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Get Travis Picking in 2 Minutes!

Oct 22, 2017
1 min read

Updated: Sep 22, 2021



travis picking beginner lesson

Everyone loves the sound of Travis Picking

Here's the easiest way I've found to get a beginner making some good guitar sounds using their picking hand. I call it the "Outside-Inside" pick. It's a basic form of what's commonly known as "Travis picking", or "Alternating thumb" style.

Using this simple method we can condense into a few minutes, what took me many weeks to "get" on guitar back in the 1980s. Tune up and follow me through the video below.


Not as tricky as it sounds is it? Next stage is to start trying to change between chords while you keep the pick pattern going like I do at the start of the video. Here's a little help with that too.

See yourself improve!

I've created a coaching sheet including tabs for the "Outside-Inside" pick, examining the change between A and D chords and also between A and E. You'll find this in my free guitar book "BPM" sent to all my subscribers.

Enjoy!

Old Swanner.

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What they never told you about chord changes on guitar

7 Comments


Edward Parkrr
4 days ago

Me gusta consultar recursos que explican temas curiosos de manera sencilla. Un diccionario de sueños permite buscar símbolos concretos y conocer las interpretaciones que aparecen en distintas tradiciones. Esta organización ahorra tiempo y hace más cómoda la lectura para quienes desean explorar el tema por interés personal o cultural.

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Travis Picking is such a beautiful technique! It's great to see a simple method that makes it accessible for beginners. Once you've got the hang of it, try adding some chord changes for an extra challenge! Don't forget to check out this Wizard Name Generator for fun inspiration!

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TAO WANG
Oct 03

The Outside-Inside pick is a smart way to simplify the alternating thumb pattern, especially for beginners who struggle with coordinating bass notes and melody. I wonder if you'd recommend practicing it first on a single chord like E minor before moving to the A to D change, or if starting with the chord changes from the beginning helps internalize the pattern more naturally. The idea of condensing weeks of learning into minutes is appealing, but I'm curious how you prevent rushing the muscle memory development.

Useful reference: https://loottoforge.org/

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john654
Aug 21

This is a really clear and helpful guide for learning Travis picking! For something completely different, I've also been checking out Photo to Video AI for TikTok Reels Shorts lately.

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The "Outside-Inside" approach provides beginners with a practical foundation for fingerpicking, helping them gain confidence, GeoGuessr improve coordination, and experience the characteristic sound of Travis picking much faster than traditional learning methods. With consistent practice and the provided coaching materials, students can steadily develop their fingerstyle guitar skills and see measurable improvement over time.

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