Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler, OBEis a British singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, lead singer and songwriter for the rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded with his younger brother, David Knopfler, in 1977...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionGuitarist
Date of Birth12 August 1949
CityGlasgow, Scotland
song real school
I used to go to the school folk club with my songs when I was only 13 or so and say "this is a traditional folk song" and sing it with a bad Irish accent to disguise the real source.
country teacher school
There happened to be guitar classes at the college, and there was a guitar teacher there with whom I used to play. In addition, I also would go out into country schools and teach little kids basic guitar and singing a few times a week.
song guitar practice
I bad a piano long before I bad a guitar, and the practice I got just playing those three chords in a basic 12-bar blues song was very important.
ovation legends
I'm also getting an Ovation Legend, because I like them so much.
play guitar bass
I even played bass for a while. Besides playing electric guitar, I'd also get asked to play some acoustic stuff. But, since I didn't have an acoustic guitar at the time, I used to borrow one from a friend so I could play folk joints.
american-music
I was into playing American music, especially the blues.
song stars love-you
Juliet, when we made love, you used to cry. You said, "I love you like the stars above, I'll love you 'til I die". There's a place for us, you know the movie song. When you gonna realize it was just that the time was wrong, Juliet?
ideas heaven delta-blues
My idea of heaven is a place where the Tyne meets the Delta, where folk music meets the blues.
guitar purpose used
Every guitar I own gets used and has its purpose.
song swings guitar
While listening, to things like western swing, for instance, I'd work something out in my head, then play it on my National; not the same song, but one that captured the feeling of the original tune.
school church lawyer
Then came the churches, then came the schools, then came the lawyers, then came the rules.
guitar play
I shoulda learned to play the guitar.
music song play
...the music you make is shaped by what you play it on ... if you feel that you're not getting enough out of a song, change the instrument - go from an acoustic to an electric or vice versa, or try an open tuning ... do something to shake it up...
music guitar play
A Strat was a thing of wonder .. when I was 14 or 15, the Shadows were a big influence, and they had the first Strats that came to England. I like to play all kinds of guitars, but I wasn't getting the sound I really wanted until I got a Stratocaster