The Mark Knopfler Songbook — Featured on MK's official YouTube channel

[quizzaciously]

News is a song that features the famous dynamic range of Dire Straits. It has loud parts, long rests, quiet guitar fills. It's quite a challenge to play it on one guitar, let alone on acoustic, but I just did it in my new lesson.

[Jules]

I always thought that what makes MK the best it's not the way he plays, but the way he composes what he plays.. the chords progressions, the fills... it's all of a very high creativity, even nowadays...

[quizzaciously]

I always thought that what makes MK the best it's not the way he plays, but the way he composes what he plays.. the chords progressions, the fills... it's all of a very high creativity, even nowadays...

That’s why I’m doing all this... I’ve played a lot of songs in my day (hundreds if not thousands), just picking out changes, chords and stuff, not completely transcribing. And indeed Mark’s work is by a head taller than pretty much any songwriter out there. Even if it’s not, Mark has way, waaaaay more good songs per square inch, producing not so many fillers or “not so great songs”. What impress me the most is the consistency, which is of course the hardest task for any artist in any field. Yes, it’s not Brothers In Arms level anymore, but maybe 5:15 a.m. level and my god it’s an extremely good song.

[quizzaciously]

If you count all the songs I tried to play or learned completely, it all add up... 200 Beatles songs, 200 MK songs, 200 jazz standards, 200 Sting, Simon, other artist's songs, many classical guitar (and not only guitar!) pieces, blues songs, folk songs. And still Mark takes the cake

[quizzaciously]

Everybody Pays is the song #54. This is a ballad from Shangri-La album, which is filled with great songs. Everybody Pays seems easier than it really is, probably because it shifts the attention to the lead guitar, which is fabulous, but you can't play the song with just solo guitar, you need rhythm. And here the rhythm needs to be played in a very specific way to sound okay, the rhythm guitar part consists of pretty easy right hand strumming pattern (which is up and down with the thumb basically the whole time), but the left hand is a bit tricky. Anyway, better to see something once than to read about it, so as always I have a detailed talkless performance in the beginning of each of my videos. Don't forget I have every video transcribed with full English subtitles and sometimes I write the chords or the sheet music down. For this song I've written a chords sheet. Enjoy! Pavel.

[dmg]

Quite enjoy this song.  I can't listen to it though without recalling the embarrassing performance on the Belgian Flanders show on the promo tour when Mark completely forgot the words and Guy had to bail him out. 

[quizzaciously]

Quite enjoy this song.  I can't listen to it though without recalling the embarrassing performance on the Belgian Flanders show on the promo tour when Mark completely forgot the words and Guy had to bail him out. 

I never knew that, interesting. Opening lines to verses is not the easiest thing to sing, so I understand, for instance: Yeah you ought to stay right where you are in sawdust land or Curl up inside a boxcar dream and disappear. I mean wow! Make just a slight mistake in the delivery and the whole line will be ruined. Same thing with What It Is and songs like that, that just not the easiest songs to sing, hence the ruined live performance.

[Pottel]

Quite enjoy this song.  I can't listen to it though without recalling the embarrassing performance on the Belgian Flanders show on the promo tour when Mark completely forgot the words and Guy had to bail him out. 

got link? cannot remember that...

[qjamesfloyd]

Quite enjoy this song.  I can't listen to it though without recalling the embarrassing performance on the Belgian Flanders show on the promo tour when Mark completely forgot the words and Guy had to bail him out. 

I never knew that, interesting. Opening lines to verses is not the easiest thing to sing, so I understand, for instance: Yeah you ought to stay right where you are in sawdust land or Curl up inside a boxcar dream and disappear. I mean wow! Make just a slight mistake in the delivery and the whole line will be ruined. Same thing with What It Is and songs like that, that just not the easiest songs to sing, hence the ruined live performance.

And this line from Sultans of Swing: "Drunk and dressed in their best brown baggies and their platform soles." I think it is the use of the letters D and B at the start of 5 words in the line, and that it has to be sung quickly.

[quizzaciously]

The Trawlerman's Song... I can't believe it now, but I remember back in 2005 when I was first introduced to Mark's music, Shangri-La was his latest album and I was stupid enough to skip this song because I didn't like the introduction for some reason. Don't ask! When later I've decided to listen it in full I love it ever since. This is the song you can't skip, because it's the hardest easy song yet, while it has many signs of a beginner song, advanced players will be delighted with a bunch of interesting chords and voicings, especially people who've played this song with easy folk chords before. I was one of them actually, but now I'm (not) surprised about how well this song is composed. But why, given it's the song №55 it's almost a rule here! 😂

[Jules]

The Trawlerman's Song... I can't believe it now, but I remember back in 2005 when I was first introduced to Mark's music, Shangri-La was his latest album and I was stupid enough to skip this song because I didn't like the introduction for some reason. Don't ask! When later I've decided to listen it in full I love it ever since. This is the song you can't skip, because it's the hardest easy song yet, while it has many signs of a beginner song, advanced players will be delighted with a bunch of interesting chords and voicings, especially people who've played this song with easy folk chords before. I was one of them actually, but now I'm (not) surprised about how well this song is composed. But why, given it's the song №55 it's almost a rule here! 😂

One of my favourite MK songs from first listening! Also Shangri-la, together with Crimson and Roadrunning is a favourite of mine, from the beguining until track 11 (All that matters) is a record that I play just skipping Paraguay, except of that song, I found the rest just perfect!

[quizzaciously]

Here's the first track from Mark's latest album for you. Simple little song in Open G tuning, that can be a great introduction to this tuning, but a very good exercise at the same time, because it requires a lot of strength in the left hand. I actually had a hard time with my fretting hand myself after learning this song, so I feel the need to pass the baton in that regard, haha. Stay tuned, more to come! Pavel.

[quizzaciously]

Here's the first track from Mark's latest album for you. Simple little song in Open G tuning, that can be a great introduction to this tuning, but a very good exercise at the same time, because it requires a lot of strength in the left hand. I actually had a hard time with my fretting hand myself after learning this song, so I feel the need to pass the baton in that regard, haha. Stay tuned, more to come! Pavel.

[quizzaciously]

Another mini series from me: Stealing Licks. Pretty self-explanatory title... In these short videos I'll cover some of the most memorable, tasty and desirable to learn things ever recorded, from Mark or maybe not only Mark. I'm not usually picking out solos, but when it's something like this one, or anything from Neck And Neck album really, it's worth picking out. I'll play it in normal tempo, then slowly, then extra slow, so no TAB needed. I tabbed it out, but I don't recommend using it, as much as I love tabs, that's not the way I learn, so I can't recommend it. Pavel.

[quizzaciously]

I edited this video in the same room I first heard "Border Reiver" back in 2009, when I was 19. I love to revisit it every now and again, love to play it. One of the best openers ever, sounds killer on live shows. A lot of Mark's signature folk and blues elements in here as well. Pavel.