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Pink Floyd - Shine On You Crazy Diamond - Guitar Tab

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Tools

BPM
Key G minor
Pink Floyd - Shine On You Crazy Diamond guitar tab video
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Classic Rock

Gain6
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Master7
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Wish You Were Here album cover
Wish You Were Here
1975 13:33
Listen on Spotify
Pink Floyd Progressive Rock 1975 G minor
Capo Advisor 0 G minor · Original key

About Shine On You Crazy Diamond

Few guitar moments in Pink Floyd's catalogue carry as much emotional weight as the opening notes of this piece. David Gilmour's slow, bending intro melody in G minor is the first thing to get under your fingers, and it rewards patience above speed. The phrasing is vocal and conversational, meaning tiny variations in bend depth and vibrato width matter enormously. At 120 BPM the pulse feels spacious, but that space is exactly what makes sloppiness obvious. Later sections build into extended soloing where Gilmour layers pentatonic and Dorian ideas over shifting chord colours, so understanding the underlying harmony helps you choose the right scale at the right moment. The sustain-heavy, singing tone he gets means your pick attack and volume-knob control are just as important as your left hand. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop any of the solo passages slowed down until the phrasing feels natural before bringing it back up to tempo. This is a piece from the Progressive Rock world that teaches restraint as much as technique.

  • Gilmour's opening melody relies heavily on slow, expressive string bends and wide vibrato in G minor, making precise intonation the primary technical challenge.
  • The piece sits in E Standard tuning, so no retuning is needed, but the nine-part structure means you will want to learn it in sections.
  • A clean, high-sustain lead tone with moderate reverb is essential for replicating the singing, vocal quality of the signature guitar lines.

How to Play Shine On You Crazy Diamond

Tuning: E Standard · Key: G minor · Tempo: 120 BPM

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 120 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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