Alternating bass and Travis picking

In alternating bass the thumb swaps between two bass strings on every beat, so the accompaniment has a bass line as well as a chord. Add the fingers on the off-beats and you have a basic Travis pattern, the sound of country and folk guitar.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• Alternate between two bass strings with the thumb on each beat.
• Add the index and middle fingers on the off-beats.
• Play a Travis pattern across C, G and Am.

In alternating bass, the thumb plays two different bass strings in turn, one on each beat, instead of repeating one bass note. It gives the music a walking feel and makes a single guitar sound like two instruments.

For each chord, choose two bass strings from its notes:

• C: 5th string (C, fret 3) and 4th string (E, fret 2).
• G: 6th string (G, fret 3) and 4th string (D, open).
• Am: 5th string (A, open) and 4th string (E, fret 2).

Travis picking adds the fingers on the off-beats. The thumb plays on 1, 2, 3 and 4, and the index and middle fingers play treble notes on the "ands" between them. The simplest Travis pattern is: thumb, index, thumb, middle, repeated.

The thumb is the metronome. If the thumb stays steady, the pattern holds together no matter what the fingers do.

Building the pattern.

1. On C, play thumb only: 5th string, 4th string, 5th string, 4th string. Keep it steady for a minute.
2. Count "1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &" aloud. The thumb plays on the numbers.
3. Add the index on the B string on the first "&". It sits between the first two thumb notes.
4. Add the middle on the high e string on the second "&". The pattern is: thumb, index, thumb, middle.
5. Loop it. Then change to G (thumb on the 6th and 4th strings) and Am (5th and 4th).

If the pattern collapses, go back to thumb alone. Do not move on until the thumb is steady.

Do these in order. Each one is small. Tick the ones you have practised.

• 1.Thumb alone

  4 min · 60 → 90 BPM

  1. Form C. Play the 5th string, then the 4th, then the 5th, then the 4th, one note per click.
  2. For G play the 6th string then the 4th. For Am play the 5th string then the 4th.
  3. Keep the thumb steady for one minute on each chord.

  You have it when

  • The thumb alternates without losing the beat for one minute.
  I practised this one

• 2.Add the fingers on the off-beats

  5 min · 60 → 80 BPM

  1. Play the thumb notes on each click, as before.
  2. Between thumb notes, add the index finger on the 2nd string (on '&' of 1) and the middle finger on the 1st string (on '&' of 2).
  3. The pattern is: thumb, i, thumb, m. Play it twice per bar.
  4. Count '1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &' aloud.

  You have it when

  • The thumb stays steady while the fingers play in between.
  I practised this one

• 3.Chord changes

  4 min · 60 → 80 BPM

  1. Play the pattern for two bars on C, two bars on G, two bars on Am, then back to C.
  2. Move the thumb to the right bass strings for each chord.
  3. Loop it for two minutes without stopping.

  You have it when

  • You complete two minutes without stopping, even if the pattern slips.
  I practised this one

Start at 60 BPM, thumb alone. Travis picking falls apart if the thumb wavers, so do not add the fingers until the thumb is steady. Target 80 BPM.

• Letting the thumb speed up or slow down with the fingers. Practise thumb alone first, and bring the fingers in one at a time.
• Playing the off-beats too loudly. The fingers should be lighter than the thumb. The bass carries the beat.
• Choosing the wrong bass strings. C: 5th and 4th strings. G: 6th and 4th. Am: 5th and 4th.

Travis picking is the engine of country, folk and blues guitar. Once you can play C, G and Am with it, you can accompany hundreds of songs.

Short version (10 minutes)

Do 'Thumb alone' on C for two minutes, then add the fingers.

Standard version (about 30 minutes)

Do all three exercises, then apply the pattern to a progression from the song library.

• Alternating bass: thumb swaps between two bass strings.
• Travis picking adds fingers on the off-beats.
• The thumb never wavers.
• Thumb on the right bass strings for each chord.

You are ready to move on when you can honestly say:

• I can keep an alternating thumb steady.
• I can play a basic Travis pattern over two chords.
• I can play it across C, G and Am without stopping.