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Dire Straits - Money for Nothing - Guitar Cover

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Key G minor
Dire Straits - Money for Nothing guitar cover video
Kfir Ochaion
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Brothers in Arms album cover
Brothers in Arms
1985 8:26
Listen on Spotify
Dire Straits Rock 1985 G minor
Capo Advisor 0 G minor · Original key

About Money for Nothing

"Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits is the second track on their fifth studio album Brothers in Arms, released as a single on 28 June 1985. Written from the perspective of two working-class men watching music videos, it became one of the defining rock tracks of the mid-1980s. For electric guitarists, Mark Knopfler's heavy, distorted riff is a must-learn, showcasing his distinctive fingerpicking technique applied to a rare, hard-edged style far removed from his usual clean tone.

  • Mark Knopfler plays the iconic riff with his fingers rather than a pick, even in this unusually heavy, distorted context.
  • Sting guests on the track, singing the falsetto intro and the 'I want my MTV' hook adapted from a Police song melody.
  • The song runs over eight minutes at full length, giving guitarists extended riff and solo sections to study and practice.

How to Play Money for Nothing

Key: G minor · Tempo: 134 BPM · Difficulty: Medium

The foundation of this song is Knopfler's heavy, distorted riff in G minor, and the primary challenge is replicating it with fingers rather than a pick at 134 bpm: the attack and tone differ significantly from plectrum playing, so spend time on right-hand technique before worrying about speed. The intro riff is the hardest section to nail cleanly because the fingerpicked articulation needs to sound aggressive and percussive, not soft; loop it at reduced speed until each note speaks with consistent force. The extended runtime means there are long stretches of repeated riffing, which rewards stamina practice but also exposes any inconsistency in your picking-hand dynamics across repeated passes.

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 134 BPM to build it up to tempo.

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