Travis Picking or any finger picking, including playing classical pieces, involves exactly what you describe as a sequential series of steps that lead you into proficiency. Can I simply add that the other factor in getting good at this is DAILY practice!! This is what is called an "acquired skill." Very few of us are savants and if we were, we wouldn't be here. So along with this great lesson in finger style right hand technique, one need to exhibit the dedication and determination to make it past the learning stage into the performance stage. Practice, practice practice! Are you still here? Why aren't you practicing?
My brother is a Savant. We found out when his violin teacher said he was the best in the school, and we had never seen a violin. Then l left my guitar in the house and when l picked it up he had tuned it, and had no idea how to do it. So l took him to my guitar lesson, and 1st lesson the teacher said " every now and again l get a kid that can do it!" He could read music and play ? WTF??? He was 11 years old. He just knew how to read music without a single clue
Thank you for the excellent demonstration. I have been using the "how not to" technique for years, with all the problems that you enumerated. Your preamble demonstrating the correct right hand technique worked wonders within the first few minutes. Brilliant! Thanks!
Great lesson and advice. Certainly something to aspire to. Started playing at 49, two years in and finally feel like I’m getting there, thanks to tutorials like this. Thank you 🙏🏻☺️
The* thumbs up * tip for hand position is a real deal!!! I've had problems with my right hand when trying to learn F.P. & this brings it all into focus. It'a almost like the thumb has to be kept ahead of the rest of the hand like you are wearing a thumb pick. This keeps all digits in the correct channel or column, & not in the same column as the thumb. It also keeps you picking with the finger tip rather than too much to the side of the finger. This is HUGE ! I'll keep working on your whole video. Thanks so much. B.
Thank you, excellent advice! I've been playing 20 years and have a few sloppy/bad habits Travis picking is helping me overcome. You and Paul Davis both have different, but very helpful approaches. I appreciate you taking the time to share!
Very good lesson for finger picking. Concise, accurate, and detailed. Thank you! God Bless you, your family, and all the viewers on this channel and their family also!
I'm a very advanced shredder, but I never learned finger picking at all. This was EXACTLY what I needed; to hear that it's only a few binary options beyond the thumb alternating the bass notes.. I'm so happy I came across your lesson. Thank you!
What questionsvdid he clean up? He is def a great player, but he is not teaching travis picking at all in this video, this is finger picking, major diferences
This is awesome, so wished had seen this video before begin. Your so on point it’s simple but hard to break old habit. Focusing on just the thumb string changes actually harder than some slightly more difficult riffs, but the speed would have never gotten where I want it without doing this first. So glad I found your channel today. I think this is going to be a really big point . I even got out the metronome.
A very good lesson , you use the C chord with the Thumb then finger 2 Thumb then 1 finger i like that pattern but can you tell me what fingers i use on the likes of the D chord is it Thumb on the 4th string finger 2 on the 1st string then thumb on the 3rd string and 1st finger on the second string .
Great video! Funny, I've been fingerpicking for years, but didn't get that thumb position solved until recently. It really makes a world of difference! For players who learned the wrong way for a long time, it takes a bit of effort to re-train, but it's worth it.
Yeah, when I'm teaching lessons it's always one of the things I try to emphasize right at the beginning because it really solves a lot of consternation later on.
For another good one watch tommy emanuel's fingerstyle masterclass video. He demonstrates a few excersizes that get your fingers to work more independently from your thumb
Have you used the speed setting to slow the video down so you can watch the fingers in slow mo? I use full scree and slow mo. But I have been playing guitar for many years and this picking pattern has eluded me for a long time LOL
A great lesson on Travis picking. Dare I say that it's not be easy for some people. I sure don't find it easy. its all about getting the correct sequence for thumb and fingers. If you've been playing this picking method for a long time then yes it is easy.
U are right it is easy, I'm 7 months into learning guitar. I didn't know what Travis picking was until yesterday. I want to learn landslide by Stevie Nicks,it came so naturally to me. I think I have found my playing style, thanks for the video!
I belivee you might want to look into the different styles between Chet Atkins and Merle Travis picking. Chet's is an alternating bass. Travis was just a thump thump thump on the bass strings.
I'm a beginner I know about 14 chords just started learning I love fingerpicking More than strumming. I do not know any bar-chords. I guess maybe that will come with time. I would like to thank you for all your time and uploading and teaching
Thank you for the lesson. I've been playing guitar since 1976 but I've never practiced any kind of fingerstyle playing. I've always been into playing rock, metal, and blues and using the classic techniques used in those genres like alternate picking, sweep picking, etc. It's funny I can alternate pick like a pro but when I try fingerstyle I profoundly suck! LMAO As I get older I am liking and appreciating softer genres of music and songs like Fleetwood Mac's Landslide and would love to be able to Travis pick so I can play them.
You don't state if you are playing thumb + 2 fingers / or thumb + 3 fingers. It seems like you are using the former setup. What are your thoughts on these two playing methods ? Also when fingerpicking, are you using the pinky finger as a hold-down to the guitar sound-board. Would you suggest that is a good idea ?
So there’s really almost nothing you can’t play with thumb and 2 fingers but there are just some things I find easier with 3. I think anchoring with your pinky is fine, sole great players do it.
I’ve been playing fingerstyle for a while now but can’t seem to get rid of the scraping sound the nail of my first finger makes on the third string. I hear it too with your playing but not as intrusive. Any suggestions on how to minimize that sound? I’ve tried various nail shapes and angles of my picking hand. Very nice lesson, right up there with Justin Guitar! Thanks!!
The key is repetition of each pattern by itself. Eventually it becomes automatic. And the next step is to consciously and deliberately mix up the patterns. And after that, you will forget that there are patterns at all, and you are just making music.
This is such a great lesson... I would really, hugely appreciate it if you can do this SLOWLY (!!!!!!) changing between chords... just a basic G C D G would be immensely helpful... thank you so much! xx
I highly recomend you learning to travis pick elsewhere, Try starting with Marcell Dadi teaches Fuller Blues...this video here is great but it is not in anyway travis picking
Anytime...check out and subscribe to my brand new chanel...search for "guitar rag drummer joe" also check out Thom Bresh he has some teally great stuff
Nice lesson! Thank you! A couple of questions. Does your third finger play the high Estring? And your second finger on the B string? And your first finger always plays the G string? Does your thumb play the E, A and D? Thanks. Brian
You can shift the position of your fingers, do for G chord, but essentially thats a great start point, but you'll find that the better you get at this pattern and others, your fingers will find the best position for the song you are playing. A guitar guru said some something like, ' once you have learned the patterns, it's time to forget them' and so I think he was 'on the money'. It's true that it will all happen naturally, after a while, and muscle memory will kick in and your fingers will do it all for you, and that's a great feeling... I haven't played much for years but it was my living for 18 years, and with covid keeping me locked up now,co sit for hours watching these TH-cam videos and my skills are coming back and I've got more skills now than before and it's exciting and motivating for me to use this time to improve myself and inspire others.... Enjoy every minute of your practice.
Travis picking has a more syncopated beat or rhythm, it involves having an independent thumb that plays a bass line while simultaneously picking out lead.It involves the thumb doing a boom chuck a boom chicka boom chicka rhythm well simultaneously picking out lead. That's not what this guy is doing He's just doing an ordinary finger-style role.
I have been finger picking for decades. When I tried placing my thumb in relation to my index finger as demonstrated here, my wrist has to be bent at a 45 degree angle. This feels and looks very unnatural and is uncomfortable to hold for any time. If the guitar is held nearly vertically, it is a little easier, but not much. I'm going back to what works for me. Otherwise, a good lesson.
This reminds me of something shooting instructors say when teaching how to draw from a holster then shoot quickly and accurately. "Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast."
You remind me of the guys who say Lindsey Buckingham is fingerpicking wrong. Clasical guitarists, the original finger style guitarists, don't use the thumb position you suggest. While it may work for you, it's not the only and not necessarily the best way. I and many others don't play that way. BTW Merle Travis played his "Travis Picking" with thumb and index finger only.
Nice finger picking lesson and I’m sure many benefit. Problem is this “Travis picking” doesn’t sounds like anything Travis ever played because it’s not how he picked.
You're quite right. It's not how Merle Travis, Chet Atkins or Tommy Emmanuel play with a Travis Picking technique. Aside from using a thumb pick and palm muting the notes played by the thumb - there are other glaring differences between their way and this way. Standard Travis Picking is a syncopated rhythm that "swings". The method shown here has a "straight" 1/16th note rhythm popularized by great players like Leo Kottke, Paul Simon and Lindsay Buckingham. The "Dust in the Wind" version of Travis Picking is also a "straight" way to play this rhythm. See Tommy's tutorial to make Travis Picking "swing": th-cam.com/video/u0ocjT3gObE/w-d-xo.html
Merle has passed, as did his brain... This gentleman has shown at least six ways to approach this type of playing and they are all valid....Chet learned some of his technique from Merle, but he varied it and made it his own... Tommy, and Jerry were influenced by Merle but refined it suit themselves.... If you looked at the over all instead of complaining about minute differences, you might gain Knowledge instead of sounding retarded ..
Travis Picking or any finger picking, including playing classical pieces, involves exactly what you describe as a sequential series of steps that lead you into proficiency. Can I simply add that the other factor in getting good at this is DAILY practice!! This is what is called an "acquired skill." Very few of us are savants and if we were, we wouldn't be here. So along with this great lesson in finger style right hand technique, one need to exhibit the dedication and determination to make it past the learning stage into the performance stage. Practice, practice practice! Are you still here? Why aren't you practicing?
My brother is a Savant. We found out when his violin teacher said he was the best in the school, and we had never seen a violin. Then l left my guitar in the house and when l picked it up he had tuned it, and had no idea how to do it. So l took him to my guitar lesson, and 1st lesson the teacher said " every now and again l get a kid that can do it!" He could read music and play ? WTF??? He was 11 years old. He just knew how to read music without a single clue
Thank you for the excellent demonstration. I have been using the "how not to" technique for years, with all the problems that you enumerated. Your preamble demonstrating the correct right hand technique worked wonders within the first few minutes. Brilliant! Thanks!
Great lesson and advice. Certainly something to aspire to. Started playing at 49, two years in and finally feel like I’m getting there, thanks to tutorials like this. Thank you 🙏🏻☺️
The* thumbs up * tip for hand position is a real deal!!! I've had problems with my right hand when trying to learn F.P. & this brings it all into focus. It'a almost like the thumb has to be kept ahead of the rest of the hand like you are wearing a thumb pick. This keeps all digits in the correct channel or column, & not in the same column as the thumb. It also keeps you picking with the finger tip rather than too much to the side of the finger. This is HUGE ! I'll keep working on your whole video. Thanks so much.
B.
Well done clear and concise, Alex. Oftentimes the expert forgets how complex even simple stuff is for the beginner.
E FCCa m E
Finally I can play this finger Style.. Thank you for sharing
Thanks, this is adding value to my finger picking. It feels much better than before
One of the best videos I've seen so far on Travis picking. And thank you for tip 1, the thumbs up position 👍
Thank you, excellent advice! I've been playing 20 years and have a few sloppy/bad habits Travis picking is helping me overcome. You and Paul Davis both have different, but very helpful approaches. I appreciate you taking the time to share!
Haha! I just came here from the Paul video, and I thought it was awesome, but wanted a different perspective, and you are absolutely right!
Great clear, lesson! Thank you very much for posting.
Thanks. Well thought out lesson. Hello from Asia.
Been looking at different videos on Travis picking,I picked this as the best lesson I’ve found…
Nice. Thanks for holding my hand through this. 🎉
Man, I'm glad I found this video. Great lessons! Thanks!
Easily the best tutorial on Travis picking. I often come back to this video cause once you’ve nailed it you think to yourself wow it really is easy 😂
Very good lesson for finger picking. Concise, accurate, and detailed. Thank you! God Bless you, your family, and all the viewers on this channel and their family also!
God bless you too 😊🎸🇫🇷
I'm a very advanced shredder, but I never learned finger picking at all. This was EXACTLY what I needed; to hear that it's only a few binary options beyond the thumb alternating the bass notes.. I'm so happy I came across your lesson. Thank you!
AWESOME LESSON! You cleared up a lot of questions, THANK YOU. You are an excellent teacher.
What questionsvdid he clean up? He is def a great player, but he is not teaching travis picking at all in this video, this is finger picking, major diferences
Dude, the hand position tip was on point. Thanks!
You are a great teacher. Best Lesson I ever seen on youtube. Thanks so much
Thank you!
Maybie the picking "patteren" is easy but over all style is very complex with Merle's own chords and syncopation.
This is awesome, so wished had seen this video before begin. Your so on point it’s simple but hard to break old habit. Focusing on just the thumb string changes actually harder than some slightly more difficult riffs, but the speed would have never gotten where I want it without doing this first. So glad I found your channel today. I think this is going to be a really big point . I even got out the metronome.
I’m 30 days into learning guitar, have been practicing daily in split 15 minute sessions. I’m totally adding this technique!! Thank you!!
Thank you so much for the great tutorial 🍻
👏👏👏👏👏
Best lesson ive had thank you bro
Thanks for the tutorial it really helped me☺ greeting from Borneo Indonesia
A very good lesson , you use the C chord with the Thumb then finger 2 Thumb then 1 finger i like that pattern but can you tell me what fingers i use on the likes of the D chord is it Thumb on the 4th string finger 2 on the 1st string then thumb on the 3rd string and 1st finger on the second string .
you are a good teacher, thanks
Great video. Thanks!
Fantastic concise tutorial...👍
Great video! Funny, I've been fingerpicking for years, but didn't get that thumb position solved until recently. It really makes a world of difference! For players who learned the wrong way for a long time, it takes a bit of effort to re-train, but it's worth it.
Yeah, when I'm teaching lessons it's always one of the things I try to emphasize right at the beginning because it really solves a lot of consternation later on.
For another good one watch tommy emanuel's fingerstyle masterclass video. He demonstrates a few excersizes that get your fingers to work more independently from your thumb
Merle Travis used his thumb and index finger to produce his amazing sound. Rev. Gary Davis played in a similar manner.
Very good.. and very encouraging... :)
Thank you for the lesson. I will be learning the Fisherman and Dust in the Wind.
L
Thank you for this good, easy to understand and follow lesson. Proper hand position and nail length and care most helpful. Thank you!
Thank you 🥰
Simple, he says. Maybe for an intermediate or above. But it's something to practice I guess. Thanks for the lesson. Thumbs up for that.
Have you used the speed setting to slow the video down so you can watch the fingers in slow mo? I use full scree and slow mo. But I have been playing guitar for many years and this picking pattern has eluded me for a long time LOL
Maybe this helps th-cam.com/video/6d8G9oKpYNg/w-d-xo.html
Thank you this cleared up a lot and he’s making it easier to learn
seriously clear, straightforward, and digestible. thank you.
Thumbs up on the thumbs up! Big help for Travis picking...
Pickles017 👍
A great lesson on Travis picking. Dare I say that it's not be easy for some people. I sure don't find it easy. its all about getting the correct sequence for thumb and fingers. If you've been playing this picking method for a long time then yes it is easy.
U are right it is easy, I'm 7 months into learning guitar. I didn't know what Travis picking was until yesterday.
I want to learn landslide by Stevie Nicks,it came so naturally to me.
I think I have found my playing style, thanks for the video!
Great video! Your fingers remind me of a crab walking when you get going fast. The fingernail info was nice to know.
That's the best tutorial I've gotten so far. (Teach me how to read the tabs for that.) Well done, son.
so easy!! thank you
I belivee you might want to look into the different styles between Chet Atkins and Merle Travis picking. Chet's is an alternating bass. Travis was just a thump thump thump on the bass strings.
he is forgetting the two most importent things, the muting of the lower strings and the ankerd pinky as well
Thanks for the lesson
Do you think the Tele is best over the Strat & Les Paul if you could just have one electric guitar?
From down the road in Washington. Great lesson. Wish i had the tabs for this lesson.
Well Im up here giving lessons in you wanna swing by sometime!
Nice thx I will work on this love fingerstyle. Nice guitar . Just got me A blueridge Br183A 183A . Good work.
Thank you, great instructional video.
I'm a beginner I know about 14 chords just started learning
I love fingerpicking More than strumming. I do not know any bar-chords. I guess maybe that will come with time.
I would like to thank you for all your time and uploading and teaching
You are a very good teacher where are you located at? Also could you show the chord progression for the fisherman? Thx😅
Near Pittsburgh
Thanks. I enjoyed your video.
Need some advice. You appear to use thumb 2,1. Some say thumb 321. Have heard original was thumb 1. Would appreciate your knowledge. Thanks.
Thank you for the lesson. I've been playing guitar since 1976 but I've never practiced any kind of fingerstyle playing. I've always been into playing rock, metal, and blues and using the classic techniques used in those genres like alternate picking, sweep picking, etc. It's funny I can alternate pick like a pro but when I try fingerstyle I profoundly suck! LMAO As I get older I am liking and appreciating softer genres of music and songs like Fleetwood Mac's Landslide and would love to be able to Travis pick so I can play them.
13:08 what's the name of song this movement is from?
Great explanation and lesson.
Is the ring finger used much in Travis picking?
Is there Travis picking that involves the 5th? Or is that players choice. Thank you
You are awsom man keep going
Bravo man :)
Are those all your electric guitars? I don’t see any acoustic guitars on the wall.
What’s happening with the left hand at 13.08?
You don't state if you are playing thumb + 2 fingers / or thumb + 3 fingers. It seems like you are using the former setup. What are your thoughts on these two playing methods ? Also when fingerpicking, are you using the pinky finger as a hold-down to the guitar sound-board. Would you suggest that is a good idea ?
So there’s really almost nothing you can’t play with thumb and 2 fingers but there are just some things I find easier with 3. I think anchoring with your pinky is fine, sole great players do it.
Really like your vids,cant you do a lesson on Star of the County down/Last mohikan soundtrack,for us mere mortals/best regards Lasse🇸🇪
Thanks!
Do you have the tabs to the patterns taught in this video? I would like to download them. Thanks. Craig Ewinger
Also ankering is important…
I’ve been playing fingerstyle for a while now but can’t seem to get rid of the scraping sound the nail of my first finger makes on the third string. I hear it too with your playing but not as intrusive. Any suggestions on how to minimize that sound? I’ve tried various nail shapes and angles of my picking hand. Very nice lesson, right up there with Justin Guitar! Thanks!!
have you tried playing in classical position ?
plucking the string perpendicularly is how I got rid of it personally.
Thanks.
Do you have a Travis fingerpicking course. Anyone have any good sources?
Thank you!
Easy in concept, not so much in execution 😂 great video helps a ton!
The key is repetition of each pattern by itself. Eventually it becomes automatic. And the next step is to consciously and deliberately mix up the patterns.
And after that, you will forget that there are patterns at all, and you are just making music.
Great Lesson . Very detailed thank you. 👍
Would love to learn the rendition of The Fisherman you did there.
Was that "The Fisherman" at 00:45?
Merle played with two fingers, thumb and index
Why not show that mystery chord you are paying in the first part of the lesson ?
How much are the Skype lessons ?
how do you play that nice little melody that started at :43 seconds
If you want the whole song---'The Fisherman' by Leo Kottke.
This is such a great lesson... I would really, hugely appreciate it if you can do this SLOWLY (!!!!!!) changing between chords... just a basic G C D G would be immensely helpful... thank you so much! xx
I highly recomend you learning to travis pick elsewhere, Try starting with Marcell Dadi teaches Fuller Blues...this video here is great but it is not in anyway travis picking
Joe, thank you so much!
Anytime...check out and subscribe to my brand new chanel...search for "guitar rag drummer joe" also check out Thom Bresh he has some teally great stuff
Thank you again! So helpful!
You can also go to "settings" and slow down the video and see and hear every note.
what's the left hand chords
May be, but not for the older folk like me... I've been trying to no avail... hahha
Nice lesson! Thank you! A couple of questions. Does your third finger play the high Estring? And your second finger on the B string? And your first finger always plays the G string? Does your thumb play the E, A and D? Thanks. Brian
You can shift the position of your fingers, do for G chord, but essentially thats a great start point, but you'll find that the better you get at this pattern and others, your fingers will find the best position for the song you are playing. A guitar guru said some something like, ' once you have learned the patterns, it's time to forget them' and so I think he was 'on the money'. It's true that it will all happen naturally, after a while, and muscle memory will kick in and your fingers will do it all for you, and that's a great feeling... I haven't played much for years but it was my living for 18 years, and with covid keeping me locked up now,co sit for hours watching these TH-cam videos and my skills are coming back and I've got more skills now than before and it's exciting and motivating for me to use this time to improve myself and inspire others....
Enjoy every minute of your practice.
Good job dude..👏 Thanks for a lovely demo.,on Travis Picking style..👍 Warm cheers 😊 God bless 🙏🎸🎶😊
Travis picking has a more syncopated beat or rhythm, it involves having an independent thumb that plays a bass line while simultaneously picking out lead.It involves the thumb doing a boom chuck a boom chicka boom chicka rhythm well simultaneously picking out lead. That's not what this guy is doing He's just doing an ordinary finger-style role.
I have been finger picking for decades. When I tried placing my thumb in relation to my index finger as demonstrated here, my wrist has to be bent at a 45 degree angle. This feels and looks very unnatural and is uncomfortable to hold for any time. If the guitar is held nearly vertically, it is a little easier, but not much. I'm going back to what works for me. Otherwise, a good lesson.
Thanks bro - 8 yrs later
Every single day.
Plz explain the last part its amazing😱😱😱😱😱😱
Lol. That part was "the real travis picking" with an independent picking thumb😅
This reminds me of something shooting instructors say when teaching how to draw from a holster then shoot quickly and accurately. "Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast."
This is the way.
very very helpful, thank you so much !
I can’t see the picture
You remind me of the guys who say Lindsey Buckingham is fingerpicking wrong. Clasical guitarists, the original finger style guitarists, don't use the thumb position you suggest. While it may work for you, it's not the only and not necessarily the best way. I and many others don't play that way. BTW Merle Travis played his "Travis Picking" with thumb and index finger only.
Im curious, is that the way that you play it debbant?
Nobody seems to do "Travis Picking" correclty..Merle only used his index finger and his thumb..
Great lesson!!
Nice finger picking lesson and I’m sure many benefit. Problem is this “Travis picking” doesn’t sounds like anything Travis ever played because it’s not how he picked.
You're quite right. It's not how Merle Travis, Chet Atkins or Tommy Emmanuel play with a Travis Picking technique. Aside from using a thumb pick and palm muting the notes played by the thumb - there are other glaring differences between their way and this way.
Standard Travis Picking is a syncopated rhythm that "swings". The method shown here has a "straight" 1/16th note rhythm popularized by great players like Leo Kottke, Paul Simon and Lindsay Buckingham. The "Dust in the Wind" version of Travis Picking is also a "straight" way to play this rhythm.
See Tommy's tutorial to make Travis Picking "swing":
th-cam.com/video/u0ocjT3gObE/w-d-xo.html
Merle has passed, as did his brain... This gentleman has shown at least six ways to approach this type of playing and they are all valid....Chet learned some of his technique from Merle, but he varied it and made it his own... Tommy, and Jerry were influenced by Merle but refined it suit themselves.... If you looked at the over all instead of complaining about minute differences, you might gain Knowledge instead of sounding retarded
..
True Travis picking only uses the thumb and the first finger. Watch Merle Travis and tell me I'm wrong.