The Guitar Player's Resource
David Gilmour, guitarist in the rock band Pink Floyd, joined the group in 1968 shortly before the departure of Syd Barrett. He made major contributions to the concept albums "The Dark Side of the Moon"(1973), "Wish You Were Here" (1975), "Animals" (1977), and "The Wall" (1979). After the departure of Roger Waters in 1985, Pink Floyd continued under Gilmour's leadership and released three more studio albums. Gilmour has also released four solo studio albums: "David Gilmour", "About Face", "On An Island", and "Rattle That Lock".
As with many of the guitar greats, only takes listening to one note to know it’s David Gilmour. He has a distinctive, personal sound that’s easily identifiable but can be quite difficult to emulate.
As a young guitarist, I was immediately impressed with how understated many of his guitar solos were - yet the solos still had the ability to create a powerful emotional reaction in listeners. It was a lesson learned - it's not all about speed and flash.
In this brief 6-minute video, Gilmour talks about the "Floyd sound" and how to get it, explaining how it is very difficult to get a stage sound from a small amp in a small room.
Even today, at age 74, Gilmour is still active, doing livestreams with his family (he is the father of eight children). One more fun fact: Gilmour also plays bass, keyboards, banjo, lap steel, mandolin, harmonica, drums, and saxophone.
Dan McAvinchey is a guitarist and composer living in Raleigh, NC.
He believes every musician or composer has the power to write, record and release their own music.
