“I want an instrument to give me the start of a song. And, often, getting discomfited slightly helps that process along”: David Gilmour on why the guitar is still a vehicle for giving “birth to new tunes” – decades deep into his career

David Gilmour's Luck and Strange – and his ongoing career-spanning tour with stops in Rome, London, New York, and Los Angeles – served very much as a celebration, and some may say a return to form, of the Pink Floyd six-stringer’s distinctive guitar style that has inspired countless musicians.

At 78, and decades deep into his career, Gilmour states that he’s still excited by the guitar and its potential as a vehicle to “give birth to new tunes”.

David Gilmour “Comfortably Numb” 10/25/24 Los Angeles, CA @pinkfloyd - YouTube

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“The actual playing and melodies and stuff, they’re up here [points to head] and you just transfer it onto the string,” he tells the Los Angeles Times.

“But I want an instrument to give me the start of a song. And, often, getting discomfited slightly helps that process along. I’m a really rotten piano player, but I’ve written quite a few songs which I think are pretty good on the piano.”

However, being “bad” at piano, and pushing his own boundaries on guitar – the instrument he's most comfortable with – has actually benefited him and his craft.

“It’s the limitations. When you get a guitar and it’s got a different tuning, you find something new. The comfort zone can be too comfortable.”

In a recent interview with Guitar World, Gilmour expanded on the idea of inspiration – and discussed how his guitar parts actually come into fruition.

David Gilmour - The Piper's Call (Official Music Video) - YouTube

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“It’s hard to pinpoint what inspires guitar parts. Things just demand to be done a certain way,” he states matter-of-factly. “No one is commanding you. That solo [on The Piper's Call] – that’s just how it came out. It’s the way it had to be.

“I had a clear idea of how The Piper’s Call should be, starting with just the groove chugging along, then this rough, raunchy sort of guitar solo. I wish I could be a bit more lucid and articulate. But it is what it is. It’s a moment.”

Gilmour will be wrapping up his tour with two final dates at Madison Square Garden tomorrow and on November 10.