# AI Wiki - Music - Travis Picking ## Concept Travis picking is a fingerpicking style in which the **thumb keeps a steady alternating bass** on the low strings, one note per beat, while the **fingers play the treble strings between and on top of it**: first filler notes from the chord, later a real melody. Wikipedia sums it up: "The foundation of Travis picking revolves around the combination of alternate-bass fingerpicking and syncopated melodies." The result sounds like two players: a bass player keeping time and a guitarist playing above. It is the most common pattern in folk, country and fingerstyle [[AI Wiki - Music - Pop Music|pop]], and the next step after the simple [[AI Wiki - Music - Arpeggios|arpeggio]] patterns in [[AI Wiki - Music - Fingerpicking Patterns]]. The hub article [[AI Wiki - Music - Fingerpicking]] covers the basics it relies on (PIMA, hand position, which bass string each chord uses). ## Where it comes from - **Ragtime piano on a guitar.** Late 19th- and early 20th-century [[AI Wiki - Music - Blues Music|blues]] guitarists imitated ragtime piano, the thumb doing the pianist's left hand (bass on the beat) while the fingers played the right-hand syncopations. Blind Blake, Mississippi John Hurt and Big Bill Broonzy were early recorded examples. - **Western Kentucky.** In Muhlenberg County, Arnold Shultz taught Kennedy Jones, who passed the style to Mose Rager and Ike Everly (father of the Everly Brothers). Merle Travis (1917-1983) learned from Rager and Everly and acknowledged his debt to both. - **Merle Travis.** He used a banjo thumbpick and, according to Wikipedia, played the melodies with his index finger only. Chet Atkins described the difference with his own playing: "Merle played two bass strings simultaneously on the one and three beats", more of a bass strum than a strict single-note alternation. His recordings include "Sixteen Tons" and "Dark as a Dungeon" (both on *Folk Songs of the Hills*, 1946-47). - **Chet Atkins.** Atkins heard Travis on the radio in 1939, adopted a strictly alternating single-note bass, used more fingers, and applied the style to pop, [[AI Wiki - Music - Jazz Music|jazz]] and classical tunes. He and Travis won a Grammy for *The Atkins-Travis Traveling Show* (1974). - **After them.** Atkins gave his "Certified Guitar Player" title to a handful of fingerpickers, among them Jerry Reed and Tommy Emmanuel. Emmanuel plays bass, chords and melody at once with a thumbpick, in direct line from Atkins; his "Gameshow Rag/Cannonball Rag" medley was Grammy-nominated in 2006. In folk, the same alternating bass runs under Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, James Taylor and John Prine. ## How it works Three rules carry the whole style: 1. **The thumb plays every beat.** In 4/4 that's four bass notes per bar, alternating between the chord's root and another [[AI Wiki - Music - Chord Tones and Improvisation|chord tone]] on a different string. Guitar World's lesson (Mike Dawes) counts it in cut time as steady eighth notes; it's the same thing, written faster. 2. **The fingers play between the beats** (the "ands"), and later also on the beats, pinched together with the thumb. 3. **The bass is lightly palm-muted.** Tom Monda (Premier Guitar) recommends "light palm damping to prevent extraneous ringing": the side of the picking hand rests near the bridge on the low strings, so the bass thumps ("boom-chick") while the treble notes ring. That separation is what makes one guitar sound like two parts. See [[AI Wiki - Music - Muting Techniques]]. Monda also describes the thumb motion as "almost circular": a loose push through the string from the base joint, rebounding to the next bass string. ## Bass strings for each chord The thumb alternates between the root and a second chord tone (usually the fifth or the third). With the [[AI Wiki - Music - Guitar Open Chords|open chords]] Sébastien knows: | Chord | Root string | Alternating bass | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | C | 5 (C) | 5-4, then 5-4-6-4 | C-E, then C-E-G-E (ring finger hops to string 6, fret 3) | | G | 6 (G) | 6-4 | G-D | | Am | 5 (A) | 5-4, then 5-4-6-4 | A-E, then A-E-E(low)-E | | A | 5 (A) | 5-4 or 5-4-6-4 | A-E, low E is the fifth | | D | 4 (D) | 4-5 | D, then open A (the fifth, below the root) | | E, Em | 6 (E) | 6-4 | E and the E an octave higher (fret 2) | D is the awkward one: its root is on the D string, so the thumb either drops to the open A string (fifth below) or climbs to the G string, which then can't be used by the fingers. The tabs below use 4-5. ```chord columns: 4 --- symbol: C frets: x32010 fingers: x32010 title: C (thumb 5-4) --- frets: 3x2010 fingers: 3x2010 title: C/G (beat 3: ring finger moved to string 6) --- symbol: G frets: 320003 fingers: 210003 title: G (thumb 6-4) --- symbol: Am frets: x02210 fingers: x02310 title: Am (thumb 5-4-6-4) --- symbol: D frets: xx0232 fingers: xx0132 title: D (thumb 4-5) --- symbol: E frets: 022100 fingers: 023100 title: E (thumb 6-4) --- symbol: Em frets: 022000 fingers: 023000 title: Em (thumb 6-4) --- symbol: A frets: x02220 fingers: x01230 title: A (thumb 5-4-6-4) ``` The C/G diagram shows beat 3, when the ring finger has left the A string for the low E string (same fret); the A string isn't played at that moment. ## Building it step by step Monda's and Dawes' lessons both build Travis picking in layers, never moving on until the current layer is "confident and in time". Use a metronome at 60 bpm and count aloud ([[AI Wiki - Music - Metronome and Speed Building]]). **Step 1: the thumb alone.** This is the engine; everything else hangs on it. Play it until you can hold a conversation over it. ```chords {title: Step 1: thumb alone on C} {time: 4/4} {comment: Bar 1: root and third (strings 5-4). Bar 2: root, third, fifth, third (5-4-6-4); the ring finger hops from the A string to the low E string at fret 3 for beat 3.} {start_of_tab} e|-------------------------|-------------------------| B|-------------------------|-------------------------| G|-------------------------|-------------------------| D|-------2-----------2-----|-------2-----------2-----| A|-3-----------3-----------|-3-----------------------| E|-------------------------|-------------3-----------| p p p p p p p p 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & {end_of_tab} ``` **Step 2: one finger.** Add the middle finger on the "and" of 2 and 4. This is the boom-chick backbone of a lot of country and folk accompaniment. ```chords {title: Step 2: add the middle finger on the off-beats of 2 and 4} {time: 4/4} {start_of_tab} e|-------------------------| B|----------1-----------1--| G|-------------------------| D|-------2-----------2-----| A|-3-----------------------| E|-------------3-----------| p p m p p m 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & {end_of_tab} ``` **Step 3: the full pattern.** Add the index on the G string on the remaining "ands", and pinch the open high E with the ring finger on beats 1 and 3. Now every eighth note is filled: the thumb on the numbers, a finger on every "and". ```chords {title: Step 3: the full pattern, with a pinch on 1 and 3} {time: 4/4} {comment: pa = pinch: thumb and ring finger together. The thumb plays every beat; the fingers fill every off-beat.} {start_of_tab} e|-0-----------0-----------| B|----1-----------1--------| G|----------0-----------0--| D|-------2-----------2-----| A|-3-----------------------| E|-------------3-----------| pa m p i pa m p i 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & {end_of_tab} ``` **Step 4: transfer it to other chords.** The right hand doesn't change; only the bass strings do. Practise each chord until the thumb finds its strings without looking, then change chords without stopping the thumb (start with C to Am, where the thumb stays on strings 5-4, then C to G, where it moves). ```chords {title: The same right hand on the other open chords} {time: 4/4} {comment: Pattern pa-m-p-i-pa-m-p-i on every chord; only the bass strings change.} {start_of_tab} e|-3-----------3-----------|-0-----------0-----------| B|----0-----------0--------|----1-----------1--------| G|----------0-----------0--|----------2-----------2--| D|-------0-----------0-----|-------2-----------2-----| A|-------------------------|-0-----------------------| E|-3-----------3-----------|-------------0-----------| G (6-4) Am (5-4-6-4) 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & e|-0-----------0-----------|-2-----------2-----------| B|----0-----------0--------|----3-----------3--------| G|----------0-----------0--|----------2-----------2--| D|-------2-----------2-----|-0-----------0-----------| A|-------------------------|-------0-----------0-----| E|-0-----------0-----------|-------------------------| Em (6-4) D (4-5) 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & e|-0-----------0-----------|-0-----------0-----------| B|----2-----------2--------|----0-----------0--------| G|----------2-----------2--|----------1-----------1--| D|-------2-----------2-----|-------2-----------2-----| A|-0-----------------------|-------------------------| E|-------------0-----------|-0-----------0-----------| A (5-4-6-4) E (6-4) 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & {end_of_tab} ``` **Step 5: put a melody on top.** Monda's next step: replace the fixed treble notes with melody notes, first only on the downbeats, pinched with the bass. Here the melody E-G | D-B sits on the top two strings over C and G. ```chords {title: Step 4: a melody on the downbeats (C to G)} {time: 4/4} {comment: Melody E-G | D-B, always pinched with a bass note. Bar 1: little finger on the high E string, fret 3, for the G. Bar 2: G chord with the ring finger on the B string, fret 3 (320033 shape).} {start_of_tab} e|-0-----------3-----------|-------------------------| B|----1-----------1--------|-3-----------0-----------| G|----------0-----------0--|----0-----0-----0-----0--| D|-------2-----------2-----|-------0-----------0-----| A|-3-----------------------|-------------------------| E|-------------3-----------|-3-----------3-----------| pa m p i pa m p i pm i p i pm i p i 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & {end_of_tab} ``` **Step 6: syncopate.** Then move melody notes off the beat: a note played on the "and" before a beat and left ringing across it (an *anticipation*). Tap your foot on 2 and 4 so you don't rush. This push against the steady thumb is what makes Travis picking swing. ```chords {title: Step 5: anticipate the melody note (syncopation)} {time: 4/4} {comment: Bar 1: the G melody note lands on beat 3. Bar 2: it arrives half a beat early, on the "and" of 2, and rings over beat 3 while the thumb carries on.} {start_of_tab} e|-0-----------3-----------|-0--------3--------------| B|----1-----------1--------|----1-----------1--------| G|----------0-----------0--|----------------------0--| D|-------2-----------2-----|-------2-----------2-----| A|-3-----------------------|-3-----------------------| E|-------------3-----------|-------------3-----------| pa m p i pa m p i pa m p a p m p i 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & {end_of_tab} ``` **Step 7: ornament.** [[AI Wiki - Music - Guitar Lead Techniques|Hammer-ons]] from an open string, pull-offs, a triplet roll (thumb-index-middle) before a bass note. Monda insists that a hammered note must land in time "so it sounds like an eighth note, not a slide." Dawes' lesson adds bluesy hammer-ons (open G to G# on an E chord) and applies the whole style to a 12-bar blues in E with E7, A7 and B7 ([[AI Wiki - Music - Blues Music]]). ## A progression to practise C-Am-G-C uses three of the bass layouts above. Keep the thumb going through every change, even if the left hand arrives late at first: a steady bass with a missed treble note sounds fine, a stuttering bass doesn't. If a change is too slow, practise the left-hand change alone ([[AI Wiki - Music - Guitar Chord Transitions]]). ```chords {title: Travis pattern through C - Am - G - C} {time: 4/4} {start_of_tab} e|-0-----------0-----------|-0-----------0-----------| B|----1-----------1--------|----1-----------1--------| G|----------0-----------0--|----------2-----------2--| D|-------2-----------2-----|-------2-----------2-----| A|-3-----------------------|-0-----------------------| E|-------------3-----------|-------------0-----------| C Am 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & e|-3-----------3-----------|-0-----------0-----------| B|----0-----------0--------|----1-----------1--------| G|----------0-----------0--|----------0-----------0--| D|-------0-----------0-----|-------2-----------2-----| A|-------------------------|-3-----------------------| E|-3-----------3-----------|-------------3-----------| G C 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & {end_of_tab} ``` Monda's final example uses C-E7-Am-G: the III7 (E7) and vi (Am) add movement to a plain I-V song. Once the pattern runs, try the same right hand on any progression from [[AI Wiki - Music - Common Chord Progressions]]. ## Songs that use it Travis picking is everywhere in [[AI Wiki - Music - Folk Music|folk]] and [[AI Wiki - Music - Country Music|country]]. Commonly cited songs, roughly from easier to harder: - **Elizabeth Cotten, "Freight Train"**: a folk standard built on an alternating bass with melody on top (Cotten played it left-handed on a right-handed guitar, so her thumb took the treble). - **Bob Dylan, "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"** (1963): alternating bass under a ragtime-flavoured progression. - **Simon & Garfunkel, "The Boxer"** (1969): Paul Simon's Travis pattern on a few open chords. - **Kansas, "Dust in the Wind"** (1977): a fast picking pattern over a steady thumb, on chords built from C and Am shapes. - **Fleetwood Mac, "Landslide"** (1975): Lindsey Buckingham's fingerpicked part, played with a [[AI Wiki - Music - Capo and Transposition|capo]]. - **The Beatles, "Dear Prudence"** (1968): John Lennon's picking in Drop D, learned from Donovan ([[AI Wiki - Music - Alternate Tunings]]). - **Merle Travis, "Nine Pound Hammer"**, **"Windy and Warm"** (written by John D. Loudermilk, made famous by Chet Atkins), **Travis, "Cannonball Rag"**: the instrumental repertoire, much harder. Check a recording or a reliable tab before learning a specific song; tabs online vary a lot in accuracy ([[AI Wiki - Music - Reading Guitar Tab]], [[AI Wiki - Music - Learning Songs Efficiently]]). ## How to practise - **Thumb first, every time.** When a new chord or song breaks the pattern, go back to the thumb alone on it. - **Slow, clean, then faster.** Raise the metronome 4-5 bpm only after three clean repetitions. In Sébastien's Music Practice plugin, a Travis pattern can be a technique note with the speed trainer stepping up to a target tempo. - **Practise the parts separately**, as Shawn Persinger (Premier Guitar) advises for any solo arrangement: bass line alone, melody alone, then together. - **Loop one bar.** Dawes recommends looping a one-bar pattern until it feels coordinated before chaining bars. - **Use songs you already know.** Monda's advice is to "absorb, adapt, assimilate": apply the pattern to familiar progressions rather than only to exercises. The thumb running on autopilot while the fingers vary is the same kind of independence as two hands at the piano ([[AI Wiki - Music - Hand Independence]]). ## Common mistakes - **The thumb follows the melody's rhythm** and drops or doubles beats. Fix: thumb alone again, then add one finger. - **Wrong bass strings**, e.g. the low E string on C or D. Learn the table above. - **No palm damping**: bass notes ring into each other and blur the chord changes. - **Pulling the fingers away from the guitar**, so the treble notes slap the frets; pluck up and into the palm. - **Rushing the syncopated notes**: anticipations should land exactly halfway between beats. ## Key Points - Thumb on every beat, alternating root and another chord tone; fingers on the off-beats, then melody on top. - Light palm damping on the bass strings separates the bass from the treble (boom-chick). - Bass strings: C 5-4(-6-4), G 6-4, Am/A 5-4(-6-4), D 4-5, E/Em 6-4. - Build in layers: thumb, one finger, full pattern, other chords, melody on beats, [[AI Wiki - Music - Rhythm and Time Signatures|syncopation]], ornaments. - Lineage: ragtime-imitating blues players, Kennedy Jones, Mose Rager and Ike Everly, Merle Travis, Chet Atkins, then Jerry Reed and Tommy Emmanuel. ## Open Questions - **Answered** ([[AI Wiki - Music - Nails, Fingerpicks and Thumbpicks|Nails, Fingerpicks and Thumbpicks]]): Thumbpick or bare thumb? Travis, Atkins and Emmanuel used thumbpicks; most folk players don't. Worth testing on Sébastien's guitar. Both are valid: learn the pattern bare-thumbed, then try a thumbpick for two weeks and compare recordings; keep it if the palm-muted bass comes out clearer. - Which of the songs above fits his current chords without a capo or barre? - How long does it typically take for the thumb to become automatic? No source gives a figure; track it in the [[AI Wiki - Music - Practice Tracking and Journaling|practice log]]. ## References - Wikipedia, "Fingerstyle guitar" (Travis picking section): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fingerstyle_guitar - Wikipedia, "Merle Travis": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merle_Travis - Wikipedia, "Tommy Emmanuel": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Emmanuel - Tom Monda, "Twang 101: Travis Picking Essentials", Premier Guitar (2013): https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/19838-twang-101-travis-picking-essentials - Mike Dawes, "Travis picking: how to fingerpick like Merle Travis", Guitar World (2019): https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/how-fingerpick-merle-travis - Shawn Persinger, "Three Sides to Solo Guitar", Premier Guitar (2017): https://www.premierguitar.com/lessons/three-sides-to-solo-guitar ## Related - [[AI Wiki - Music - Fingerpicking]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Fingerpicking Patterns]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Fingerstyle Arranging]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Hybrid Picking]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Percussive Fingerstyle]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Guitar Open Chords]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Muting Techniques]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Country Music]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Folk Music]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Blues Music]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Common Chord Progressions]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Metronome and Speed Building]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Hand Independence]]