Travis picking: how long's it gonna take

[Shortfinger]

I'm just learning this, and hoping the various YouTube vids will guide me.

How long before my fingers develop the rhythm and muscle memory?

Any tips?

Can one practice the rhythm without a guitar?

[rick-slo]

Could take a few days, could take much longer. Depends on your method of practicing it, how much you
practice it, natural ability, your background in music (i.e. play another instrument, etc.).

Tip: search the forum on this topic for the many prior threads that are there

[srick]

Chet Atkins said that it took him two years! Keep working at it. There area a few good videos on establishing the thumb rhythm. Toby Walker has some http://www.tobywalkerslessons.com/le...nger-pick.html as does Happy Traum https://www.homespun.com/shop/produc...-steady-thumb/. Good luck!

best,

Rick

[6L6]

I had a college roommate who taught me Travis fingerpicking starting back in 1965. He turned me onto Patrick Sky, Dave Van Ronk, PPM, Gary Davis, etc.

I worked at it hard and now, in 2017, I feel really comfortable with it. And, as with most players out there, I've developed my own personal iterations of it.

I guess my point is, I'm still learning it.

[Wyllys]

Learning continues. There's always more. That said...

My advice is to postpone critical evaluation or at least schedule it at predetermined intervals rather than doing it constantly or daily. Certainly you have to pay attention, but postpone judgement to give yourself time to "just work it out".

You'll experience good days and bad, progress and regression, ups and downs.
Don't criticize...accept.

I have one tune I've been playing for 40 years or more. I play it first almost every time I pick up the guitar. I still find more in it and the playing every time, more so as I relax into it.

Good luck, have fun, enjoy the journey.

[Wyllys]

Originally Posted by Shortfinger

Can one practice the rhythm without a guitar?

I'd say yes. Go out for a walk with the tune in your head. Let it move you...

Don't mind everyone staring at you.

[Toby Walker]

Travis picking is very doable, but I think it's best approached in a step-by-step fashion at first. Here are a few tips:

Start out using just your thumb... without any other fingers. Get used to going back and forth between the 6th and 5th strings, the 6th and 4th, and the 5th and 4th. You can do all of this while playing an open E, G, or A chord. Stay with one chord for awhile and once you get the hang of it, try switching to another chord.

Next, add in some higher notes with your fingers by incorporating a basic, 1 measure, repetitive pattern. This will get your hand used to the alternating bass movement while playing some notes on top. Again, stay with one chord the entire time. You're not working on your chording hand... it's the picking hand that needs attention right now.

Once you're comfortable with your picking hand, try switching your chords around while maintaining a SLOW and STEADY beat.

At this point you're ready to break up those patterns with various melody notes, which is where the true meaning of 'Travis Picking' comes into play. I would strongly suggest finding songs that have simple, VERY familiar melodies to work on. That way you'll know if you're playing the song correctly or not.

Best of luck... hang in there and you will get it!!!

[reeve21]

Hi Shortfinger,

Your post reminds me of myself this winter. I had no idea what I was getting into or what to expect for progress. Maybe my experience will be a guide for what to expect. FYI, I practice Travis an hour or 2 at a stretch, 5 or 6 times a week. I also try and pick up the guitar for 5 to 10 minute stretches a few times a day when I can. I was a strummer for a long time before jumping down this mineshaft....

I'm only a few months into Travis and I'm still very much getting the hang of it. Alternating bass came in a couple of days, working in some treble within a week. Multi-string pinches came shortly after that. Syncopated or off the beat treble notes probably within a month. But as many have said it really is a journey, not a destination, and it's not like I can pick up a piece of tab and sight read it the first time through (or the 50th!).

The two best resources for me have been Mark Hanson's Intro to Travis Picking Book and CD (I'm usually a book type of learner) and Toby Walker's intro to fingerpicking lesson pack. He mentions using a well known melody, and I have been working on his arrangement of Oh Susanna for a few weeks now. I can finally play it all the way through at a reasonable tempo, but I'll bet I have a good 20-25 hours into what I thought would be a very simple piece! Toby also recommends memorizing the pieces and I have been doing that with the 5 or so tunes I can play cleanly, I think it is a big help.

I hope you are a faster learner than I am :-)

[TBman]

You got great advice so far. I'm another one that from time to time will learn the bass first to get the feel of the tune.

[srick]

BTW. Chet noted that he learned (when aa guitar wasn't in reach) by drumming his fingers.

[funkymonk#9]

If you practice 1 hour per day, it should take 27 days and 2 hours before you can keep a steady 3-4 chord travis picking pattern.

Calculations for variations are available.

[SunnyDee]

I learned it as a beginner just last year. It's not something I've perfected (if that's possible), but I was pretty easily able to do the basics within a couple months.

Two things that I didn't see mentioned that I thought were important when I was learning:

It's more important to count the measure than to learn a pattern like inside, outside, pinch, etc. "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and" is much more versatile and effective and will keep you in time and, to me, it makes it easier to notice patterns that are similar, such as, often, your thumb is going to be on 1, 2 and your index finger is going to be the "and" after 2. Very often, you're going to change chords on 1, so you can keep your place if you count to yourself till you get the feel of it. I think it led me to better improvisation as well. (Likewise, imo, it's much better to count for strums than all that DUDUDUDUDUD... but that's a different topic.)

The other thing which was new to me because I was also completely new to guitar at the time is that I quickly realized my right hand didn't know what my left hand was doing. In other words, if I'd hammer on to a string with my fretting hand, the picking hand wouldn't automatically match that string to pick a melody note. I had to create a few little practice riffs for myself to help me sync up my hands.

Have fun!

[Shortfinger]

I'm the OP. I'm a long time strummer but have learned a little fingerstyle. I can sort of play the Chet Atkins version of Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer," and just taught myself Paul McCartney's "Blackbird."

I want to do Lyle Lovett's "Closing Time," and when realizing it was done Travis-style, finally decided to bite the bullet and learn.

It's the syncopation that is going to take some time. And for the synco, I'm learning George Harrison's "Here Comes The Sun." Not Travis, but synco required.

Thanks for all the advice, everybody!

[reeve21]

Originally Posted by Wyllys

Learning continues. There's always more. That said...

My advice is to postpone critical evaluation or at least schedule it at predetermined intervals rather than doing it constantly or daily. Certainly you have to pay attention, but postpone judgement to give yourself time to "just work it out".

You'll experience good days and bad, progress and regression, ups and downs.
Don't criticize...accept.

I have one tune I've been playing for 40 years or more. I play it first almost every time I pick up the guitar. I still find more in it and the playing every time, more so as I relax into it.

Good luck, have fun, enjoy the journey.

This is very good advice. There are breakthrough days, and bad ones as well. When it's going good I try to keep practicing as long as possible (ingrain good habits) and when it is not I take a break.

As a beginner I'm finding is taking me the better part of a month to get comfortable with a basic beginner type tune, Freight Train, E blues stuff, etc. To keep my sanity I try to work on several at a time....

[Pitar]

Nope. Not remembering. Maybe 6 months or so I was loping along like a straight six with one misfiring, or thereabouts.

In '73 I do remember buying the Mel Bay book on Travis Style and an additional book of chords on the same store visit. Once I got home I looked at the Travis Style book and wished I'd looked at it while at the store. It would have saved me the couple bucks. Years later I gave it away in minty condition, as we like to say these days.

My most profound memory was not actually learning to play in the Travis style but being able to sing along with it. That was a ground breaking moment and reason for air raid sirens.

The actual style itself I learned quickly and practiced it so much it became almost irritating in its repetitiveness. No, it did become irritating because I remember changing the syncopation to relieve it a bit. I think it was because of its repetitiveness that I broke out of it, began working out other dynamics and made advancements out of sheer boredom with it.