This is one of the seminal songs of ’70s; an absolute Knopfler classic. We’ll learn the guts of the song in terms of chords/riffs and rhythm and then move onto the solos and the underlying techniques used. Lots for everyone in this course but it’s predominantly aimed at intermediate players.
Overview
This course aims to teach the complete Sultans of Swing song, including the solos! Put simply, this song is ‘cool’ and an absolute must-have for your repertoire. It runs over three lessons with a week between each, allowing ample time to practise.
The course is suitable for average to high-intermediate acoustic and electric guitar players alike.
You can learn just the basics of the song or go on to put the whole thing together as a self-contained, pro-sounding piece with riffs, rhythm and solos! Everything will be covered and you’ll get to understand all the materials (lesson PDFs and accompanying videos of all examples and sections) but you’ll be lining yourself up for hours of structured homework – enjoyable but challenging!
Extended to 90 mins.
The average player should learn the guts of the song: intro, chords (basic and maybe some substituted ones), form of the verses, that distinctive Knopfler rhythm/groove along and the instrumental chorus riff and licks up to solo No1.
Best advice – check out our Mix licks and Chords course as an ideal prep session for this particular lesson. Also, we’ll be producing some Prep Sheets for this lesson.
Lesson suitability – high-average and intermediate players or those who feel they would like the materials and would enjoy sitting in and picking up what they can play and learning the bits you’ll need to work on and maybe incorporate into your other songs.
Warning – there is a lot to cover in this extended lesson and, depending on how we get on, some of it might slip into lesson 2.
With lesson 1 under our belts, we’ll begin learning the full version by adding in the two major solos and, if time allows, looking at other verses and their variations.
Lesson 2 focuses on solo No1 and lesson 3 on solo No2.
Lesson suitability – The high intermediate player should aspire to master the solos, learn the intro, riffs, rhythm and some solo parts as a self-contained piece. But anyone who is comfortable with barre chords and basic scales is welcome or even players who would struggle but are looking for a long-term piece to master.
If there’s time at the end of lesson 3 then we will revise any parts people didn’t understand and hopefully do a play-through.
Buying options (with player levels):
(a) lesson 1 only – intermediate
(b) all lessons – intermediate and above
Materials provided: Prep sheets are available along with comprehensive lesson PDFs and TABs followed with detailed home practice video examples of all sections/exercises.
What’s it like on a course?
The bulk of each lesson is obviously the teaching (usually with a minimum number of questions taken along the way) but we dedicate the end slot for Q&A. Being online means that players can elect to either have total privacy with their mic muted and video disabled or switch them on and join in with questions or even work along with the tutor. The lessons, over and above the outlined specific subjects, try to give you the tools for self-improvement.
A quick note about the materials
We’ve always recognised that the real work takes place after a course and that’s why we pay special attention to the materials in order to help with home practice. The earlier you book, the earlier you get access to the core materials.
Course suitability in general
Check out our guide to player levels v course categories in FAQs. The course is online and materials are provided and so it might still be useful for players who consider themselves below the required standard.
Reality check
Yes – our courses are there to look at the advertised subject matter but we also like to challenge players and give you great techniques and practical theory/know-how to work on in your own time. Don’t expect to completely nail a whole song or to be full instant command of all techniques or understand every bit of practical theory on the course; it’s fantastic if you can do this but be patient and work diligently through the material at home.
Call us for a chat at any time
Whatever level you are, you’ll have lots of takeaways to work on later. If you’d like to go through the course please call or email.