Sultans of Swing - Alchemy Live Version - Dire Straits (piano cover)

Download the sheet music from paulwwells.com
See plugandplink.com for my remote piano teaching device

[@livingstoneleal9252]

just amazing.. you rock... i m impressed.. congrats

[@Matheus-nt5vv]

Best cover I've seen

[@bullridermusic2054]

My gosh man this is why i dont understand the internet, cat videos with millions of views and this peice of gold sittin here with 130 thousand. Its a damn shame your amazing paul.

[@brysp]

Because most of people have no idea how much work you have to put to play like this. They open those eyes when they try to do something like this.

[@TheBudfather_OG]

you sir are a fucking God. if mark knopfler seen this he'd be happy

[@ScottKendrick100]

Paul W Wells, this exceeds perfection. This is my favorite song of all time and I cannot believe you were able to capture the entire Alchemy Live performance on the piano. Do you know what you have here? This is solid gold... SOLID GOLD. Easily the most beautiful song written in the history of music. I tip my hat to you dude. I am speechless.

[@paulwwells]

Thank you. I appreciate your comment. I agree that this is one of the most beautiful songs written in the history of music because the riff is so relaxed and gently explores neighbouring chords with no harsh surprises. Amazingly, the chorus has no vocals which further attests to the brilliance of the pull of the riff. This rips up the text book on how to make music with a 'hook' because the verse has already built up the momentum and the confidence of the chorus stands on its own without the need for an earworm lyric and melody.

[@ScottKendrick100]

+paulwwells yes man! I totally agree! Great way of putting it! The chorus offers that perfect release and consonance after such a glorious verse! Are you on Facebook? Just watched this again btw. Can't get enough!

[@thomasmorais3749]

I totally agree this is also one of my favourite songs ever my family has been listening to this song for generations my dad used to listen to this when he was young and also all my other brothers and now me

[@ScottKendrick100]

Thomas morais that’s awesome man!!! This song will stand the test of time. Keep on loving Knopfler!!!

[@leonardom741]

Still sounding magestic

[@shurestorepe]

JUST MIND BLOWING

[@SirM4E]

I usually don’t give likes and comments that easy.. but your performance.. it’s superb!!!

[@paulwwells]

Thank you very much. I know what you mean, I too am not moved to comment often.

[@MarcoFrancomano]

best cover ever.

[@jessicawheelahan]

I am a forced student from the old days catholic school. . at least to lessons and week. i hated it ! Now i could not be more grateful . It's like a learning another language if you you don't use it you loose it. I have been so inspired by you r videos and many others to learn again. thank you pretty cool what you are putting out in the world . I see you my friend.

[@marmelade2432]

holy shit, this version is completly insane, cant stop listen

[@rolandgerard6064]

The bass line does it

[@DrGargani]

I thought I was the only one who attempt to do that final solo on the keyboards! LOL.....great job, I'm impressed....

[@paulwwells]

Thank you. There's probably a textbook somewhere which advises against attempting that final solo - which just makes it all the more tempting to have a go.

[@DrGargani]

@@paulwwells I know, that is the same way I feel when I do my Pink Floyd covers also.....When I do solos, I combine two different piano sounds and a piano w/string sound, to fatten it up....

[@paulwwells]

@@DrGargani I cannot find any of your playing on your channel :(

[@DrGargani]

@@paulwwells sorry, pure laziness...I have never uploaded playing my music into KZbin....big part of the problem is I don't know where to begin: what do you record with? I have never even done a video on my IPhone....how does one get good sound quality to load to here? Yes, I am that useless when it comes to these matters....yet, I have a complicated midi rig that I use for my recordings, blending 4 keyboards and several voice modules....but this whole video thing, again, don't have the foggiest......

[@paulwwells]

@@DrGargani Ah - well as it happens I have made a couple of videos on this very subject recently: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gp23ZH6bd9l1adU and kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6XMfpmoicd5psk

[@azatartsakh]

Imagine playing this against Mozart in a competiton some 300 years ago

[@stephenalanestes]

Mozart would go nuts. I would love to see that!!!!!!

[@codetech5598]

@@stephenalanestes Mozart would play it back to you after hearing it once. He would say, "It's 4 chords repeated over and over with some fills and trills."

[@GUPRPEET-Singh]

@@codetech5598 great reply 😂;👍

[@codetech5598]

@@GUPRPEET-Singh If Mozart was alive today and spoke English, he would call that sequence of 4 chords the "Andalusian cadence".

[@msoc69]

Incredible. I've lost count how many times I've watched this. By far the best piano version of a classic song. Would love to see this on a grand piano.

[@thefellingskipmaster]

I'm sad to just find this video now. I've loved Dire Straits for years. If Mark has seen this. Or ever does. He can only agree. It's flawless. I'm so glad I looked. ;-)

[@paulwwells]

Thank you for your support and encouragement :) It is an interesting thought what Mark Knopfler would think of this video - I really hope that it would show him how positive an effect this song continues to have. I felt the urge to put together a solo version of the whole song to show how keenly people still listen.

[@kiwitihi4606]

Bro i dont have words lol, aint no way my fingers gonna get this good. DS for life!

[@abhijit_]

The best piano cover for this song! No other piano cover comes even close to this! Hats off Paul !

[@paulwwells]

Thanks Abhijit :)

[@abhijit_]

@@paulwwells pleasure listening to your covers!

[@perguruankucingbrutal]

HOLY GOD!!!! This is really masterpiece! Thank you making this into piano!

[@paulwwells]

Thank you Skycloud High. This sing is really a lot of fun to play on piano.

[@danielweaver7174]

"It ain't what they call dubstep" - loving the alternative lyrics! Superb piece of music played exceptionally well

[@sergiorizick]

Oh, my... now I see there are aliens living among us.

[@stuartlumsden8981]

Paul W Wells, take a bow. This is a masterpiece, an incredible piece of piano playing to capture one of the best live performances you’ll ever see. Truly brilliant.

[@paulwwells]

Thankyou very much!

[@FloydTheWolf]

This is a wonderful cover. I've never seen such thing before, you're an incredible musician ! Mark Knopfler would be left speechless, I'm sure! :)

[@edwardkehoe742]

So I've been playing this performance/tutorial of yours for over a year now and struggling with it . . And... I just today noticed how explosive RED your whole head got by the epic ending. Good God mate ! ... thank you.

[@paulwwells]

Hi Edward - how's it going? The red exploding head is part of my arrangement for this song. If I tried to play it now I probably would suffer an aneurysm.

[@edwardkehoe742]

@paulwwells I was worried for you. Amazing and epic cover.... but take your meds !!

[@waqqodonkey]

Mark Knopfler is the Vivaldi of guitar great job Paul!!

[@antoniolepe4670]

by the way ... how many.centuries of practice you need to reach this level??? 👍👍🤣🤣

[@paulwwells]

Thank for your comments Antonio. I was reluctant to make the recording of this song because I had such a good time learning and polishing it and I knew I would move on to something else after uploading. It took about two years.

[@paulwwells]

@Fu Ggl HI - two years of practicing this song. Piano playing in general - a lot longer :)

[@nuvolebianche459]

@@paulwwells 2 YEARS? THATS AMAZING YOU ARE LEGEND SIR.. well 8 years passed i hope you still remember the song in 2021 its surprisingly amazing

[@paolalara3186]

You fucking SHREDDED! This is beyond amazing, congrats!

[@michaelscaturro6326]

I am a wannabe piano player and am totally blown away by what I am watching. It is other-worldly. What an incredible talent. Remarkable.

[@16awesomo16]

Thank you for making me happy today! Paul, you are one in a million!

[@paulwwells]

Thank you Michael. I have played this on a grand piano and it does work quite well.

[@krisevan1337]

Where is the video of that? I would love to see that!! :)

[@책대로살자]

Oh My God..Great Gig...Awesome...

[@paulwwells]

I think watchandlearnbrother will start demanding payment if I ask him to do more editing

[@antonioeasypiano]

"Sultans of swing" is so great that even my easy piano cover sounds good, but what Paul Wells does is more than good, it's wonderful. 👏👏👏👏

[@BaranAltnok]

describing this performance harder than playing.. incredible

[@paulwwells]

Thank you for your support Baran.

[@InnerBetter]

Gorgious ! 🎉🎉🎉

[@GTurl]

Absolutely wonderful! Amazing play! I love this!

[@paulwwells]

Thank you very much for you kind comment. There are so many good songs out there to learn, and the pleasure is both in the learning and performing to camera. If you're getting a buzz from learning and playing too then that is great .

[@olizalzeortolan8322]

This is incredible!

[@p-yan-o362]

Dude your piano sound is awesome, and you are awesome too!!!! I love your work! continue like that!!!

[@SiteStreetLtd]

Awesome, utterly awesome.

[@D0ni3cz]

This is absolutely amazing. The song of course, but the video as well - it has everything you need to learn this song. =) Thanks a lot!

[@genloulou]

Wow, this pure evil!! Simply amazing.

[@CraigSeidl]

Wow! Amazing job!!! Thanks for the camera overhead, I've always wanted to see how to convert Mark Knopfler's guitar solos to piano.

[@paulonatali5614]

Awesome ! Great performance ! Outstanding piano version.

[@andreacognigni6349]

Best piano cover I have ever heard of this song. I would have loved you to listen to it played on a "real" piano because of the sound, but that's really an impressive performance

[@paulwwells]

Thank you. Acoustic pianos are a bit of a nightmare to record with a balance across all strings - and that's assuming you can find one in tune on the day. The Nord piano I have now gives me a lot more choice of sampled pianos so I can tweak the sound to best fit the song (they're not paying me to say this).

[@matteomarrone5693]

That was great! I love alchemy live album and this song particularly. You nailed it

[@enriqueroca4370]

UAAAUUUU!!! FANTASTIC!! GOOD, GOOD, GOOD...

[@Merackon]

I really love this cover! It matches the tempo of the actual piece almost perfectly, inclusive of all the little nuances that makes their performance of it so wonderful. Thank you for making the time to learn and record this!

[@wharg7468]

Ok ! i was just looking for someone who did solo parts in piano I ended watching it all, forcing me to log on to like and comment Amazing stuff, special mention to dat left hand O_O

[@kasuki1000]

This is incredible

[@pianoman19541]

Ok .... Sir Paul ! I could drive from NYC to LA with just this one song of yours, .... non stop. (Like London to Edinburgh x3) Amazing Rockin !

[@paulwwells]

Thanks Jack. Few songs can keep you going for ten minutes and leave you wanting more.

[@TheMMSpirit]

I have this on "watch later" and come back to listen to it again now and then. Paul, thanks for the performance, it's great.

[@paulwwells]

Thank you for your comment. It's a powerful song for reasons I have never been able to fathom and which just seems to be improving with time. I am glad you like my humble rendition.

[@armannarmy3249]

The best song in the world an the best cover! keep the hard work going!

[@kramermcnett6463]

Masterful, :) I can't stop watching it. It's very addicting, amazing and encouraging. :) I may have to play it a thousand times to learn it. :) Thank you for all that you are. :)

[@DarkLightFilmStudios]

One word: Perfection

[@jamiec2212]

I think some Chopin études would be good warm-ups for attempting this cover. Well played sir!

[@paulwwells]

Thank you. Yes, I know what you mean. Somehow it is more obvious when the guitar parts are played on piano that these are arpeggios which would be just as comfortable in a classical context.

[@adamantane1985]

Very Impressive! You are Maestro of piano playing!

[@paulwwells]

Thank you for commenting. I'm glad you like my version.

[@gg_505_]

I don’t usually post comments like this but I feel like this truly deserves millions of likes. What an unbelievable performance. Congrats

[@paulwwells]

Thank you, and I'm the same, only commenting when I feel compelled.

[@-_______-_______-______-]

6:15 This is the beggining of my favorite part... And when it comes the sax...!!? God...

[@paulwwells]

Thanks Ângela. It certainly is a transition when it reaches that point after so much energy expended in the verses. Nice because everything just cools off for a short period like the centre of a storm passing.

[@-_______-_______-______-]

@@paulwwells exactly! :)

[@henrikl4756]

I have heard this song more than 1000 times. This song has brougth me so much joy, and then you Paul, transfer this masterpice into a full koncert version on a piano and still i am enjoying it. Your version is awesome, you made me belive that this is the original. Thanks for sharing, love it.....

[@paulwwells]

@@henrikl4756 Thank you for such a glowing endorsement of my humble version of this legend of a song. I would say I also listened to it 1000 times, give or take a couple of hundred. While this song is playing then the world is a much less intimidating place.

[@moaly4738]

Incroyable et impressionnant, merci !!!

[@nickyshamrock3279]

Genius and Talent to the Moon. Excellent!!!

[@mitchharrelson7439]

Bravo!! Really phenomenal !!

[@MARCIODUMARI]

Super difícil de exercutar. Parabéns.

[@danielhkhk7283]

Gratulations! This is fantastic!

[@raagaan4827]

You totaly kill! Realy, well done.

[@paulwwells]

Thanks Jim

[@larsr.6385]

wow Paul, so glad you chose the ultra long live version from alchemy album! perfect played. very inspiring. THANKS!

[@paulwwells]

Thank you. I had originally planned to do a shorter version but as I listened to the original I noticed that there was enough rich variation throughout that it could all be translated to keyboards. I like your name.

[@new1st569]

Piano solo, but I could feel drum beats in my feeling. Great job.

[@paulwwells]

Thank you.

[@MrJamesLongstreet]

Great performance!

[@SAFBOLZANO]

Great job, Paul!

[@alessandrobaldan1833]

fantastica tecnica , complimenti per le variazioni e i rivolti veramente eccellenti ,bravissimo

[@farelhark7523]

It's incredible how Mark sings in the picture. Congratulations and thanks for this masterpiece

[@rafabor]

The most beatiful cover of Sultans of Swing!!! No words to describe his work, I am sorry my english skills are bad! Congratulations from Brazil!!

[@paulwwells]

Thank you for commenting Rafael. I am glad you like this version.

[@Termiman1983]

Wow, great playing. And your next Project is Beryl :-))) All right?

[@TheFlamingPiano]

10 minutes... that's a pretty insane piece, especially with all the 16th notes!

[@paulwwells]

Thank you. It was an utter adrenaline rush.

[@TheFlamingPiano]

@@paulwwells Wait the original is around half as long. What exactly did you add here?

[@paulwwells]

@@TheFlamingPiano I based this version on the Alchemy Live version. kzbin.info/www/bejne/boHEaqtvm791qrs

[@lizrobson6713]

My god I need a man in my life who plays piano like this! Such an underrated instrument! You sir are amazing :)

[@Scoobyo11]

You. Are. Incredible.

[@Z0mma7101]

Very well played

[@JAT922]

I’ve played piano for years. Doing the syncopation of that bass line is extremely difficult to tie in with the right hand. Bravo on a job well done

[@paulwwells]

Thank you for your kind comment.

[@noydb2148]

Thanks for doing and sharing! What's weird is when this song came out my teenage ears hated it. Now it's on my funeral mix.

[@paulwwells]

You are welcome. What didn't you like about it when you first heard it?

[@noydb2148]

paulwwells just in case something been lost in translation, back in 1978 I was 12. This song was on the radio and I loathed it. I also hated anything Bluesy. Just leaving high school I saw the video for Alchemy and hit the reset button on this song hard. Pure fun enjoying you playing this. I can't imagine not wanting to give this a go on any instrument you love. I imagine you had a blast the first time you made it through 'clean'. If however you made it through clean on your first try, I admire and hate you.

[@paulwwells]

I too was 12 in 1978. It seems silly now, but I was not comfortable with Knopfler mostly talking the vocals rather than singing. I just wondered if you thought the same.

[@noydb2148]

I can't put my finger on it, but I think Knopfler did it for us. I think Knopfler heard all the issues with his music. Thats probably where "lt ain't what they call rock n roll" came from. I also hated Gerry Rafferty, Led Zeppelin and many others that defy explanation. I credit studying with the radio on in university and the discount bin at the record store for changing that. Thankfully. The stuff I liked was... Damn, can't remember.

[@Chris-th6ki]

Bravo bravo bravo !!!

[@kamranhamidfar1725]

Guitar George, he knows all the chords. I think he knows more chords than George

[@paulwwells]

Thank you Kamran - I love that line. It's as if there are about 8 chords and if you know all of them then you've mastered the guitar :)

[@douglasdelgado1878]

Paul is the best

[@JRcmty]

Virtuoso!! You are amazing!!

[@merlinsdog4530]

Mate, this is amazing! You're very talented! Edited... Loved the smile at the end!

[@danrkelly]

Epic! Bravo!

[@jessdefosse4938]

thks you so much for this version ! I grew up with Supertramp and Dire straits with my father, and if I only knew to play this way !! I dedicated it to him.

[@douglaswilliams7720]

This is outstanding!I would never have said this was a favourite song of mine by Dire Straits,preferring songs like Private Investigations and Tunnel of Love.Your version is masterful though and brings out the excellence of this piece,making me want to play it.Did you arrange this yourself?This is one of my favourite covers on youtube!!!

[@paulwwells]

Thank you Douglas. I know what you mean - you wouldn't think the song is that interesting. Have you downloaded the sheets?

[@douglaswilliams7720]

Just had a look,thanks for making them available.I am going to have to try and work out what you have done to the tune to make it so good.I always play sheet music as it's written down for me,never been very proficient at playing by ear nor arranging tunes.I will probably get Hal Leonard book for this,as I don't want to pay a fortune for lessons!Did you do this arrangement by ear,or by improving a written score?I notice you do 'Stairway to heaven' also,I bought sheets for this years ago but the arrangement was disappointing compared to what you play.

[@paulwwells]

Hi Douglas. I never bother with bought sheet music because the arranger's aim is numbers of sales rather than accuracy. Therefore the simpler they make the arrangement the wider the range of abilities they catch.

[@Boxcar101]

Unbelievably good.

[@aliomarpereiracabral1789]

Espetacular! Pena que você não deixou a partitura para nós. Continue postando essas aulas com outras músicas. Abraço irmão. Sucesso.

[@mimoochodom2684]

Fantastic. Way past me.

[@bharatsharma2446]

Bravo!

[@cmosdk]

Absolutely amazing. Great interpretation of one of the best songs in music history.

[@josecristo8145]

Exelente muy buena calidad!

[@mrad-qr2oc]

This is so amazing, I can see how challenging it is to do this. I attempted to play some of Mark's licks and also the final solo, like some people already mentioned below, but it did not work out well. You putting this online is a true jewel, and how happy I were to find the sheet music free to download, and also other amazing songs on your website. Many of this my bf plays on guitar, and it is gonna make his day to hear me play these. Thank you for this treasure and challenge! This really made my day.

[@jimsskot1]

HI MR PAUL. Great as always. And know with notes on the top thats awesome.Your arrangements are so great and there is alot of people there will be happy for that.So there can be a better pianist themself.Just AWESOME.:-)

[@moaciraguiarbr]

Parabéns. Posso ouvir isso dia todo. Abraço.

[@emgab]

Dear Paul, this ist clearly another Masterpiece of you - extremely well done - i love it so much i can't really explain with words - it's simply amazing and awesome - Keep up your preciuos work, kind regards, MIke from Mannheim, Germany

[@rossiprevot]

Lindo demais. Sem palavras!

[@benoit1620]

amazing !!!

[@yawgmoth6568]

You're fingers are just flying all over the place. You are a master of your craft.

[@paulwwells]

Thank you Yawg :)

[@Luckygrana]

Great Paul.... Simply great.... Is one of my favorites songs ever and you play it wonderful. Thanks!