Building the 'Money' Tape Loop and Gilmour’s 7/4 Solo Challenge

The cash-register loop that opens “Money” was a literal collage of sound effects—coins dropping, a till drawer opening, paper tearing, and a cash register ringing—recorded onto magnetic tape. Roger Waters and engineer Alan Parsons cut and spliced the segments into a looping reel that ran continuously during the song, matching the 7/4 meter. The loop’s uneven length meant it took several attempts to lock the splice points so the rhythm didn’t drift.

David Gilmour’s guitar solo in 7/4 forced him to break his usual phrasing habits. He later said he had to count the beats in his head while playing, because his natural instinct was to land on a downbeat that didn’t exist in the odd meter. The solo was recorded in a few takes, and Gilmour leaned on a wah pedal and a slight delay to smooth out the awkward bar lengths. The result became one of rock’s most recognizable solos, precisely because its rhythmic tension mirrors the song’s uneasy groove.