Pink Floyd Progressions I (Comfortably Numb)

mike_l

Here's a different take on it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=SBf3zDmnxbA

and a completely different way.......

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&list=PL9071DABAA785A433&v=BVdvqm7Gaus

Branshen

Nice one. Just wish they mixed that snare drum a little better. 

mike_l

If you watch John Petrucci's solo, most is played in the 7th position pent. Minor scale. As is the original. Until he goes up to the dusty end, same scale shape starting at the 19th fret.....

mike_l

Branshen said:

Roger Waters' mum was a guitar tech? Are we referring to ICBM or...?

One of the master techs I work with

ThePrettyDamned

mike_l;116096" said:

If you watch John Petrucci's solo, most is played in the 7th position pent. Minor scale. As is the original. Until he goes up to the dusty end, same scale shape starting at the 19th fret.....

Whenever I jammed over cn, I always found gilmour got it right - plain ol pentatonic and minor scale works best. A friend used to spice it up, but it never sounded as good in my opinion as the 'boring' stuff.

For an interesting twist, look at the solo for Technical Difficulties by Paul Gilbert. Similar (or same?) progression and key, and despite the speed, actually has quite a similar feel to the tonality, but he focuses a great deal on sextuplets and full scale runs, including the second. Vaguely remember him dabbling into e minor, too, but that's the same key with a c natural so not a huge voice change.

mike_l

ThePrettyDamned said:. Vaguely remember him dabbling into e minor, too, but that's the same key with a c natural so not a huge voice change.

E minor -  Different key similar scale

Example put the Bm pentatonic scale over the Em pentatonic scale (7th fret) low-high

Bm

7-10

7-9

7-9

7-9

7-10

7-10

Em

7-10

7-10

7-9

7-9

8-10

7-10

So there's a lot of same notes being played in both.

ThePrettyDamned

That was what I meant I'm just terrible when it comes to theory. I almost treat the two as completely interchangeable, sometimes a c natural will work better than the c sharp or vice versa. A lot of Metallica stuff uses it, too (fade to black solo, for example).

That's the extent of my scale knowledge.

mike_l

That's cos the Fade to Black solo's are in B minor...........

mike_l

Incidentally. if you use an A sus2/A 5add9 in place of the A chord you'll emphasize the B minor tonality. I believe the acoustic guitar did use the Asus2 in it's part.

x02200  (A/E/A/B/E) as opposed to A x02220 (A/E/A/C#/E)

Gassage

mike_l said:

Branshen said:

Thanks Mike, I'll give those ideas a spin.

I've heard the song sooo many times but I've never thought that it was to do with drugs. Seems to be common knowledge around here.

It's famously about heroin addiction.

The solo is mostly in Bm pentatonic. Actually most of Mr Gilmours solo's are taken from pentatonic scales.

Boring side fact, one of our master techs was taught by Roger Waters' mum......

Mike

Very respectfully, as you've clearly done a great job here, I'd take issue with the above comment re the song being about 'heroin addiction' per se ;-)

More so, I'd say the core of the song is about audience isolation, the bubble of stardom and fame, and others exploiting an artist by plying him with drugs to perform (viz Michael Jackson).

Small point, but a worthwhile one nonetheless.

Gassage

mike_l said:

Incidentally. if you use an A sus2/A add9 in place of the A chord you'll emphasize the B minor tonality. I believe the acoustic guitar did use the Asus2 in it's part.

x02200  (A/E/A/B/E) as opposed to A x02220 (A/E/A/C#/E)

Mike- one more thing.....I believe that both the electric verse part and the harmonised 'Nashville' strung acoustic are playing Asus2 and BSus2. I've always played it as that. Thoughts?

mike_l

I've only ever played Bm, but yes a Bsus2 would work as a chord substitution. More so if you've got another instrument playing a Bm.

I don't remember an electric playing sus chords, but they technically wouldn't be wrong.

And I believe Roger Waters himself said the song was about heroin addiction.

ThePrettyDamned

mike_l said:

That's cos the Fade to Black solo's are in B minor...........

Oh, really?  I always thought of it as being both B minor and Phrygian (which brings the c natural in), and closing in B minor (that arpeggio series).  I kinda think of B Phrygian as being E minor that resolves to B, rather than a different scale - it helps me find my way around the fretboard easier, even if I'm technically playing in a B minor mode.  

I didn't learn it note for note though, which might explain that :S 

Was jamming over comfortably numb yesterday.  Such an easy backing to sound good over, whether slow and melodic or going full shred.  

mike_l

ThePrettyDamned said:

mike_l said:

That's cos the Fade to Black solo's are in B minor...........

Oh, really?  I always thought of it as being both B minor and Phrygian (which brings the c natural in), and closing in B minor (that arpeggio series).  I kinda think of B Phrygian as being E minor that resolves to B, rather than a different scale - it helps me find my way around the fretboard easier, even if I'm technically playing in a B minor mode.  

I didn't learn it note for note though, which might explain that :S 

Was jamming over comfortably numb yesterday.  Such an easy backing to sound good over, whether slow and melodic or going full shred.  

Yep, the backing over the intro and main (outro) solo's are basically B minor. Mostly from the pentatonic scale. The harmony in the middle is A minor from the diatonic, in 4ths harmony (IIRC - it's been a while since I reviewed it). First/second chorus could be either Am or Em (I'd go with Am as this is where it starts/finishes) chord being Am-C-G-Em - lick (Am-Bm). The heavy "chorus" sections between these are Em. The heavy verses are Em.
For the solo's if you think Bm pentatonic with the non-pentatonic notes as "passing" notes you won't go too far wrong.

ThePrettyDamned

mike_l;119465" said:

ThePrettyDamned said:



mike_l said:

That's cos the Fade to Black solo's are in B minor...........





Oh, really?  I always thought of it as being both B minor and Phrygian (which brings the c natural in), and closing in B minor (that arpeggio series).  I kinda think of B Phrygian as being E minor that resolves to B, rather than a different scale - it helps me find my way around the fretboard easier, even if I'm technically playing in a B minor mode.  

I didn't learn it note for note though, which might explain that :S 

Was jamming over comfortably numb yesterday.  Such an easy backing to sound good over, whether slow and melodic or going full shred.  












Yep, the backing over the intro and main (outro) solo's are basically B minor. Mostly from the pentatonic scale. The harmony in the middle is A minor from the diatonic, in 4ths harmony (IIRC - it's been a while since I reviewed it). First/second chorus could be either Am or Em (I'd go with Am as this is where it starts/finishes) chord being Am-C-G-Em - lick (Am-Bm). The heavy "chorus" sections between these are Em. The heavy verses are Em.

For the solo's if you think Bm pentatonic with the non-pentatonic notes as "passing" notes you won't go too far wrong.

Thanks for clarification

mike_l

You're welcome.

BTW Kirk didn't really start using modes (per se) until the Justice album....

Gassage

mike_l said:

I've only ever played Bm, but yes a Bsus2 would work as a chord substitution. More so if you've got another instrument playing a Bm.

I don't remember an electric playing sus chords, but they technically wouldn't be wrong.

And I believe Roger Waters himself said the song was about heroin addiction.

Mike, firstly, again, amazing work on this thread. I think we're both right to some extent. I always view the song as part of the wider story of the Wall. Anyway, I found this regarding the lyrics, which is interesting. I do know that the original recording, which I have somewhere, was a demo by David for his first solo album, and didn't have the chorus in it, and was also originally E.

"Comfortably Numb" is a 1979 single by Pink Floyd. The song comes from their epic concept album "The Wall." Guitarist David Gilmour is responsible for the melody and music while bassist Roger Waters wrote the lyrics. "Comfortably Numb" is the very last song that Gilmour and Waters shared songwriting credits on as Waters left the band in 1986.

There are many urban legends as to what "Comfortably Numb" is about. Naturally, due to the music of Pink Floyd being popular within the drug culture, there are many fans that wholeheartedly believe that the song is about the use of mind-altering substances. Stories are widespread that Waters has admitted to writing the lyrics while using drugs. There is also the belief that the song is representative of a psychological breakdown similar to that experienced by original founding member Syd Barrett.

Pink Floyd's movie "The Wall" has also added to the perception that the song is about drug use or a mental breakdown. In the movie, Bob Geldof's character, a fictional rock star named Pink, is in an unproductive incoherent state due to his drug use and feeble mental health. He hallucinates upon being injected with a drug to prep him for show time.

On the album itself, the story of Pink is told track by track, and "Comfortably Numb" is the narrative of a conversation between Pink and his doctor. Gilmour acts as the voice of Pink and Waters acts as the voice of the doctor. Pink is given a shot that is meant to clear his weakened mental state so he can perform in concert. The lyrics depict an account of Pink's experience after his injection and the patient/doctor dialogue that occurred.

So, did Roger Waters really write the song while stoned? We really don't know. However, Waters himself has stated in interviews that "Comfortably Numb" is a recount of two life-altering (not mind-altering) experiences he endured. Waters often thinks back to an illness he had as a child where he ran an excessively high fever and was delirious. There is also an experience that he had in 1977 where he fell ill prior to a concert in Philadelphia. He was suffering from abdominal cramps, which may or may not have been brought on from undiagnosed hepatitis, and a doctor injected Waters with tranquilizers to ready him for the show. The experience left Waters "comfortably numb." It's easy to see how the pre-show injection administered to Pink's character on the album and in the movie could have been inspired by Waters' real-life experience when he became sick prior to a concert.

The song is highly regarded by critics and fans alike. Gilmour's second guitar solo is frequently hailed as the Best Guitar Solo ever in polls and Rolling Stone magazine ranked "Comfortably Numb" at number 314 in their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. A dance-oriented version of the song by the Scissor Sisters became a Top 10 hit in the U.K. in 2004.

mike_l

I'd heard the pre-gig anti-sick injection story before, but I thought that occurred around 1982, on the Wall tour (I could easily be wrong here).

Still, cracking song, and fantastic solo's.

Danny1969

The songs about an ill performer being drugged in order for the show to go on, and the symbolism between the detachment of the drugged performer and his audience versus the detachment of Waters and his  own life ......... caused by building a wall around himself and alienating his ex wife and friends etc. He spat at a fan on the Animals  tour and that was the inspiration for the Wall. 

Michael Kamen's orchestration on the song is excellent, those arps make the chorus and the Bm chord with the added C# voicing  on the verse creates tension 

I would say the Doctors part is in B minor and Pinks part D major, least that's how I hear it

Gassage

mike_l said:

I'd heard the pre-gig anti-sick injection story before, but I thought that occurred around 1982, on the Wall tour (I could easily be wrong here).

Still, cracking song, and fantastic solo's.

Ain't that the truth!! In fact, I'd go so far as to say the outro solo is the greatest of all time, but always a very subjective argument