Whistle Stop Rag

About this piece

In Travis picking the thumb swings back and forth between two bass strings on every beat, like a steady train, while the index and middle fingers pick a tune in the spaces between. On the C chord the thumb plays the 5th, 4th, 6th and 4th strings (the ring finger hops to the 3rd fret of the 6th string for the third beat). Learn the thumb part of each chord until it runs by itself, then add the fingers. Where a finger note lands on the beat with the thumb, pluck them together: that’s a pinch.

What it practices

• an alternating thumb bass
• pinches (thumb and finger together)
• C, A7, D7 and G7
• melody between the bass notes

Chords in this song

C · A7 · D7 · G7

Each link opens the chord finder with more ways to play that chord.

Where the notes come from

Original composition by Teddy Rook Book for this course (no source needed); the style and the chord circle are traditional.

How to practice with it

1. Listen first. Press Play and follow along. The note being played lights up in the tab, in the notation and on the fretboard, and the chord being played lights up in the row of chord diagrams.
2. Learn the chords. Press each diagram to hear it, then practice changing between them slowly.
3. Slow it down. Use − and + to set the tempo. 60% is a good place to start; the notes keep their pitch.
4. Loop the hard part. Under More…, turn on Loop, pick the bars, and play them a few times in a row. Count-in gives you a bar of clicks before it starts.

Click a bar in the music to start from there. Space plays and pauses. Left-handed? Turn on the left-handed view: the chord diagrams and the fretboard are mirrored to match your instrument. Tab reads the same either way: the top line is always the first (highest) string.