I am NOT not qualified to teach guitar by any means, and I screw up at least once in this video just to prove it! I’m posting this for a fellow Prine fan, dinger59, who asked about how I played the song. That’s why the vid is deliberately titled “How I…” rather than “How To…” I apparently use thumb, forefinger and then assign the middle finger to the top two treble strings. I believe that *proper* technique would have me using my forefinger on the G string, middle finger on the B string and ring finger for the high E string. John Prine, as I have just learned, plays it with just his thumb and forefinger. I play the same chords Prine does, but: he used to play it with a capo on the fifth fret. I play with the capo on the third fret. More recently, as the years have gone by, John plays it with his capo on the second fret. The chords: Intro/instrumental and verse: G Am D7 (play twice) then D6, which is xx0432, then CG and D. Chorus: FGFG D6 CGD G. I hope that this video, such that it is, is of some value to those interested in learning to play this wonderful John Prine song.
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freeman2545 says:
September 5, 2011 at 10:51 pm (UTC 0)
i knew the chords i got werent right…they werent right at all……these are the freakin chords……thanks dude….i aint got nothing commin out of me so i thought i wanted to do one of prines most beautiful tunes…that boy could sure write songs…..
jonasjar says:
September 5, 2011 at 11:03 pm (UTC 0)
you might not be a qualified teacher but nevertheless this is a very good instructional video. It reveals the picking very clearly. As you say somewhere, its not “high tech” in any way, with very simple chords, but all the same I’ve always liked his guitar playing, Its simple but very rhythmic and effective. I’ve always wanted to play like that, nice and smooth!
jonasjar says:
September 5, 2011 at 11:44 pm (UTC 0)
great! that’s the way to do it! (money for nothing and your chicks for free 🙂
Labrabob says:
September 5, 2011 at 11:51 pm (UTC 0)
Beautiful!
tnekkc says:
September 5, 2011 at 11:58 pm (UTC 0)
After the Hello in there cover videos of Baez, Midler, and Shusha, I thought Jordanthecat WAS John Prine. But I can see in the squeal, revisiting hello in there, the faces are different.
In the 1971-1972 school year, Hello in There was a great song, and it has had staying power.
r8tg says:
September 6, 2011 at 12:02 am (UTC 0)
Hello in there; Thanks.
JillRocksTheCasbah says:
September 6, 2011 at 12:44 am (UTC 0)
This has helped so much! Thanks!
hochbob says:
September 6, 2011 at 1:10 am (UTC 0)
John would be proud. Great lesson/cover. Thanks.
conordaugher123 says:
September 6, 2011 at 2:06 am (UTC 0)
@jordanthecat
Thanks very much I am sorta gettin the hang of it now. I love it and you really helped me. Thanks again.
: )
jordanthecat says:
September 6, 2011 at 2:54 am (UTC 0)
@conordaugher123 You’re very kind. On the CD version of “Daddy’s Little Pumpkin” John has a capo on the third fret and is playing C, F and G. During the “solo” bit, he follows the C with a C7 which is x3231O. I just listened to it a few times in a row and had the same problem I had years ago trying to duplicate his pattern, which is NOT necessary, BTW. His thumb seems to alt between A and G stings for F and C chords- between A and D stings when playing G.
conordaugher123 says:
September 6, 2011 at 3:47 am (UTC 0)
@jordanthecat The only reason i asked you is because your not one of these wannabe teachers and you can actually play guitar. lol
jordanthecat says:
September 6, 2011 at 4:00 am (UTC 0)
@conordaugher123 It sometimes takes me a while to get inspired to do these videos, and I must say that I’m hesitant to do another semi-instructional video because, as the philosopher Clint Eastwood once said, “a man’s gotta know his limitations.” I see too many YouTube “tutorials” by people who should be taking lessons rather than giving them. I don’t want to be accused of being one of those people.
conordaugher123 says:
September 6, 2011 at 4:54 am (UTC 0)
u mean you are going to do a video??????
Thank you
jordanthecat says:
September 6, 2011 at 5:25 am (UTC 0)
@conordaugher123 I used to play that song but kinda forgot about it- thanks for reminding me!
conordaugher123 says:
September 6, 2011 at 6:01 am (UTC 0)
could you do a video on how to play “daddys little pumpkin” by John Prine.
Thanks
charlesruby79 says:
September 6, 2011 at 6:07 am (UTC 0)
Sounds like like you got it down. Really good.
snookseaglin says:
September 6, 2011 at 7:01 am (UTC 0)
that was good!
goknights77 says:
September 6, 2011 at 7:46 am (UTC 0)
Great Job!
jordanthecat says:
September 6, 2011 at 8:44 am (UTC 0)
Just listened to “Without Her” as per your recommendation- a pretty song I’d never heard before. It’s a different picking pattern to the one Prine uses, but Prine’s Travis Picking style could be used to play the song.
And BTW, I’m just a wannabe myself.
westeightyone says:
September 6, 2011 at 9:34 am (UTC 0)
In appreciation of your efforts to school people like me on how to play this beautiful song ,
I’d like to recommend “Without Her” by Harry Nilsson ( not Without You – that’s an entirely different song ).
I’m sure you’ll appreciate the way Harry sings and plays “Without Her”.
There are a few dubs of it available on Youtube.
The Beta version has the best sound quality.
I don’t know if I’ll ever get ” Hello In There” right but I do appreciate the generosity you’ve shown wannabes like myself.
jordanthecat says:
September 6, 2011 at 9:59 am (UTC 0)
You’re welcome, and I’m glad you found it helpful, but I later did a “Revisiting How I Fingerpick Hello in There” version of this video, in which I try to spend a bit more time explaining the technique and chords.
sbutler51 says:
September 6, 2011 at 10:32 am (UTC 0)
This is very good dude. thanks for posting it.
jordanthecat says:
September 6, 2011 at 10:33 am (UTC 0)
Play us a Prine song once you’ve got it all sorted out, and let me know if I can be of further assistance.
I’m sure your guitar is happier than it has been in quite a while!
paraplanebelle says:
September 6, 2011 at 10:44 am (UTC 0)
Thank you for sharing your talent. I just picked back up my guitar last night after a year off and restringed it and lucked up and found this vid on u-tube. Look foward for more.
jordanthecat says:
September 6, 2011 at 11:23 am (UTC 0)
“Theory” is just a theory- that’s why they call it that. Try playing a slide rule (I’m dating myself there) around the campfire and see how well that goes…