So I got this instructional DVD by Fred Sokolow on beginning Travis style guitar, and he's showing how to play with the thumb and two fingers. It's my understanding that Merle Travis only used the thumb and index finger. So what's up here? Is anyone out there an expert?

I'm not an expert. I'm really into the Scotty Moore style rockabilly, so I've learned some Travis picking. You are correct that Merle Travis only used his thumb and index finger. Chet Atkins tried to figure out what Merle Travis was doing but he used his thumb and multiple fingers. The term "Travis Picking" is used generically to describe the style of music where the thumb is typically playing an alternating bass and the other picking hand fingers play the melody.

I haven't seen the Fred Sokolow DVD, but I've heard that it's excellent.

I have Fred Sokolow's DVDs. They're all good.

Re Merle Travis, yes he played with just the thumb and forefinger but sometimes the middle. The "Travis" picking is not just because of the alternating bass that the thumpicked thumb does. When he does the downstroke on the alternating bass, he also hits a couple more strings making the chord notes come out. This is on the 2 and 4 beat downstroke, not on the 1 and 3. Chet Atkins had a "modified" Travis and he mostly used the thumb and two fingers.

For more info and instruction, you can also look into Mel Bay books, especially stuff that Michael O'Dorn has. He's one of the best Travis picker I know. Some of his books have accompanying CDs, one of them being called "Getting Into Travis Picking".

Another person to look as well is the great French fingerstyle player Marcel Dadi. He's another Travis picker and has books/DVDs that are really great. Too bad he's not around anymore.

I am by no means a Travis expert. My playing is more Chet like (in style, not in level ). Just sharing what I know about the subject.

Ace
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No expert here either. Try and get an alternating bass with your thumb and play the melody with your finger(s). What ever works for you. Windy and Warm, IMHO is a good one to start on and practice.

Have you check out any of the stuff from Mark Hanson? His website is www.accentonmusic.com. He's got a book about Travis picking which I've got, and I think its a pretty good book for laying out the basics. He moves into other fingerstyle stuff -- see his other books (most all with CDs) and DVDs. He's a great teacher and his tab is about as easy to read as tab gets. I have most of his books, and they are great for learning this sort of fingerstyle approach.

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Originally posted by jjmcjames:
What ever works for you. Windy and Warm, IMHO is a good one to start on and practice.

So is "Freight Train". Every fingerpicker has to play that!

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Freight Train

Something I found helpful when first learning to play that style was syncing the melody with alternating thumb on the bass. After getting comfortable with that, then work at syncopating betweeen the thumb beats.

Get Freight Train and everything else flows.

Tom Bresch (Merle's son)has a good DVD through homespun tapes.

quote:

Originally posted by fredfrank:
It's my understanding that Merle Travis only used the thumb and index finger. So what's up here? Is anyone out there an expert?

Came across this youtube clip of Travis playing with just his thumb and index finger. Remarkable stuff.
Merle Travis-The Real Deal

Put Nine Pound Hammer and Tommy Emmanuel into YouTube and check out some incredible picking!

A lot of the really good fingerpickers (Rev. Gary Davis for one) only used their thumb and index fingers and I think that's what contributed so much to their funky/syncopated style.

I use four fingers, having crossed over from a brief affair with flamenco. Freight Train in C, and Don't Think Twice, It's All Right in D, copped off peter, paul and mary's "In the Wind". 1965. 42 freakin' years ago. Mercy.

Tom,

So I have to try Don't Think Twice in D. I do it in C (instrumental version). A few weeks ago in Nashville, I saw jazz guitarist Jamie Findlay play this song similar to Lenny Breau's arrangement. Ok, so my jaw dropped open. (didn't mean to hijack the thread - sorry).

Ace
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