia standpoint, I cannot even approach arguing that. But band members and time in my life aside, Pompeii just hits the high water mark of this song for me. YMMV, I'm cool with that. :)
@@PJ-ku5lp I can't disagree with someone's opinion, I fully respect what you're saying. I was at Pompeii and it was incredible. But as a guitarist, I find that tonally, the PULSE version is more to my tastes. On the 2015 tour, he played with less gain overall than he did on PULSE, that's evident on the Sorrow intro and I just preferred PULSE for that reason. Playing-wise, I'd say that I disagree with you and I think it IS better from a technical standpoint, too. 4.48 and 6.09 on the song timestamps, he clearly stumbles on one or two runs. Now, I don't care about those, I think it's a characteristic of how it felt on the night and I love the charm of it. But, when I hear PULSE there are NO mistakes. So I cannot agree with your statement there.
Gilmore is ASTOUNDING.... His tone is stellar and he just plays enough to keep you in the feel of the song.... He plays so in the zone.... His solo CD "On an Island" is musical genius
Gilmore is not a fretboard acrobat, but that is why we love him. His solos are beautifully appropriate and are transcendent in their composition. Please, please, please breakdown the 2nd solo for us mortals!!!
I think a lot of people overlook what drove Gilmour into his solo's and their style. Pink Floyd's music always had a very deep story to tell, a journey to take you on, so the solo had to simply take you to that Apex of the journey, to the top of the mountain so you could then see and breathe clearly into the story. It had a purpose, a meaning. Just magic!
Gilmour's phrasing is magic. Breaking down any of his solo's is a great exercise for any guitar player. The solo from "Time" is also a great one to look at, and "Another Break in the Wall" as well.
When I think of the solos of David Gilmour, I think of the notes that are carefully chosen and the influence Richard Wright's piano playing style had on him. Richard's sense of melody and theory was the glue of Pink Floyd's music. You mentioned "taste." Exactly. It's what makes this solo so pleasing to listen to and so emotional. Thank you for this lesson.
Hey Michael, you pronounced it correctly! Thank you for the analysis. I totally agree with the point that we need to check the changing underlying chord tones and why the solo sounds great at the top of them. Not yet there to quickly break down the modulation and key changes but your courses help a lot to be better. Thanks
Several years back I spent a year picking this solo up. It's got that muted raked D major shape (and every D shape is really a C shape) that it opens with, that descending A shape, There's a E shape that drops into a G shape... Without realizing it, this one solo was teaching me bits and pieces of the CAGED system. I'm no great guitarist, but what I pulled from this song gave me the glue to make the transition from the major scale to the pentatonic minor and back more musically interesting. More than any other solo, practice, or concept, THIS solo broke me out of the 4 fret prison.
Gilmour has these evenly spaced arpeggios that feel soooo driven and deliberate and their resolutions are so satisfying. The 1st phrase of the 1st solo has such a physically grand feel to it. Feels like I'm at the top of a giant lighthouse, turning on the light and shining down on the ocean.
Second solo please! Your passion and enthusiasm is truly infectious. Watching these videos and how excited you get describing what's being played makes me excited to play guitar.
One of my favorite things about the Floyd. It's watching the old video tapes of him and Rodger Waters in the sound booth David's out in the studio with a guitar and working through some of the licks it is just awesome. RLTW 3/75
This is fantastic, and I love that you used this solo to illustrate such an important lesson. Anyone who hasn't seen this version needs to watch the whole thing, because his solo at the end? Holysh•t. The way he builds tension along with the whole band and it Just Keeps Going is insane, and it gives me goosebumps every time. It's the kind of thing I want to listen to as loud as humanly possible
Love seeing how you break down and explain why things work the way they do. Gilmour's playing is always fluid with just the right notes to please the ears. Please break down the second solo!
I think that's a great solo to figure out by ear. It's good exercise for this since it's not too fast and has nice nuances to pay attention. I really recommend learning solos by ear. It's great ear training which is very valuable skill and earlier you start doing it the better.
That is one beautiful guitar!!! It looks a lot like the one that has been on my wish list for way too long. Unfortunately, life took over and I don't find time to play anymore, but I love your videos! I even went and bought new strings, tuners and more for my 1985 Yamaha acoustic (sold my electric way too long ago). That was inspired by watching your videos. Still trying to find time to pick it back up and build up those callouses again. Thanks again for inspiring me to pick up my guitar again....just need to make time.
Crazy - I have been watching this video a couple times a week for several years trying to learn his solos in this show. He is constantly communicating emotion throughout that long solo. No filler or water riffs.
Robert Wyatt said it well when he offered that unlike many guitar players who seem to be all about “me and my axe”, David Gilmour’s soloing always builds upon the mood and flow of the song. Another epic Gilmour solo is the one in Fat Old Sun on the Remember That Night DVD, recorded at Royal Albert Hall during the On an Island tour.
Gilmour plays every solo as if it is his last - and he matches the mood of his playing perfectly with the song every time. He can play sad (Final Cut), joyful (Coming Back to Life), angry (Pigs), romantic (see his cover of Don't), transcendent (Time), psychedelic (Echoes), sarcastic (Money), grief stricken (Fletcher's Memorial Home), and even menacing (Sheep).
I’ve watched and listened to so many of his performances of this epic and iconic song, and this particular performance he delivered in Pompeii 2016 is still my all-time favorite. It moves me every single time. So, Yes, Michael, please do break down the second solo from this very performance. It would be an absolute gift.🙏🏽🌟
Michael, I have to tell you this. I was listening to ‘comfortably numb’ on my Mac. I have a library of my own cd’s that I listen to. Well, after listening to it, in a relaxed state, I was truly captured by the solos. Brilliant, and his tone is just incredible. I wrote a note to myself, ‘comfortably numb solo’. The next day, went I went on RU-vid, your video was there???!!! Well, I don’t know how RU-vid knew I wrote a note about comfortably numb, but, very weird. Loved your video and the theory.
Great lesson, I especially appreciated you pointing out the repeated motifs, both unison as well as an octave apart. Something I've always needed to do more of in my own recording. Great channel.
Great video, mate. I’ve been sorta playing it for a while but I now feel like I actually understand it. Thank you so much. And YES, do the second solo, please.
My favorite solo of all time. Not complicated, just executed perfectly and over some beautiful chord changes. I saw him play this a few times live in the 80's and it brought me to tears. Great explanation and I would love to see the second solo analyzed. It is the better of the two!
VERY, VERY NICE. Riffing vs. actually making tones that memorable to the non-musicians... Priceless, and worth every penny. Also, his use of "space", not trying to fill every damn milliisecond with a note. Well done dude.
I love this solo for the way it sets up the second. It sounds so "major" and then you get to the same point again at the end of song and David just nails you with a pinch and a minor riff and its off to the races from there.
Please do the second solo as well. Just a thought - take the top ten solos every guitar player should learn (your opinion) and do a video on each of them. It would be a nice series.
Hey man. Absolutely love your videos. The first concert I ever saw was Roger Waters the wall with my dad when I was 13 years old. My memory's not awesome, but I'll never forget that show- I remember wearing the concert shirt to Middle School the next day and feeling like I had been to another planet and back, LOL. Pink Floyd's music has legitimately changed my life. You should check out Gilmour's Live in Gdansk album in general, but particularly the Fat Old Sun guitar solo. Absolutely beautiful solo, and one of Pink Floyd's most underrated songs. Keep up the great work!
Hey Michael, thank you so much for this video! I am playing guitar for two year’s know and I am always searching for videos and texts on how to integrate music theory more in my guitar playing. And what can I say. This video: spot on. Very tuner for the next part ! Greetings from Austria! Stay awesome, keep teaching !
You, as a teacher, I totally agree with. The first solo is the best learning experience.. but that Outro.. I mean.. THAT is the show-stopper.. I can't think of any other solo that is actually 'better' than the outro of Comfortably Numb
