TRAVIS PICKING
Travis Picking in C (part 4/4)
add pinching to yield a full sounding part with travis picking
See the previous articles on Music Theory – strongly recommended to read these first!
In the previous lessons, we built up our Travis Picking patterns block by block. Now we’re going to add some pinching – which is the technique where we play a bass note at the same time as a melody note with the fingers.
This process is called a pinch because as the thumb plays down on a bass note, one of the fingers plucks a string upward at the same time – which feels like your hand is pinching something.
The Pinch - Travis Picking Tablature
For this first lesson, we focus on the Travis bass pattern (see previous lessons) and just adding some melody notes exclusively at the same time as our bass note.
While this isn’t the most awesome sounding Travis Picking pattern of all time, you’ll see later that when we do this some of the time and mix it with other elements, it creates fantastic Travis Picking patterns!
Exercise 1 Audio – Slow
Exercise 1 Audio – Fast
Travis Picking with the Pinch
In this exercise, the Travis Picking tablature below outlines a mix of pinches and melody notes that are “off the beat” or played between bass notes.
Again, the travis picking pattern here is a bit static – it would sound plonky to do only this for 5 minutes – but again we’ll continue to combine elements to create more interesting Travis Picking patterns as we go.
Use the audio to ensure that you are playing in good time.
Exercise 2 Audio – Slow
Exercise 2 Audio – Fast
Travis Picking With Eighth Notes
In this exercise, the Travis Picking tablature below outlines a mix of pinches and melody notes that are “off the beat” or played between bass notes.
Again, the travis picking pattern here is a bit static – it would sound plonky to do only this for 5 minutes – but again we’ll continue to combine elements to create more interesting Travis Picking patterns as we go.
Use the audio to ensure that you are playing in good time.
Exercise 3 Audio Slow
Exercise 3 Audio Fast
The Pinch With Eighth Notes - Travis Picking Tablature
Here we use Travis Picking patterns with a pinch – but we pinch different notes and use a combination of quarter notes (on the beat) and eighth notes (off the beat) in our melody.
Putting it all together like this into a complex travis picking pattern is very rewarding. Follow the travis picking tablature below carefully and use the audio to perfect your timing.
Exercise 4 Audio Slow
Exercise 4 Audio Fast
summary
The Travis Picking tablature and audio for this lesson is designed for you to practice and build up your travis picking style step by step.
Play each exercise slowly until you have mastered it. Use the audio to guide you.
Travis Picking is a fantastic technique to learn – these travis picking patterns will give you the perfect practice to improve your fingerpicking on guitar.
Good Luck!
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