Learn to play guitar with weekly video lessons & print-friendly guides! Learn your favorite songs & techniques with step-by-step tutorials that actually explain how to get from here to there.
🎸 John Prine Fingerstyle with "All The Best" – plus 5 Other Classics
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Hey there, Reader! New lesson today where I'll teach you how to play the much-requested All The Best from John Prine. Keep on scrolling for a handful of related Travis-style fingerpicking lessons I've made that work nicely with this song. I hope you all enjoy! ✌️ -David
LESSON #585
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Let's dive into this John Prine classic from 1991, which so many of you have requested over the past couple years. Typical of many Prine songs, he uses just three chords — but somehow manages to create an arrangement that’s catchy, fun to play, and never gets boring.
I’ll walk you through the fingerstyle-specific chord voicings, introduce the Travs-picking fingerstyle technique he uses, and show a few suggested exercises to learn the main riff.
Don't miss all my additional resources for this song — including some slow play-alongs, a strumming deep-dive, and my "secret stash" intro arrangement — which you can find over on my lesson webpage »
Need Help with Travis-style Fingerpicking?
Over the last few years I've built up a nice catalog of Travis-picking fingerstyle lessons, many of which get you up to speed with the fundamentals used in song after song. Here's a few I think you'll dig:
- Travis Picking vs. "Traditional" Fingerstyle
- Travis Picking Patterns for the Most Common Chords
- Travis Picking in 3/4 Time feat. Amazing Grace
- Travis Picking My Old Kentucky Home, Goodnight
- How I Finally Learned to Travis Pick with Clay Pigeons
PDF guides are available for every lesson above as part of Premium membership over on my Song Notes website... you can find the download link on each individual lesson page. Download, print as many times as you want, and keep them forever!
Looking for More John Prine?
In addition to All The Best, I have several other full tutorials for John Prine classics... links below! Licensed song sheets for these are available (for individual purchase only) – with a 50% discount code available to members of Song Notes Premium.
Spring is almost here!
Here's to a happy spring break for all of you in school, or with kids in school, or with a job that gives you time off. I'm excited to visit some family over the weekend, strum some guitar by the beach, and stay up way too late watching the Formula 1 season kick off in Australia.
I'll see you in the next one... until then!
–David
Song Notes by David Pots
Learn to play guitar with weekly video lessons & print-friendly guides! Learn your favorite songs & techniques with step-by-step tutorials that actually explain how to get from here to there.
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