Want to Practise Travis Picking Without Worrying About Chord Changes?
The No-Chord Travis Picking Exercise
This simple exercise lets you focus purely on your picking hand, without tricky chord shapes getting in the way.
Watch the short lesson below and give it a try…
The full TAB shows the example taught in the video from 1:12.
Quick tip: Don’t worry about speed. Keep your thumb steady and focus on getting the pattern feeling comfortable and relaxed. Stick with Steps 1 and 2 from the notation for now. Step 3 is very much a bonus.
Enjoyed This Little Lesson?
The next step is taking little techniques like this and turning them into real music.
That’s a big part of what we do inside the Six String Life Academy.
For example, watch me play You’ve Got To Walk That Lonesome Valley below. This beautiful arrangement uses the sort of fingerpicking ideas you’ve just been practising.
You can learn the full arrangement inside the Academy, along with lots of other songs, techniques and musical ideas.
“Great arrangement and lesson! I’m loving working on this. Got the verse section locked in much faster than I expected (gasp, am I improving?)”
— Jeffrey Tomasi
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