Mark Knopfler - Money For Nothing - Interview

♫ 1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard Sunburst Electric Guitar ♫

I found this interview with Mark Knopfler very interesting, it's from a BBC documentary and we get to hear Mark talk about how he came up with that unique sound we hear in the song Money For Nothing.

Mark was the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits from 1977 to 1995. As a solo artist and composer, Knopfler also recorded and performed with many prominent musical artists, including Chet Atkins, The Chieftains, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Jools Holland, Sonny Landreth, and Van Morrison. And even produced albums for Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, and Randy Newman.

Are you ready for a guitar lesson in songwriting? Now for you that have attempted to compose your own music, you probably have found out pretty soon that it's not that easy. I have found that there are two types of songwriters / composers. The ones that can sit down and make a great song with a great sound in a few minutes and have the whole thing done in a few hours in the recording studio. And then there are those that can spend weeks and months on a single song. I am the later type..

Well I can't really speak much on the matter because I only have a few acoustic instrumentals under my belt that I would perform if I was asked to. However there is one factor to take into account and that is how much of a perfectionist you are, and if you are willing to cut some corners to make a deadline.

But I don't approve of that, when it comes to music, there is so much crappy music out there today, I mean really turn on the radio and have a listen and tell me that you don't hear this horrible monotone music all over the place. If you are a songwriter today or thinking about making some of your own music, do yourself a favor and avert your ears from the radio and put on some Bach or Beethoven first. Get your basics straight beforehand because I fell that otherwise you will only end up with something that sounds like crap.

I stress this very much because it's the music that we listen to and play ourselves that define and inspire us when we do sit down and try to compose our own music. And to rise above this crappy music we need to simply tune it out of our minds so when we do sit down and "fiddle" we are not limited in our minds. 

Sometimes just like Mark Knopfler says in the interview: "When people say how do you get those sounds? Usually I don't know, you know I just fiddle about with the amp until I get something that works".

I can relate to that, because this is how many great songs get made. You find this nice little sound and you build on that. Hopefully you end up with a great song.

You might notice in this interview that Mark Knopfler is playing on his Gibson Les Paul Electric Guitar. This is his 1958 Sunburst Gibson Standard. Mark is also left-handed, but plays right-handed, and fingerpicks (using a personal variant of the clawhammer style) instead of using a guitar pick. 

Fingerpicking is usually done with the acoustic guitar, but Knopfler usually (though not always) plays an electric guitar. He revealed during a French interview once that he uses a pick for his rhythm work during recording sessions. He surprised the interviewer by pulling a pick out of his pocket and saying that he usually carries one. 

Even though Mark has long favoured Fender Telecaster and Stratocaster Electric Guitars. During the 1980s he came to appreciate the tone of the Gibson Les Paul and his original Sunburst 1958 Gibson Les Paul and has been used it regularly in the studio and on stage since. For you that are fans of Fenders and particularly the Stratocaster Electric Guitar, Fender carries a Mark Knopfler Artist Series Stratocaster in their line.

And you got to have a look at this live performance of Money For Nothing by Mark Knopfler on his Gibson Les Paul, Eric Clapton on the Fender Stratocaster with Phil Collins on the Drums and Sting doing the Vocals.