How I Finally Learned to Travis Pick with John Prine (ft. Clay Pigeons)

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Instructional PDF 7 pages

Lesson Discussion

About This Lesson

Around 2017 or so, it became painfully obvious that I was falling deeply in love with so many songs that required Travis-style fingerpicking. The problem? I had zero experience with the Travis Picking technique, and kept putting off attempts to learn it. In the summer of 2018, the dam broke… and John Prine’s Clay Pigeons was the song that got me over the hump.

In this lesson, I’ll show you some of the exercises I used to get familiar with the Travis Picking basics. While this is inspired by Clay Pigeons, it is also excellent first steps to anyone interested in getting comfortable with this style of fingerpicking.

Updated July 2026: Updated the Instructional PDF to match my modern design standards; added zoomed playthroughs (below) for each of the six steps shown in my lesson.

Bonus Videos

Here’s a few extra videos, made in thanks to those supporting me with Premium membership here on my Song Notes website. To those showing your support, you have my true thanks and appreciation — and I hope you find these additional videos helpful!

Step 1: Alternating Bass Notes with Right Thumb

Step 2: Add a “Pinch” on the 1 Count

Step 3: Add a Filler Note Just After the “2” Count

Step 4: Mixing Up the Picking Order

Step 5: Add Hammer-ons to the Second Measure

Step 6: Put It All Together (Full Clay Pigeons Intro)

Looking for my full Clay Pigeons Lesson?

A few years after making the video above, I finally made a full tutorial for Clay Pigeons! You can view it using the link below, which includes my additional notes & resources I’ve for this song… including a link to buy my licensed song sheet.