Dire Straits Sultans Of Swing

The song about a small band with a big name pushed Mark Knopfler and co into the international limelight. Learn those signature licks with TG’s tab…

Originally composed on Mark Knopfler’s trusty open-tuned National steel guitar, Sultans Of

Swing came together when he plugged in his 1961 Strat and played those now trademark chord fills. The song - re-written in standard tuning - politely rocks up Knopfler’s country and folk influences, with a Dylan-esque vocal line – but it’s the guitar that really shines, as those chords and lead lines weave around the voice.

The famous fingerpicked outro is played at a fearsome 148bpm, but it boils down to a simple four-note picking pattern: thumbpick the first note, pull-off to the second note, thumb-pick the third note and use your first finger to pick the last note. It’s a clever way of playing because none of your picking fingers has to move too quickly. Take it slowly and jam along with the backing track.