Sultans Of Swing...

Today I uncovered a CD my nephew had made for me that included the Dire Straits tune "Sultans of Swing." I have been wanting to figure out how to play the song for ages, but just haven't had the patience to get it worked out. I knew it must be fairly simple, but it goes so fast that it had been difficult to figure.

Well, I finally went to YouTube and found a couple tutorial videos on how to play it. I was right. It is pretty simple. What I discovered though was just how many different ways there are to play the same thing. This has given me a lot to play around with tonight.

I also discovered a great series of videos with Mark Knophler (Dire Straits' lead man and lead guitar player) working with a few English guitarists in a small session. It was really neat.

I have come to the conclusion that I am just not as internet savvy as many folks. It has only just begun to dawn on me that you can find literally ANYTHING on the web. It kind of takes away excuses!

Anyway, I learned a lot just watching him play and listening to the comments and suggestions that he was making to the other guitarists. I think that it would help me a lot to make it a regular practice to check out some of these guys and watch how they play.

I have been having a lot of fun playing guitar lately. I have been learning a lot. This is the most excited I have been about playing in years. I really feel like I am gaining ground for the first time in probably 15 years. Hopefully I can keep going with it and get to the place where I feel like I can hold my own with some of the better guitar players I know. It is going to take some work, but for the first time I am starting to get an inkling of how to proceed.