Wish You Were Here is one of the most iconic guitar songs in rock history, frequently requested at guitar jams and frequently used at singalongs.
This riff is great fun to play and ideal for beginners! To begin, it is recommended that players focus on getting their rhythm right and eventually strumming will become second nature.
The Intro
One of the most iconic guitar intros in rock history, this melody uses three open chords to create an easy yet memorable melody. Although easy to learn, mastering it takes pick accuracy and rhythm skills for timing it correctly.
After an intro, the second acoustic guitar begins and plays its famous lead riff. This provides an ideal opportunity to practice fingerings and string skipping; keep your thumb firmly behind the neck to avoid accidentally hitting any strings!
Can a Beginner Learn Guitar Chords of Wish You Were Here? Absolutely, with dedication and enough practice. This song’s chord progressions and techniques are relatively straightforward compared to others by Syd Barrett like Piper at the Gates of Dawn or A Saucerful of Secrets; strumming patterns require slightly more technique than your average beginner may possess at present.
The Verse
Once you’ve mastered the intro riff, it’s time to move onto creating the verse for Wish You Were Here. We will do so using a basic chord progression and strumming pattern.
Strumming requires practice, so it’s essential that everyone find their own signature strumming stroke that feels right for them. While at first it might feel awkward or out-of-place, after consistent practice you will eventually find one that best matches up with what sounds best to you.
As an aid to developing rhythm, try playing chords while counting out beats as you go along. A metronome might come in handy here or just counting mentally so that you know if all the notes on beat two, three and four have been hit properly – this will allow for easier inclusion of lead riffs within songs.
The Chorus
Wish You Were Here has an engaging melody that’s more melodic and relaxed than its verses, creating a love song-esque feel for someone special or for a forgotten time with lyrics that both playfully and mournfully speak to past experiences and current emotions. Childlike vocals recall early Barrett penned Floyd tracks from the sixties when hippies held out hope of finding better lives for themselves.
David Gilmour employed this trick with great effect while performing with Pink Floyd, creating an almost dream-like quality in their songs.
This chorus provides an excellent opportunity for beginners to hone the rhythm of strumming, which they should focus on practicing before adding chords. It uses 16th note counting – something we will cover further in our intermediate course.
The Outro
No matter how your song ends – abrupt or fades out – its conclusion offers you the opportunity to send a powerful message. A strong outro can either relieve some of the intensity built up throughout its journey and bring an organic conclusion or increase energy and drive an energetic finale for maximum audience impact.
Wish You Were Here is an excellent song to practice the hammer-on technique and a G major pentatonic scale pattern, due to its slow tempo and straightforward chord progressions. For its outro, however, special skill training may be required in terms of practicing a G major pentatonic scale pattern and practicing your hammer-on technique.
Pink Floyd’s classic outro is an incredible demonstration of using sixteenth notes to maintain a rhythm when chords don’t change – an invaluable skill when playing slow songs as well as understanding different strumming patterns to create interesting licks.