This is a free lesson on how to play the Travis pick using Blaze Foley's song, "Clay Pigeons" as played by John Prine. I hope this is helpful to those interested in learning to finger pick. Thanks for watching! - Glenn
Thank you Chris! How nice of you! I appreciate your kind words in appreciation of my efforts here! I hope you have found this helpful. And I hope all is well for you. - Glenn
Wow...this has gotta be the Gold Standard lesson for Travis picking and how to play a true classic finger style song. Many many many thanks Glenn. Just terrific!
Thanks so much Lefty for your kind feedback! Much appreciated! And you are very welcome! I hope you find this helpful. And I hope all is well for you. - Glenn
@@glennwillow5124 I like Blaze Foley so I'll be tackling this one after I finish up with my current project tune. (Have the guitar part, but have to get it while 'singing' the words. That is another hiccup point)
@@MichelleFrets Good for you! Learning to play with your fingers and then sing at the same time takes some real practice. But you can do it! :-) - Glenn
Glenn I'm thinking that Blaze Foley only capo d from the A string down leaving the 6th string open. Its the only way I can do the walk up between verses on the E string. Please let me know what you think. (Thank you Tom )
Hi Jerry! Thank you very much! I did put a lot of effort into making this, so I really appreciate your noticing! Thanks so much for the kind words! I hope this is helpful to you! Best wishes! - Glenn
Thanks for this effort by yourself. Not only is this a great song to put the Travis thing to but it keeps Blaze relevant. Also, You and John both did an exceptional job with your versions of the song. Thanks again.
Thank you 78tag! I'm very glad to hear from you! I'm glad you like how this came out! You're welcome for the effort; I felt it was a good project and a good way to share knowledge. Be well! - Glenn
Hi Michael! Thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement and appreciation! I am so glad you feel this tutorial may be helpful to you! Thanks for watching! I hope all is well for you! Take care, Glenn
Hi Brendan! Oh, how wonderful to know you are watching, Brendan! Thanks so much for your comments and kind words! I hope you find this helpful! All the best to you! - Glenn
I've watched a few videos over the years about Travis picking and I see there are lots of variations. But I found this one, particularly with the diagrams below the actual playing, very helpful and has encouraged me to finally crack this one now. Thanks very much for posting this Glenn.
I'm very glad it was helpful, Isaac! Thanks for taking the time to let me know. Good luck with this! And hang in there! It may take a while to get this down. Be well! - Glenn
Thank you Steve! I very much appreciate your kind feedback! I am so glad this has been helpful to you! Thank you so much for letting me know! I hope all is well for you -- take care! - Glenn
Hi Patrick! Thank you for your kind words! I was asked on a guitar forum if I could teach how to play "Clay Pigeons" and I thought the same thing you just mentioned. That is, this song is slow enough that it would make a good Travis picking lesson so people could get used to the finger coordination at a relatively slow speed! So cool! Thank you for your comments! I hope you find this useful! And I hope all is well for you! Take care and stay safe! - Glenn
Thank you Ron! I really appreciate your feedback! Thanks for taking time to let me know! I hope you find this lesson helpful -- best of luck to you! - Glenn
Thank you Efren! I am so glad you feel this is helpful! Thanks for taking time to comment -- much appreciated! I hope all is well for you! Be well! - Glenn
Bravo Glenn! One of the best Travis-picking lessons I’ve ever seen. Thumb style/Travis picking has been one of the most challenging concepts for me and your teaching style and super helpful diagrams are way more worth the price of admission. I have a clear pattern to to practice now! Thank you! 👍🏻
Thank you S Dickman! I really appreciate the feedback and hope this lesson is helpful to you! Thank you for taking time to comment! Best of luck to you! - Glenn
Thank you Rob! Thanks so much for the kind words. I'm sure you can tell that I put a lot of work and time into this lesson, so I am so pleased that you think it's helpful and well done. Thanks so much for taking time to let me know! Be well! - Glenn
Wow...great lesson.. I am a big John Prine fan and been wanting to learn how to finger pick. The detail you show is very appreciated and gives me a great practice plan. Thank YOU! Just great!
I watched to learn guitar but .... you’ve got a great voice. It was a pleasure to watch and learn from a pro with unique talent of his own. Thank you 👍😊👍
Thank you Terje! How wonderful to hear from you! I am so glad to know this tutorial has helped you! Thanks for letting me know! All the best to you! - Glenn
Woow!! Thank you Glenn, this is suuuper super helpful! I just picked up a guitar during this quarantine and this is the first travis picking song im trying to learn! It is a bit difficult in the first week, but as you said once you start getting used to it it almost feels natural. Thanks again! Subscribed to your channel right away and cant wait to learn other techniques and songs from you cause i see we have a similar taste in music! :)) Hope you're staying safe and healthy during these weird and crazy times! Cheers from Spain
Hi Louis! How wonderful to be connecting with you from Spain! I am near the northwest coast of the USA in Washington State. I am so glad you are finding this lesson helpful. If you are tackling the Travis pick in your first week of playing the guitar, you are very brave and adventurous! Good for you!!! Be patient with yourself because this is not easy, especially when you are just starting out. But desire, how bad you want to learn to play, can make a huge, huge difference! Stay with it and you will get there! Thank you for subscribing! Best of luck to you and stay safe! - Glenn
Funny.. the kids are grown up, it seems that a lot of "old" folks remember, that there still is a guitar in the basement! And it's great, that now, it's much easier to learn all that beautiful songs! Thanks!!
That was one of the best guitar lessons ive ever watched, been meaning to learn travis picking for years and never managed, got it in 20 minutes watching ye. You're a saint and a scholar pal
Hi Charlie! Thank you! It's great to hear from you! I'm so glad you feel this tutorial is worthwhile! I hope it might be helpful to you or maybe to someone you know. I hope all is well for you; I am doing great! - Glenn
Thank you so much for this video, Glenn. I had been trying to learn Paul Simon’s The Boxer and could not find any video that explained Travis picking so well and so clearly. Thanks to this video and your interpretation I’ve now cracked the secret to two of my all-time favourite songs. This one is an absolute heartbreaker, brilliantly captured and sung. Thank you again.
Thank you for your kind words of appreciation, Anne! I hope this lesson has been helpful to you. Best of luck on the guitar. The Boxer is a great song to work on! Be well! - Glenn
Thank you!!! I just found this video and I'll definitely be checking out your other videos. I've been trying to figure out Travis picking and you break it down so well that I think I'll finally be able to do it! I've "played at" the guitar for more years than I care to admit and, being self taught, I developed some bad habits. I'm now working on breaking them and learning proper picking styles. Your videos will be a big help so thanks again!
Glad it was helpful, Ms Kraftee! Thanks for watching and letting me know this is helpful to you! I'm so pleased for you! Hang in there, though. It takes a few weeks of working at this to get it down. Stay well out there and thank you again for your comments! - Glenn
Hi Moosehead! Thanks for watching! It's always great to hear from you! Regarding the song, I really did this to have a song as a good example for teaching the Travis pick. Hopefully it will be helpful to those who are interested. I hope all is well for you Moosehead! - Glenn
My my my ..The best cover I've heard of this song and any cover for that matter. Looks like Henley, plays like like Prine, sings like Willie what the heck man!? Great lesson and illustration. Thank You!
Respect to anyone who (1) Teaches Travis picking and (2) Teaches John Prine. Thanks so much for thid, Glen 👍 Subscribed My old friend bought me my first Martin Acoustic to cheer me up after I had cancer surgery and chemo, so I'm determined to master Travis picking. And ues, it certainly did cheer me up! 😂
Thank you GM! I very much appreciate your taking time to watch and provide comments! I hope this tutorial will inspire a few players! I hope all is well for you! - Glenn
I very much enjoyed listening to you playing this song - well done! Thank you also for this lesson. Like you said - it may take several months to learn, but I’m enjoying the journey.
Thank you Mikael! I'm so glad you tried this out and hope in the end that the lesson will be helpful. It takes years to get comfortable with the Travis pick, but you can learn a lot in just a few weeks that can help you into the future. All the best to you! - Glenn
Thank you John! I greatly appreciate your thoughts and comments! And thank you for the kind words! I do hope you will find this helpful to you! Be well out there! - Glenn
Hi Glenn, absolutely great tutorial. And you chose a great song by Blaze Foley. You're correct about Travis picking. It comes down to repetition and muscle memory. Frustrating but very rewarding. Thanks for excellent video. (Tom )
Thank you Tom! I'm so glad you are watching! Thanks for taking the time to comment and provide feedback! You are welcome for the video -- I hope it's helpful to you! Be well! - Glenn
Thank you for the feedback Richard! You are very welcome! I hope you do find this tutorial helpful. Learning the Travis pick can be very frustrating! I hope all is well for you! - Glenn
Hi Glenn Thanks a lot for this lesson at last I can now starting to play this Travis picking. No one could explain me only you. Best greetings from a french guy.
I’m obsessed with John Prine since discovering his music just days before his passing. This is one of the songs I’m determined to learn, along with Hello In There and Summer’s End. I thought I’d seen every tutorial available so I’m thrilled to have yours pop up in my RU-vid suggestions. I love how you’ve presented this teaching, especially the finger patterns for the chords in the boxes, instead of tabs. That’s the first I’ve seen that done and it’s wonderful! You certainly have a gift for teaching and it’s obvious you’ve put much work into this lesson. I’m a new subscriber and look forward to searching for more great tutorials. Thanks so much!
Hi Carolyn! Thank you for your elaborate and generous comments! I'm so glad you've discovered this tutorial, and I hope it will help you reach your playing goals! I should do more of this kind of tutorial, but as you have noted, it does take a lot of work to put something like this together. I'm very gratified that you appreciate this lesson! I hope all is well for you; stay safe! - Glenn
Wow, I just discovered your videos through this tutorial and am so inspired. I'm working on learning Clay Pigeons now thanks to you. My kids are grown and I just started playing two years ago. I usually practice in one form or another for a couple hours a day and now have a new teacher. Thank you!
HI Eric! Thanks so much for your feedback! I hope you find this tutorial helpful! This is a fun song a good way to learn the Travis pick! All the best to you Eric! Enjoy your guitar journey! - Glenn
This is an absolutely fantastic tutorial. Thank you so much for putting the effort into this. Luckily I learned Travis Pick early on in my journey, I feel like I can play this somewhere near properly - and it seems like these little movements can be used in a lot of different songs... thanks again!
Hi D! Thanks so much for taking time to comment and provide feedback! I'm so glad this tutorial was helpful to you! As you note, the Travis pick is used in about 50% of various fingerstyle songs, so it's very useful. It's not all there is to fingerstyle playing, but once you learn the Travis pick you've got a huge head start! Thanks for your thoughts and comments! I hope all is well for you! Take care! - Glenn
That is wonderful! Thank you for your feedback! I wish you well and a wonderful new year! - Glenn Translation to German: Das ist wundervoll! Danke für deine Rückmeldung! Ich wünsche dir alles Gute und ein wunderbares neues Jahr! - Glenn
EXCELLENT instruction video and nice playing and singing. Have been working on John's picking for months, (ever since his death). I believe you have just helped me over the hump! Subscribing to you AS we speak! THANKS!
Thank you Keith! I am very pleased that this tutorial has helped you! Thanks so much for your note here! I hope all is well for you! Take care! - Glenn
Thank you so much for your feedback Dennis! I'm very pleased it was helpful! It will take some practice over time, but you can get this! Take care and be well! - Glenn
You are welcome, Leon! I hope you find this helps you! Thanks for taking time to comment on this tutorial! Very much appreciated! I hope all is well for you, Leon! Take care! Ciao! - Glenn
Trying to master the Travis picking, but your tutorial is great because I can add the Cadd9, D6 and D7 variations in to my strumming version and it just transforms it. Many thanks!
Thank you bubgee! I'm glad you found this helpful, even for your strumming. Small chords variations do help greatly in making an accompaniment sound better. Be well out there! - Glenn
Hey Jerry, I haven’t picked up the guitar since college. I’m now 63 and because of COVID-19 I thought I’d give it another shot. I haven’t seen a better lesson than yours on finger style. Thanks for making sometime stay in place order more bearable!
Thank you Blake! Your comments are much appreciated! I hope you find this tutorial helpful. And best of luck to you on the guitar this time around! I hope it opens up a whole new world for you! Stay safe out there! - Glenn
You're very welcome, Jonathan! I am so glad this tutorial has been helpful! Thanks so much for letting me know! I hope all is well for you! Stay safe! - Glenn
Hi Glenn That is one of the best lessons of learning to Travis pick i have seen And to one of my favourate song's You have given me inspiration to try again A new subscriber All the very best John ,s Manchester EnGLAND
Hi John! Thank you for letting me know that this lesson has been helpful! Much appreciated! Good luck with the Travis pick! I think it's worth the effort. Ironically, I learned the Travis pick back in about 1970 from an old friend who grew up in Manchester, England! Be well John! - Glenn
Good for you Mark! Learning the Travis pick is a very big challenge but if you can get over this hurdle, you have a huge start on fingerstyle playing! Thanks for taking time to comment Mark! I hope this lesson helps you! Be well out there! - Glenn
Glad it was helpful, Glenn! We share the same name! How cool is that! Not a lot of Glenns in the world! I am so glad you find this instruction useful! Thanks so much for taking time to comment! I hope all is well for you! Stay safe! - Glenn
Hi Mandomonica! Thank you! I worked hard on this one to make sure I was not wasting people's time and that I was giving people enough information to really learn this technique. It took me quite a while to put this together, so I am pleased that you noticed! Have a great New Year in 2020! - Glenn
Thank you elfje! I appreciate your feedback! And it will take a lot of practice. If you keep at it, you will get it. I hope all is well for you! - Glenn
Thank you for posting this in depth tutorial. For some reason I can do the alternating bass lines and then pick with my fingers on the off beats. But skipping an off beat pick is hard. Just need to practice. Thanks again.
Thank you Greg! I hope this lesson has been helpful! You're welcome for the hard work in putting this video together! I hope all is well for you! - Glenn
The best tutorial video I have ever seen! Thank you! I thought I was never going to get that hammer on, but with your help I can play the whole thing! Could you do a tutorial for Noah Kahans song Maine? Thanks again!
Thank you Natalie! I'm so glad you found this tutorial helpful! Good for you for taking it on! I don't know Noah Kahans song Maine, but I will go check it out. Thanks, Glenn
I like what you did with the moving chord diagrams Glenn.....genius....would be especially helpful on more difficult songs with lots of quick changes......
HI Gibby! Thank you! I was looking for some way to provide a chart for how to pick these patterns. I considered tablature, but for some people tablature doesn't work well. So, I thought up my own way to do this. I hope it's useful. Thanks for your thoughts, Gibby! - Glenn
Hi Scott! You're welcome! I'm so glad you felt this lesson was helpful! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and provide feedback! Take care Scott! - Glenn
