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Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here - Guitar Cover

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Key G major
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here guitar cover video
Kfir Ochaion
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Classic Rock

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Wish You Were Here album cover
Wish You Were Here
1975 5:38
Listen on Spotify
Pink Floyd Progressive Rock 1975 G major
Capo Advisor 0 G major · Original key

About Wish You Were Here

Few songs reward a beginner guitarist quite like this one. The opening fingerpicked passage, moving between G major and the surrounding chord shapes, is one of the most recognisable introductions in rock, and getting it right means nailing both the fingerpicking pattern and the subtle hammer-ons that give it that loose, breathing feel. Pink Floyd built the track around a deceptively simple two-guitar arrangement: one clean acoustic carrying the chord progression, and a second part layering melody on top. The real challenge for most players is keeping the fingerpicking steady while letting the notes ring cleanly, particularly through the transitional chord movements. If the intro pattern keeps tripping you up, pull it into the Practice Toolbar, slow it right down, and drill just that four-bar loop until your right hand stops hesitating. Once the picking hand is locked in, the rest of the song falls into place fairly naturally, making it one of the most satisfying pieces to finally play all the way through.

  • The intro fingerpicking pattern is played in G major and relies on letting open strings ring out cleanly against fretted notes.
  • Two guitar parts sit at the heart of the arrangement: a fingerpicked acoustic rhythm part and a lead melody line played over it.
  • Getting the hammer-ons in the intro to sound smooth and even is the main technical hurdle, so practise them slowly before running the whole passage.

How to Play Wish You Were Here

Key: G major · Tempo: 60 BPM · Difficulty: Medium

Loop each section and focus on clean, even timing rather than speed, with the metronome at 60 BPM.

Fender Stratocaster
Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Gilmour's 1969 Black Strat is his primary instrument, offering glassy neck pickup tones perfect for his singing bends and the warm, rounded character that defines Pink Floyd's melodic solos without harsh brightness.

Fender Telecaster
Guitar

Fender Telecaster

This workhorse guitar provided Gilmour with a brighter, more cutting tone for rhythm work and alternative textures, offering the snap and clarity needed for Pink Floyd's diverse sonic palette across studio and live performances.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Gilmour's 1955 Les Paul Goldtop, fitted with original P-90 pickups, delivers the thick, gritty midrange essential for iconic solos like Comfortably Numb's outro, providing tonal weight and sustain that Strats cannot match.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

Though less documented than the Goldtop, this model would offer similar thick, sustained tones with enhanced versatility through multiple pickup switching, supporting Gilmour's need for varied textures within complex Pink Floyd arrangements.

Fender Twin Reverb
Amp

Fender Twin Reverb

Gilmour used Twin Reverbs for their exceptional clean headroom and built-in reverb, creating spacious, shimmering textures that complement his delay-heavy effects chain and define Pink Floyd's atmospheric, three-dimensional soundscapes.

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah
Pedal

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah

The Cry Baby opens Gilmour's effects chain, allowing expressive vocal-like phrasing on solos, integral to Pink Floyd's emotional delivery and creating dynamic dynamic tonal sweeps that enhance the band's psychedelic and progressive character.

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