Strumming patterns should always be kept straightforward – after all, your guitar strings are constantly vibrating (unless muted). Try to limit how long individual chords take to be played as this will help ensure rhythmic playback.
This song employs a G major pentatonic scale pattern and serves as an excellent way for beginners to gain familiarity with melody and chord tones as well as sixteenth note counting!
The Intro
For this lesson, we’re going to work on learning the intro of Pink Floyd’s iconic “Wish You Were Here.” This song is ideal for beginners; all it requires are some open chords and an easy strumming pattern.
Practice singing along to music can also help develop rhythm and vocal melody skills. While chord progression may be straightforward, its rhythmic components may prove challenging for novice musicians who may need to count sixteenth notes in rhythmic passages.
To understand this rhythm, the key to mastery lies in counting out loud or tapping your foot with each beat. Each little riff begins on beat three or the “and” of three and ends on beat four; however, beats five and six can be challenging due to needing hammer-ons from open A string to 2nd fret of B string for each little riff – opening up an G major pentatonic scale pattern that you can apply across other songs as well.
The Verse
Wish You Were Here is an essential song at guitar jams and singalongs. Not only is it great fun, but you can use this track as an opportunity to practice strum patterns and chord shapes; using alternate voicings such as Em 11 and D5 for greater strumming options will only further expand its potential!
Once you’ve mastered your intro, it’s time to tackle the verse rhythm pattern. This step may prove more challenging as it requires hitting some strings with down picks and some with up picks; at first this may feel unfamiliar; so take your time! Initially you may struggle with striking your strings differently.
Practice will make this riff feel natural over time, and record yourself playing it so you have something tangible to work from when learning the lead part. Doing this will allow you to get down timing more accurately while feeling more at ease performing it for others.
The Chorus
Wish You Were Here is one of Pink Floyd’s iconic tracks and one of rock music’s most beloved tracks; learning it should be on every serious guitarist’s agenda. The chords are simple open chords making this an excellent starting point for beginners. Plus, counting sixteenth notes is covered in our intermediate course!
For beginners, counting 16th notes may seem complicated at first; once you master this skill though, playing complex songs becomes much simpler! Remember to keep your thumb behind the neck and mutes all thick strings if possible for optimal fretboard positioning.
Wish You Were Here is a song composed in memory of guitarist Syd Barrett, who left his band after struggling with mental health issues in 1967 and later passed away. It stands as one of their greatest achievements to this day.
The Lead
Pink Floyd entered Abbey Road studios to record Wish You Were Here in 1975 feeling overwhelmed and exhausted from their previous album’s success, which had propelled them from niche artists into mainstream art rockers but meant that their friendship wasn’t quite what it once was.
David Gilmour opens the song with a delicate 12-string acoustic guitar intro processed to sound like distant radio tuning across airwaves, before another guitar joins to provide lead riffs over chord progressions.
The lead riffs utilize a G major pentatonic scale pattern, and while this may take time to learn, beginners should find it manageable. Chords are straightforward enough for moderate tempo practice sessions and the strumming pattern should prove straightforward enough for easy strumming patterns – just be sure to count out beats as you practice so as not to messe up timing!