Comfortably Numb Guitar Lesson

One of the most iconic and emotional guitar tracks ever written, 'Comfortably Numb' is a masterclass in feel, tone, and phrasing. From the haunting rhythm parts to David Gilmour’s legendary solos, this song offers a perfect opportunity to explore expressive bends, smooth vibrato, and melodic lead playing. In this lesson, we’ll break it all down so you can capture the atmosphere and soul of this Pink Floyd classic.

If you've already read any of our lessons write-ups, you'll know that they do not have any tabs available. However, what we do have is a handful of incredible video lessons by Dion, talking you through each section in great detail. The write-up will provide further support using diagrams and tips along the way.

I can tell you're itching to get playing, so let's hope straight into all the chords needed!

Chords

Verse

The verse immediately sets the tone and key by starting on a big B minor barre chord. The sequence that follows is A, G, D/F# and Em - let's take a look at both the chord shapes as well as the timing for each chord.

Stick that chord progression on repeat, and you'll be playing along with this part of the track in no time at all! Before we move on, let's make sense of '/' chords, and I'll provide additional support for anyone struggling with barre chords.

If you ever see a chord name that has a '/' in it, don't panic, it's not a crazy complex jazz chord! The letter on the left is an instruction to play the chord. Whereas, the letter on the right tells us what bass note we need to play. For example, D/F# means we need to play a D major chord, with an F# as the lowest note! This is quite a popular chord in various keys, so, I'd recommend getting used to it!

COURSE - BARRE CHORDS

Now that you know how to play the chords, let's get the tone right to really emulate the Pink Floyd vibe. It's hard to capture the gorgeous, washy atmospheric sound without adding reverb as an effect. If you have either a reverb pedal, or it's built-in on your amp, turn it pretty high up until your tone sounds 'wet' - us guitarists are great at naming sounds, aren't we?!

To take things one step further, try adding a swell into each chord. If you have a volume pedal to help with, fantastic! If not, don't panic, as we can mimic this with our volume knob! To start, make sure that your volume is completely rolled off. Then, strike a chord and swell the volume back in. Make sure that you roll it off at the end of each chord, so you can create the swell again. I like using my pinky for this, but many prefer using their third finger - it's entirely up to preference!

Chorus

Nothing too drastic happens in the chorus - we're playing in the same style with the same tone, we're 'just' changing the chord progression. Let's take a look at the new chords first:

As you can see, there's another '/' chord, but you don't need me to tell you that it's telling us to play a G major chord with B on the bass!

You might have noticed that Dion added a bit of flair to the progression by arpeggiating some of the chords. This is a great way to make this section a bit more technically involving, and it sounds great! The only thing to watch out for if you decide to do this is that you keep the chord changes in the right place.

And that's all you need for the rhythmic section - you're about to graduate to the ever-incredible melodic soloing of David Gilmour! Ready? Of course you are!

Middle solo

Pink Floyd aren't exactly known for simplicity… So, to make learning this behemoth track easier, Dion has provided another two video lessons to outline each of the solos. Here's the video for the melodic middle solo:

Let's take things one step further and break the solo into isolated phrases to make learning it even easier!

Phrase 1

The key for the general track is B minor, however, we're going to visualise it as the relative major - D major - for this solo. This is because it's played over the chorus chord progression, which has a very strong D major feel to it.

This first phrase really highlights the chords it's playing over - both D and A major. This is why it just sounds so right - there almost no harmonic tension, which is why it sounds so smooth. I want to take a moment to remind you that the video lessons are your main resource for learning how to string all the notes together. What you can expect from the write-up for the solo sections are fretboard diagrams and advice for technique.

With that said, let's look at how we transform the D major scale into this initial phrase:

The key techniques that pop up in this solo - and pretty much any Gilmour solo - are vibrato and bends. These two techniques are pretty much exclusive to guitar, and give the instrument its identity. They also help add the more 'vocal' expression, which in a way makes it more relatable to the listener.

So, make sure that you're pitching your bends correctly, and that you're adding a healthy amount of vibrato to any note that has space to ring out. Another small note is to be very aware of how Gilmour approaches each bend. Be sure remain aware of the speed, duration and vibrato of each bend to really capture the soul of the solo!

Phrase 2

The second phrase is identical to the first until the very end, where we need to melodically slide down the fretboard using just one string. Here's D major on just the D-string:

Phrase 3

The majority of this phrase can be played once again by just using one string. This time though, we're using the G-string - here's what it looks like:

Be sure to add a big, wide vibrato to the initial note on the 12th fret! And if your guitar has a whammy bar equipped, try using it for the notes that Dion highlights in the video. It's yet another method to add a 'vocal-like' expression to your playing!

The only time that we step away from the G-string is when we play the 9th fret of the D-string to get that speedy legato phrase before the end of the lick. I've included this note in the diagram above to help visualise it!

Phrase 4

To wrap things off with this final phrase, we're jumping back up the fretboard to the 15th fret of the E-string. We get a slight change of scale for this one as we have one instance of a C natural instead of a C#. This suggests that we're playing in D mixolydian, or G major - both of which share the same key signature of just F#. I've highlighted the C natural in the diagram below!

Probably the hardest part of this phrase is using the rolling technique to play across the 12th fret of the B-, G- and D-string. You might be asking - what is rolling? Rolling is the technique where you using just one finger to play the same fret across different strings. It sounds simply enough, but it feels pretty awkward to begin with!

To play the example in the track, take your first finger and barre across the 12th fret until the D-string. Then, try to apply pressure to just the B-string. If done correctly, the other strings should be muted when plucked. Then, release the pressure and do the same for the G-string, then the D-string. This absolutely takes some time to get used to, so, try practicing these three notes in isolation!

And finally, to wrap up this first solo, we once again play down the D major scale on the D-string (see the diagram above). This time, however, it's not just descending. I definitely sound like a broken record here, but, Dion has outlined this perfectly, be sure to watch how he strings the phrase together!

Outro solo

I hope you haven't had enough of soloing yet, as there is plenty left to do with this legendary outro solo! It's hard to imagine how many guitarists have been directly inspired by this solo, and I'm sure many of you can hear it note-for-note in your mind. And if you're one of those people, this might sound a bit odd - there's a very good chance that the solo was improvised.

It's important to remember that when we listen to recordings, we're always hearing the best, most polished bits that the artist wanted to release. Though many guitarists have spent hours painstakingly learning every detail of this solo, Gilmour just played what came to him.

So, instead of replicating the solo note-for-note, we're going to take Gilmour's improvisational approach. But don't worry, we're here to help you channel Gilmour's style and create your own version of the solo! Dion does an incredible job of outlining all the big and small details you'll want to incorporate to make your improvisation sound as Gilmour as possible!

Scales

First thing's first - let's take a look at all the scale shapes Gilmour passes through. We're mainly staying in B minor pentatonic box 1 and the blues scale, with a few exceptions of passing through boxes 2, 4 and 5 as well.

As you can see, the two fretboard diagrams above are a combination of two scale boxes - the first combines box 1 and 2, and the second 4 and 5. While you could practice each box in isolation, I truly believe that seeing an overlap in shapes will help with both creativity and fluidity in your playing.

To recap, you're going to want to stay in position 1 and 2 for the majority of the solo. Being aware of the track you're playing along with - whether it's the track, or a backing track - shift up to positions 4 and 5 when you feel the need to build the dynamic and emotion!

Phrasing

Sometimes playing notes feels less scary than leaving a pause - it feels like an uncomfortable void that we just have to fill. But, if you want to recreate Gilmour's melodic phrasing and style, you'll have to get used to it!

Dion provides an excellent suggestion - imagine your soloing like you're having a conversation. Talking comes with natural pauses and accents, which help to convey the emotion of the conversation. Replicate this in your playing. Imagine you're having a conversation with someone else, and create phrases that you believe are questions (they usually hold a bit of tension), and others that are answers (that offer resolution).

If you're struggling to do this, it might be because you just have too much to think about. It can be tricky to come up with beautiful melodies while having to use all the techniques that make the guitar unique. So, start by just coming up with melodic phrases without any techniques. By this I of course mean techniques such as bends, slides, legato - please don't forget how to hold your pick or play in time!

Once you've come up with a handful of phrases that you really like, try adding some signature Gilmour techniques to them - bends, vibrato and slides will immediately make them sound more 'guitarry'… for a lack of a better word.

Descending licks

That takes us on to our final tip of Gilmour-esque playing - use plenty of descending licks. This solo is packed with tasty, bluesy licks that fall down the scale using a repeated rhythmic pattern. To practice this, stay in box 1, come up with a three or four note rhythmic pattern, and walk down the scale.

To get this sounding even better, try to take what I like to call the 'two steps forward, one step backwards' method. For example, if we're starting our three note pattern on the 7th fret of the high E-string, start by playing down the pentatonic scale to the 10th and 7th fret of the B-string. Then, instead of simply going down the scale, go back to the 10th fret of the B-string, and continue from there. This will create the cascading phrasing that is so prominent in the solo.