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Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb - Guitar Tab

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Key B minor
Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb guitar tab video
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Pink Floyd Progressive Rock 1979 B minor
Capo Advisor 0 B minor · Original key

About Comfortably Numb

Few guitar solos carry the weight that David Gilmour's two solos in "Comfortably Numb" do, and learning this song means reckoning with his particular approach: singing, vocal bends held just past the point of resolution, and a sense of space that is harder to replicate than any fast passage. The song sits in B minor, which places the pentatonic box shapes in a very comfortable register on a standard-tuned guitar, but comfortable shapes can become a trap. The real work is in phrasing, specifically in knowing when not to play. The first solo is shorter and more restrained, while the second builds through increasingly wide bends and vibrato that need to feel effortless rather than forced. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the second solo's climax slowed down, so you can hear exactly where each bend lands in pitch before trying to match the feel at full speed. Pink Floyd recorded the track with Gilmour's tone sitting warm and sustaining, so a neck or middle pickup with a touch of compression will get you far closer than a bright, cutting sound.

  • The two guitar solos are both in B minor pentatonic, but the real challenge is replicating Gilmour's wide, perfectly pitched string bends and slow vibrato.
  • A warm, sustained clean or lightly overdriven tone with compression is essential for capturing the singing quality of the lead guitar parts.
  • Practise each solo phrase in isolation using the Practice Toolbar at reduced speed to lock in the pitch of every bend before adding feel and vibrato.

How to Play Comfortably Numb

The song moves through: Intro, Verse, Chorus, Solo.

Key: B minor · Tempo: 126 BPM · Difficulty: Medium

The main challenge here is not the chord progressions but Gilmour's two solos, which are stylistically different and demand very different skills: the first solo is melodic and restrained, relying on precise string bends in B minor, while the second builds into wide, sustained bends and vibrato that require strong finger control to stay in tune. In D Standard tuning at 126 bpm, the reduced string tension makes bending easier physically but also easier to overshoot, so pitch accuracy on those long bends is the real pitfall. Learn each solo as a separate piece before connecting them to the full song, and use the section loop on the climactic phrases of the second solo where the bends sustain the longest.

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 126 BPM to build it up to tempo.

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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