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In Spite of Ourselves

by John Prine • Lesson #437 • Jun 4, 2022

Today we’ll learn In Spite of Ourselves, the classic John Prine duet that he recorded with Iris DeMent (1999). I’ll start off by showing you campfire chords & strumming, allowing you to play this song even if you’re just getting started with guitar. From there, I’ll pile on a few additional tricks (e.g. strumming with alternate bass notes) before diving headlong into the Travis Picking fingerstyle used in the song’s intro. This passage took me a while to learn, but with time and persistence, I got over the hump! And I’m sure you can learn it just the same. Enjoy!

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Timestamps:

0:00 Preview & Lesson Summary
0:57 Basic Chord Shapes
3:51 Chord Progressions
5:51 Strumming Patterns
7:50 Alternating Bass Notes
13:40 Fingerstyle: Right Thumb
19:45 Fingerstyle: Melody Notes
23:48 Fingerstyle: Full Tab
27:52 Full Playthrough
29:38 Tour of my Song Sheet

Print-Friendly Song Sheet 5 pages

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Listen to John Prine Play This Song

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Hey there! My name is David Potsiadlo, and I'm the creator of the 400+ weekly lessons here at Song Notes, going back to 2013. Here’s my guitar story »

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In Spite of Ourselves

Free Video Lesson

Print-Friendly Song Sheet 5 pages

Listen to John Prine Play This Song

Learn Any Travis Picking Song, Step by Step

F Chord, Made Easy: 7 Alternatives to the Barred Version

How I Learned to Travis Pick with "Clay Pigeons"

Travis Picking with an Anchored Left-Pinky Finger

F Major Chord with Wrapped Left Thumb (for Fingerstyle & Travis Picking)

Travis Picking vs. "Normal" Fingerstyle

Browse Related Lessons

About Song Notes

Get Free Lessons Each Week!

Enjoy my lessons? Buy me a beer!

Fun & Helpful Tools I've Made

Fret Monster

Capo Captain

Subscribe to my YouTube channel

Recent Lessons

Major Key Cheat Sheets: Must-Know Chords, Scales, and Fretboard Diagrams

"Stuff That Works" by Guy Clark

Monday Morning Triad Practice! (Key of A Major)

"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison

Practicing Major Arpeggios in Each CAGED Shape

Travel Guitar... Worth It, or a Waste? (Taylor GS Mini review, 3 years later)

Creating a Fingstyle Arrangement from Scratch (feat. Graceland by Paul Simon)

"Bouncing Around the Room" by Phish

Simple Way to Travis Pick Any Song (Key of C)

"Summertime Blues" by Zach Bryan

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