Genius way to play “Wish You Were Here” on one guitar

Ever since I stumbled upon Yoni Schlesinger’s cover of Dire Strait’s Brothers in Arms, I’ve been a fan and a subscriber. Apparently, he did this cover as an YouTube ad for B&G guitar company. But, it seems to me, this video helped promote his playing and talent more than anything else. Numerous comments left below the video share this sentiment, as people have come to watch the video again after watching it as a pre-roll ad somewhere else

Recently, Yoni did a cover of one of my all time favorite rock ballads, Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd. When I was watching it, I noticed Yoni doing something really clever. He was playing his 6-string acoustic, but was making it sound like a 12-string.

Achieving that 12-string Sound

As you might know, Wish You Were Here is played on two guitars – a 12-string which plays the theme in the intro, and a 6-string, which joins in the opening solo. Usually, when David Gilmour performs it live, he would play the 6-string, and would have someone else on a 12-string.

Many years back when I was learning the song, I learned to play it as anyone else would. I picked each strings separately, and it sounded good, but something was clearly missing. The song had to be played on a 12-string to achieve the full effect.

This is where Yoni’s clever idea comes to aid. You see, on a 12-string, when you play the G note, which is the first note of the song theme, you pluck two strings together. You play low G, and a high G. So, why not find that high G somewhere else on the fretboard on your 6-string, and add it to the mix?

It sounds very simple, and in theory it is, but for those of us that are less seasoned guitarists, who mostly do it as a hobby, this is an eye opener.

Here’s Yoni’s full tutorial on how to play Wish You Were Here on a 6-string, but make it sound like it’s a 12-string.

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