The Greatest Guitarists Series: Mark Knopfler

There are so many things to say about Mark Knopfler. He was the singer and guitarist of Dire Straits, where he had multiple big hits. The most famous is probably 'Sultans of Swing', which is recognized world wide.

Mark is a multi-talented music genius, he is a great composer, song writer, singer and an amazing guitarist. I will focus my words in this text in a Mark Knopfler as a guitarist.

He has a unique playing style, that can be recognized even if you dont know Mark is playing the guitar. Instead of hitting the strings with a plastic pick , he will mostly use his right hand fingers to create the sound, even the guitar solos. This allows him to deliver dynamic music passages, arrangements, rythm guitars and epic solos.

With deep connection with the instrument, Mark will tell a story through the guitar. In fact, in many of his Dire Straits and solo songs, he will use a guitar solo as a cathartic moment.

It would be difficult to chose a favorite Mark Knopfler guitar solo. The usual songs that include the favorite solo (or multiple solos) are Sultans of Swing, Brother in Arms and Tunnel of Love. For me, his best solos are included in 'Telegraph Road'.

Everybody knows and Sultans of Swing has been played and discussed many times but Telegraph Road is also a masterpiece. It is not the most known song by Dire Straits, but that is because it is 14 minutes long! Long songs are usually nor played much in radio because of how much time they consume. Besides the lenght, Telegraph Road is structured in a non-standard way. This song will tell a story and stories take time to be enjoyed. Now, with the help of the internet you can enjoy.



Photography by Derek Hudson