Pink Floyd Mother Guitar Solo TAB

“Mother” is one of the most emotional moments on Pink Floyd’s The Wall (1979), and the guitar solo by David Gilmour is a masterclass in saying everything with just a few notes. Every bend sings, every phrase breathes, and nothing is wasted — it is one of the finest examples of vocal-style lead guitar ever recorded.

About the Solo

Gilmour builds the solo like a vocal melody — slow, deliberate bends, wide singing vibrato, and long sustained notes that carry the emotional weight of the song. There is no speed and no flash here. The challenge is control: landing every bend perfectly in tune, shaping each note with pick attack and dynamics, and phrasing over the song’s shifting feel without ever sounding rushed. It is the kind of solo that exposes everything about a player’s touch.

What You Will Work On

• Expressive string bending — full and half-step bends that must land perfectly in tune
• Wide, controlled vibrato — the core of Gilmour’s singing tone
• Sustain and note placement — letting notes breathe instead of filling every space
• Vocal-style phrasing — building lines that sing like a melody, not a scale
• Touch and dynamics — using pick attack and volume to shape the emotion of every phrase

Tips for Learning This Solo

• Learn the solo phrase by phrase — treat each line like a sentence in a vocal melody.
• Check every bend against the target note played normally — Gilmour’s bends are always in tune.
• Practice with a clean or low-gain tone first — this solo exposes every detail of your touch.
• Listen to the studio version and live versions to absorb how Gilmour shapes the phrasing differently each time.