The Three Key Ingedients

In this video, Dan references three tips that really define Gilmours bending style. Of course, there is more to it than this... A culmination of his influences, experience, gear, theory and of course, his DNA! however, these will get you started:

1. The range of pitches

Gilmour uses semitone, tone, tone and a half and two-tone bends to create a huge amount of variety in his soloing. He also is no stranger to the more bluesy quarter bends as well. Dan takes you through how to practice these bends in the video, but remember to try it in three areas of the neck, and ideally on a variety of different strings!

2. Digging in

Gripping the pick tightly, showing very little pick tip and raking through the string is a combination Gilmour definitely has mastered. These techniques mean that the sound can be aggressive, you get some cool extra harmonics when you hit those bends, and it adds some serious style.

3. Vocal quality

The final point is that of the way Gilmour uses the notes in between the semitones, to add a vocal quality. The slow descend from the bent note to the regular note really adds character and a kind of epic feel. This is also great fun to play around with!

The Mini Solo

For the solo, we are using the B minor pentatonic scale in box 1 & 2. Those are shown below. We also have the tab below to help you master those licks, and for you to see how they are generally depicted on tab! Enjoy.

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B Minor Pentatonic 1 & 2

Want to take your learning further?

Keep Learning: David Gimour Player study Many thanks for watching this video and visiting the website. If you love David Gilmour and really want to work on getting his sound, including how to combine arpeggios, bends and pentatonic scales across the neck, you’re in luck! We have a full player study that is, as with all our course, 100% free and ready for you to use, including interactive tab! See the course here: How To Play Like David Gilmour.

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