Guitar · Chapter 20 of 23
Travis Picking
The thumb rocks between two bass strings like a train on the tracks; the fingers pick a tune in between. It sounds like two guitarists, and it’s one of the great sounds of American guitar.
This style is named for Merle Travis, a Kentucky guitarist who made it famous in the 1940s, though players in his part of Kentucky (and blues and ragtime guitarists before them) were already using it. The rule is simple: the thumb plays every beat, alternating between two bass strings, and it never waits for the fingers.
Step 1: the thumb alone
Hold a C chord. The thumb plays string 5 on beat 1 and string 4 on beat 2, then string 6 (move finger 3 down to its 3rd fret, G) on beat 3 and string 4 again on beat 4. Say “one, two, three, four” and keep it steady for a minute.
Step 2: fingers between
Now add the middle finger on string 1 and the index on string 2, on the “and”s. The basic Travis pattern:
The letters under the strings show who plays: the thumb (T) on the bass, the middle finger (M) on string 1, the index (I) on string 2.
Step 3: pinches and a tune
When a finger note falls on the same beat as the thumb, pluck them together (a pinch). Choosing which top notes to play, and when, turns the pattern into a tune. That’s what Whistle Stop Rag does, over the ragtime chord circle C, A7, D7, G7.
| Chord | Thumb plays |
|---|---|
| C | string 5, 4, 6 (3rd fret), 4 |
| A7 | string 5, 4, 5, 4 |
| D7 | string 4, 3, 4, 3 |
| G7 | string 6, 4, 6, 4 |
Whistle Stop Rag
Remember
- The thumb alternates two bass strings on every beat, and never waits.
- Fingers pick between the beats; a pinch is finger and thumb together.
- Learn the thumb first, the fingers second.