MARK KNOPFLER

Our topic this month is a master craftsman as both guitar player and songwriter. His style is unique and his influence spreads far and wide.

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As lead guitarist and singer with British supergroup Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler has been one of the world’s most high-profile artists since Sultans Of Swing captivated listeners back in 1977. A few years later in 1985 the group’s album Brothers In Arms became a colossal hit, coinciding with its release on the new music format, CD. The iconic song Money For Nothing with its reference to MTV, and a video featuring computer-generated animation, caught the wave of enthusiasm for music television featuring artist videos. Knopfler’s approach is based around a rootsy fingerpicked way of playing (mostly thumb, first finger and second finger). This gives a varied texture and warm tone to solos, comping and riffs. Some of his parts would be much more difficult to execute without at least using hybrid picking, where the pic