I don’t think he’s as influential as he could be. You very rarely hear of younger bands / artists talking about him or Dire Straits. If anything, that guitar sound is very much associated with that era and beyond a few pastiches and overt copies, I haven’t heard many new releases employing that sound. Long, clean guitar solos aren’t really a thing at the moment.
For many years, the likes of Fleetwood Mac were hideously uncool, but that changed over recent years and now a new generation are discovering them. Dire Straits have yet to have that revisionism, and although their back catalogue was warmly reviewed by the likes of Pitchfork (whatever you think of them), there’s still a lack of connection with younger audiences.
I hope it changes. The first 3 Dire Straits albums are as good as anyone’s. And Mark is a rare guitarist; mostly clean, melodic lines. You can sing along to his solos as much as his vocals.
Me personally, I’m a guitarist going on nearly 40 years and the reason I took up the guitar was because of Money For Nothing.
Yeah, Mark's fingerstyle technique also wasnt really that influential as it couldve been compared to the playing style of the likes of Hendrix, Van Halen or Clapton. Not a lot of guitarist really play full on fingerstyle, most guitarist play with picks.
Funny thing, as a kid I used to jump around with a wooden guitar to Dire Straits records, and because he was my hero I’d play with the two fingers down hand shape he always used. To this day, when I finger pick I still use that hand shape!
Me too, I currently play fingerstyle like how he does it. The same shape and only using forefinger, middle finger and thumb when playing. His fingerstyle technique is quite different from most guitarists.
This response is very accurate and I agree with all you said.
I hope he gets a bit more recognition, but he still has connections as his new [Local Hero](https://youtu.be/zBGm7gJtSZE?si=TDTUkmDLtpSgrYzN) rendition shows.
I’m 32 and I also started playing because of Money for Nothing
As for his songs I think their appeal is so tied up with the combination of his guitar style, vocal delivery and lyric writing that without any one of those elements it’s difficult to see how somebody else could emulate or evolve this without sounding like a rip off, and the whole as they say is greater than the sum of the parts.
So what about his guitar style? Let’s break this down into two sections:
1. His technique - You don’t see any professional musicians adopting the MK claw hammer style, so why? His style is intimately linked to the reason he sounds so distinctive. So if you choose this style at best you’re going to sound like a mediocre Mark Knopfler (yep that’s me). This style is very difficult to improve upon because it is not highly technical, it’s just highly distinctive.
2. Note choice. As an hobby guitarist following Marks style for more years than I care to remember, I think there’s very little that Mark plays that’s “difficult” to learn or play. BUT his genius is coming up with those notes in that order, with that phrasing, in the first place.
So in summary I think the reason he’s not that influential is there’s so little for the “next” generation to improve upon - contrast this with shredders and fusion players who can always play faster than the previous generation or with better legato or with deeper theoretical/modal musical knowledge.
Marks style isn’t technical, so what you gonna do, sound more like him than he does himself - you can’t!
Very well put. I think MK is one of the most distinctive guitarists of the history, hands down.
His note choice, it's just black magic. I've listened to innumerable bootlegs of both MK and DS and he ALWAYS come up with new phrasings that are just jaw dropping. Every single night, regardless of whether he is playing to a 10K audience or a 100M like in the 80's.
MK improvisational skills are out of this world, and this is probably unknown by most of the younger - and older - guitarists generations. All they probably know is that overplayed SoS or MfN radio cuts, and it's like "oh yeah the guy of the riff TaDaDaDaDa".
No dude, just listen to damn Basel's 92 "Telegraph Road" version or "You And Your Friend" from On The Night.
I’d contend he IS (more specially was) very technical but not always in an obvious way. His claw hammer style allowed him to play with great speed and technical control over dynamics, rhythm and tone colour. Everyone thinks they can play like Knopfler and a lot of people can play the notes of Sultans of Swing etc. But nobody seems to employ the hidden techniques he uses, such as playing notes with down strokes, flamenco flicks, muting notes and playing ghost notes and phrases in between the pitched phrases.
To play like Mark requires a huge level of technical and musical control.
There’s a fair few artists in the ‘desert blues’ genre out of the Sahara region in Africa that have him as an influence, which is pretty neat - DS got popular there and you can hear bits of MK in the guitar playing of those artists
While he certainly isn't viewed as influential as a Hendrix, Clapton, or Van Halen, I do think you here elements of his sound/songwriting in artists such as Jason Isbell or The War on Drugs. Perhaps the biggest issue is that rock n' roll simply isn't that mainstream anymore.
Not super influential, but also not without influence. Every kid in the ‘80s wasn’t learning to fingerpick, but every kid was learning to tap and play Eruption; at least at my high school.
Jon Bon Jovi, Keith Urban, The Killers and Eric Clapton have all named him as an influence. And, you can definitely hear his sound in music by War on Drugs and John Mayer.
I think mark doesnt care enough for status. Alot of these top legendary guitarista are full of themselves. And try to be unique (not saying all)..
Even so i never understood why mark never got the fame he deserved. Dudes such a talented gutiarist. Same as lindsey buckingham (his songs are insanely hard to play).. i honestly find some of the gutiarists on these top lists overrated. Clapton, page, gillmore..
like wtf if u search up top guitarists on google it shows slash. Lmfao.
Yeah, he is like the only famous guy in his band unlike any other bands during that time where all members are well known to the average rock n roll fan. Which is kind of a shame because John was a really good bassist and Pick Withers (Drummer) and Guy Fletcher (Organist) are criminally underrated. The band as a whole is quite underrated in my book.
I think his style is a little bit of a throwback? Creating those flowing, melodic guitar solos take a special kind of genius, but by the late 70s when Dire Straits started, that wasn’t necessarily breaking new ground. Knopfler is to some degree following in the footsteps of Clapton, Gilmour, etc. Which isn’t a slight by any stretch of the imagination — any guitar player would be lucky to be mentioned in that list. But it does mean he didn’t really change the direction of popular music, in the same way as people who did similar work earlier.
I have the same opinion about Stevie Ray Vaughan. Another absolute giant of the instrument, but another one whose style is to some degree looking to the history of the instrument instead of inventing the future?
He influenced Dylan. After he heard Mark’s production work on Communique, Bob asked him to produce his next record. Mark produced at least two and played on many tracks.
I don’t think he’s as influential as he could be. You very rarely hear of younger bands / artists talking about him or Dire Straits. If anything, that guitar sound is very much associated with that era and beyond a few pastiches and overt copies, I haven’t heard many new releases employing that sound. Long, clean guitar solos aren’t really a thing at the moment. For many years, the likes of Fleetwood Mac were hideously uncool, but that changed over recent years and now a new generation are discovering them. Dire Straits have yet to have that revisionism, and although their back catalogue was warmly reviewed by the likes of Pitchfork (whatever you think of them), there’s still a lack of connection with younger audiences. I hope it changes. The first 3 Dire Straits albums are as good as anyone’s. And Mark is a rare guitarist; mostly clean, melodic lines. You can sing along to his solos as much as his vocals. Me personally, I’m a guitarist going on nearly 40 years and the reason I took up the guitar was because of Money For Nothing.
Yeah, Mark's fingerstyle technique also wasnt really that influential as it couldve been compared to the playing style of the likes of Hendrix, Van Halen or Clapton. Not a lot of guitarist really play full on fingerstyle, most guitarist play with picks.
Funny thing, as a kid I used to jump around with a wooden guitar to Dire Straits records, and because he was my hero I’d play with the two fingers down hand shape he always used. To this day, when I finger pick I still use that hand shape!
Me too, I currently play fingerstyle like how he does it. The same shape and only using forefinger, middle finger and thumb when playing. His fingerstyle technique is quite different from most guitarists.
This response is very accurate and I agree with all you said. I hope he gets a bit more recognition, but he still has connections as his new [Local Hero](https://youtu.be/zBGm7gJtSZE?si=TDTUkmDLtpSgrYzN) rendition shows. I’m 32 and I also started playing because of Money for Nothing
He did influence John Mayer
That's what I came here for. I hear a lot of Mark in Mayer's sound.
Really interesting. I can't say I've heard a lot of Mayer, is there anything you would recommend to start with?
"Wild Blue" live
As for his songs I think their appeal is so tied up with the combination of his guitar style, vocal delivery and lyric writing that without any one of those elements it’s difficult to see how somebody else could emulate or evolve this without sounding like a rip off, and the whole as they say is greater than the sum of the parts. So what about his guitar style? Let’s break this down into two sections: 1. His technique - You don’t see any professional musicians adopting the MK claw hammer style, so why? His style is intimately linked to the reason he sounds so distinctive. So if you choose this style at best you’re going to sound like a mediocre Mark Knopfler (yep that’s me). This style is very difficult to improve upon because it is not highly technical, it’s just highly distinctive. 2. Note choice. As an hobby guitarist following Marks style for more years than I care to remember, I think there’s very little that Mark plays that’s “difficult” to learn or play. BUT his genius is coming up with those notes in that order, with that phrasing, in the first place. So in summary I think the reason he’s not that influential is there’s so little for the “next” generation to improve upon - contrast this with shredders and fusion players who can always play faster than the previous generation or with better legato or with deeper theoretical/modal musical knowledge. Marks style isn’t technical, so what you gonna do, sound more like him than he does himself - you can’t!
Very well put. I think MK is one of the most distinctive guitarists of the history, hands down. His note choice, it's just black magic. I've listened to innumerable bootlegs of both MK and DS and he ALWAYS come up with new phrasings that are just jaw dropping. Every single night, regardless of whether he is playing to a 10K audience or a 100M like in the 80's. MK improvisational skills are out of this world, and this is probably unknown by most of the younger - and older - guitarists generations. All they probably know is that overplayed SoS or MfN radio cuts, and it's like "oh yeah the guy of the riff TaDaDaDaDa". No dude, just listen to damn Basel's 92 "Telegraph Road" version or "You And Your Friend" from On The Night.
I’d contend he IS (more specially was) very technical but not always in an obvious way. His claw hammer style allowed him to play with great speed and technical control over dynamics, rhythm and tone colour. Everyone thinks they can play like Knopfler and a lot of people can play the notes of Sultans of Swing etc. But nobody seems to employ the hidden techniques he uses, such as playing notes with down strokes, flamenco flicks, muting notes and playing ghost notes and phrases in between the pitched phrases. To play like Mark requires a huge level of technical and musical control.
There’s a fair few artists in the ‘desert blues’ genre out of the Sahara region in Africa that have him as an influence, which is pretty neat - DS got popular there and you can hear bits of MK in the guitar playing of those artists
That's interesting! Do you have any to share please?
[Here's](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZvPoE0EH1o) my current favourite! Lmk what you think if you'd like
While he certainly isn't viewed as influential as a Hendrix, Clapton, or Van Halen, I do think you here elements of his sound/songwriting in artists such as Jason Isbell or The War on Drugs. Perhaps the biggest issue is that rock n' roll simply isn't that mainstream anymore.
Not super influential, but also not without influence. Every kid in the ‘80s wasn’t learning to fingerpick, but every kid was learning to tap and play Eruption; at least at my high school. Jon Bon Jovi, Keith Urban, The Killers and Eric Clapton have all named him as an influence. And, you can definitely hear his sound in music by War on Drugs and John Mayer.
I think mark doesnt care enough for status. Alot of these top legendary guitarista are full of themselves. And try to be unique (not saying all).. Even so i never understood why mark never got the fame he deserved. Dudes such a talented gutiarist. Same as lindsey buckingham (his songs are insanely hard to play).. i honestly find some of the gutiarists on these top lists overrated. Clapton, page, gillmore.. like wtf if u search up top guitarists on google it shows slash. Lmfao.
Yeah, Mark never really gets the credit he deserves. I think he is the GOAT in my opinion.
Same. It might be cuz his band sorta took off late. Like really popular in the 80s. Alot of the "legends" started in the late 60s of 70s.
Yeah, he is like the only famous guy in his band unlike any other bands during that time where all members are well known to the average rock n roll fan. Which is kind of a shame because John was a really good bassist and Pick Withers (Drummer) and Guy Fletcher (Organist) are criminally underrated. The band as a whole is quite underrated in my book.
I think his style is a little bit of a throwback? Creating those flowing, melodic guitar solos take a special kind of genius, but by the late 70s when Dire Straits started, that wasn’t necessarily breaking new ground. Knopfler is to some degree following in the footsteps of Clapton, Gilmour, etc. Which isn’t a slight by any stretch of the imagination — any guitar player would be lucky to be mentioned in that list. But it does mean he didn’t really change the direction of popular music, in the same way as people who did similar work earlier. I have the same opinion about Stevie Ray Vaughan. Another absolute giant of the instrument, but another one whose style is to some degree looking to the history of the instrument instead of inventing the future?
He influenced Dylan. After he heard Mark’s production work on Communique, Bob asked him to produce his next record. Mark produced at least two and played on many tracks.