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As a guitarist, the approach used by David Gilmour for the bulk of his scale ideas, is largely based upon the Blues scale and Minor Pentatonic, with a lot of reference to the Major 2nd degree from the Dorian mode. It’s quick to hear on many of his solos, such as the one he plays in the Pink Floyd song, “Yet Another Movie.” That solo is largely pentatonic thrashing for the most part, but it’s also full of feeling, and when we analyze the way he uses the Blues, his bends and the obvious strong connection he has toward players like Clapton, Jeff Beck, and the Muddy Waters/John Lee Hooker sound… we end up with an instantly recognizable tone only associated to the David Gilmour style.

As well as his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour’s distinctive tones have graced a variety of other artiste’s albums – Kate Bush, Supertramp, Roy Harper, Jimmy Nail, Paul Rodgers etc – a particular favourite of mine being his heavily flanged solo on McCartney’s “No More Lonely Nights,” a bona fide post-Beatles classic. Now firmly established as a live attraction in his own right, the Cambridge born musician would end 2015 on the road in South America promoting a new album “Rattle that Lock.”