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Travis Picking The Blues - Essential Fingerstyle Study! (Patreon)

Published:
2025-09-13 13:00:14
Imported:
2026-08
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Content

Travis Picking The Blues: finally, we shine the spotlight on this incredibly important finger-picked style of roots guitar playing! An important skill for all you budding hybrid pickers out there too!

We cover the fundamentals of the style while learning a fun little 8 Bar Blues study with some must-know roots n’ ragtime phrases and tasty chord voicings thrown in!

From Merle Travis, Chet Atkins and Doc Watson, to Tommy Emmanuel and Bob Dylan, we cover some interesting territory in this one.. heck, even Elliott Smith gets a mention!

Also, don’t miss the “tone talk” section near the end where I get to showcase my new acquisition; a 1964 Gibson B25 acoustic! 🤩👌🏻

Files

Travis Picking the Blues – Fingerstyle Guitar Lesson with Tabs (Sound Complete On Your Own!)

Access all lesson materials by becoming a Patreon at the link below for just a small monthly fee!.. https://patreon.com/AlexFarranGuitar If Patreon isn’t your bag, you can purchase the materials for this lesson alone, directly at the link below; https://smogfalls.gumroad.com/l/bsurt Book in for a private Zoom lesson to level up your playing, or find new inspiration!.. just choose a slot at the link below; https://tidycal.com/alexfarranguitar/guitarlesson Blues by yourself.. no need for backing tracks or loopers on this one. Guitar playing rarely gets more rewarding than being able to sit down and improvise entire pieces of music by yourself.. and blues is the perfect form for learning how to do just that! As always, we cover a ton of important, fundamental concepts needed to play authentically in this vintage blues style so don’t skip through the lesson in case you miss something profoundly important. Also, stick around til the end to hear how I dialled in my tone for this one. Featuring my 53’ Gibson es125 and my 1957’ Fender Tweed Champ. ⏱️TIMESTAMPS⏱️ 00:00 - Performance 00:29 - Introduction 01:15 - Lesson Materials 01:44 - The Chords 04:36 - Picking Technique 09:26 - Songs vs Exercises 09:52 - Study Breakdown 16:16 - Palm Muting 17:07 - Free Floating vs Posting?! 18:50 - Final 8 Bars 19:17 - #4 diminished chord 20:13 - Swung Eighths 21:47 - Rebel City 22:37 - Metronome Practice! 23:53 - Tone Talk 24:57 - Dylan vibes Gear used in this video; 1964 Gibson B25-N D'Addario EJ16 Phosphor Bronze 12 gauge strings Neumann KM184 mic Neve 1073 DPX Mic Pre Universal Audio Apollo Twin X Logic Pro Universal Audio plugins Sony ZVE-10 camera Neewer Desktop Tripod Final Cut Pro Thanks for watching! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexfarranguitar/ Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alexfarran #travispicking #deltablues #blues #bluesbyyourself #unaccompaniedblues #fingerstyle #fingerpicking #bluesguitar #mississippiblues #country #blues #guitar #guitarist #musician #gibson #vintageguitar #guitarlesson #blindblake #ragtime #guitarra #chitarra #guitarplayer #acousticguitar #acoustic #chetatkins #tommyemmanuel #merletravis

Comments

GoofyRaf

Again, something different ! Thanks, everything is worth to learn 🙏 First entry in acoustic guitar file ! 👏

Don Harris

Wonderful and accessible lesson! The encouragement to practice that thumb patiently is key for me. And the fact that it takes awhile is also a type of encouragement. I very much appreciate the thought you put into each lesson!

Larry Coelho

You are the best instructor on YouTube!

Chris Bristow

Can’t wait to dig in. Wonderful combo of useful foundational skills discussion plus this piece stands on its own. Only problem is your stuff comes faster than I can learn it but that’s the reality, not really a bad problem to have! I’m definitely in on what ever styles you have in store…there is always much more to your lessons then just the piece at hand. Beautiful guitar also!

Robert Oot

A very good one that should have broad appeal. This could be a good one to throw in some of the PDFs to increase interest in becoming a Patreon member. Broad appeal to a wide range of guitarists.

Rick

Thanks for the really great lesson! Everyone should stop what there doing and lay the ground work in this lesson. Its a break I often take,put the strat down and exercise on a different fretboard. We all agree, You are the best instructor!!!!

MarkF

Fantastic lesson! I have many of your song lessons in my repertoire now and enough to play for an hour or so. The only lesson I was so excited about, but couldn’t master was your delta blues lesson. Now I am in the same position wanting badly to master this lesson and quite frankly finger style in general. I love that new acoustic of yours it just looks completely comfortable and sounds and looks great. I’d add a little Nick Drake to the mix?!

JonB

Great presentation.. I had a chance to see Tom Bresh (Travis' son) a few years back. Interesting to see him and have him describe and demonstrate Travis' style. More raw than the strict alternating base used by Chet and modified through Jerry Reed, Tommy et. Al. Travis grabbed some unusual voicing and lots of extended chords too. In a version of "I'll Be Seeing You in My Dreams" he grabs an E7 (G#, D ,G#,b,D,E 6 to 1 thumb over the neck). Hard to grab. Lorenzo Paldori has a nice version on YouTube.

Marinho Del Santo

Slow progresses with low tones bring sadness. And, in some opportunies, it is very welcome and deep. Thank you, Alex!

Chris Bristow

Just had to leave a second comment. I’ve been struggling with wrapping my thumb and your comment about having your arm level with the ground made it much easier. My whole angle was wrong. Thanks again!

Ron Culbertson

Versatile you are sir! Never mastered this technique. I’m seeing this as a call to action. Will be part of my daily grind. Gonna take it slow til I can feel natural with the constant thumb. Thanks again and give Rosie a rub on from me. My cat of 16 years is in the throes of a UTI infection. Don’t ask what the vet bill was. 🙈🎶

Ran Bush

Hi Alex - thanks for doing this lesson, I really enjoyed it. The progression reminds me of the Leadbelly original / Jim Kweskin Jug Band copy of “Relax Your Mind”. And if you listen to a live version of the Leadbelly original (on a TWELVE STRING!), it’s pretty clear that he WASN’T using a metronome at 80 bpm! But that’s the beauty of the “crooked” playing of those legendary players. I also enjoyed your comment in the Gear Talk segment on the brand of your fingers. A very limited edition, indeed. If you ever clone yours with AI and Digital Printing, please let us know.

Ran Bush

Hey Ron - I sympathize about your cat’s $$ needs, I’ve been there too. But I’m sure the sixteen years (!) was worth it. Sixteen years is pretty amazing. I hope it works out for both of you.

Lee Amundsen

Fantastic lesson, and one vote Yes! for jumping about from style to style. Get a little wirder...

Jerome Oks

Hello Sensei, I can’t begin to tell you how much I have struggled with Travis picking style over the years. Now I am ok. I enjoyed playing your tune. As always impeccable choice of material, awesome playing, and second to none instruction as always, although with this lesson I did not pay much attention to what you were saying but I had meant to tell you that your abilities as a Sensei are, based on my experience, excellent to say the least. J

Joseph Corso

Tremendous as always your playing as well as content and teaching are second to none! stay on your journey you haven’t steered us wrong one time …thank you for all your hard work

Jonathan Hubbard

Great lesson again Alex. Really well broken down and explained. Thank you

Alex Farran Guitar

Thank you Jerome, I really appreciate the kind words! It's a hard style to learn for sure, but so satisfying once it finally clicks into place

Alex Farran Guitar

Great stuff mate, I love Leadbelly and his slack tuned 12 string shenanigans! A real hero of mine and one of the very first blues artists I got obsessed with back in the day all thanks to that Nirvana unplugged MTV concert! 🧡

Alex Farran Guitar

Thank you Ron, I'm glad you feel determined to nail this style.. it's so worth it! Sorry to hear about your furry friend, I hope they make a recovery. You have my best wishes buddy 🙏🏻

Alex Farran Guitar

That's awesome to hear Chris, it's amazing how pivotal the smallest little details can be!

Alex Farran Guitar

That's very cool Jon, yes Merle's approach was definitely less "boxed in" than Chet's and Jerry's. Man, that's a cool voicing.. definitely a tricky grab!

Alex Farran Guitar

That's so nice to hear Mark, I'm impressed that you've managed to build a good repertoire of these pieces! The new Gibbo is truly a beautiful thing.. so understated, and feels so familiar somehow. Definitely some Nick Drake to come on this channel in future!

Jerome Oks

Jorma Kaukonen "I'll let you know before I leave" was the breakthrough for me; it''s about developing muscle memory without really knowing what muscle memory is. In any case, I am mentioning this song because it is a great song for learning the style because there are so few chords, so you can focus on your right hand.

Bruce

Great lesson and piece! Longtime follower on YouTube and recent Patreon subscriber. Made it through bar by bar and now time to pick up speed. Variation in material keeps me improving week to week.

Alex Farran Guitar

Thanks Chris, I’m glad you find my lessons to be full of things to dig into! Always worth revisiting things to gain a new angle. 👌🏻

MarkW

Alex, I'm having some issues with the website. When I come directly onto you page, I have no problem playing the video feed, but when I go into the "collections" section and choose a lesson, it's as if the audio is doubled but slightly out of sync.

Johan

I really struggle with the bend in the 6th bar. It’s a real mother.

Ran Bush

Hey MarkW - I get the same issue when I click on a video link in YouTude, and it seems to play two tracks, out of sync. I mute one of them and it sounds fine. Maybe Alex has a more technical explanation.

Ran Bush

Hi Johan - I have found that doing two-finger pushups using first the right hand and then the left hand can help with that. If you use alternate fingers on every other session, after a few months you can crack a walnut with one finger. Kidding!

Johan

LOL. Turns out it was hand position more than anything. Sooner or later it just starts working.

Alex Farran Guitar

Hi guys, I contacted Patreon about this and they couldn't come to any conclusions about what, why or how this happened. Is it still happening?

Dan Kirk

Hi, I’m new to all of this so I’m wondering where is the tab for this awesome song lesson?

Dan Kirk

Hi, I just found out how to download the music and tab. Can’t thank you enough for this great lesson, it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for.

Mark Schmitz

Saw Merle playing cannonball rag & Who's sorry now - 70's. Picks mostly using RH - Thumb pick and index finger. Amazing

Mark Schmitz

Hello Out there! Alex's Travis picking is what got me here, and now that my short stubby fingers, 68 year old ligaments struggling to grab some of these chordal hammer-on's, while holding down the groove : ) So Here We Are : ) Love, Love, Loving this piece has brought me to explore some of Leon Red Bone's material. Shine On Harvest Moon, One of my fav's God Bless

Arnold Taylor

How, as a new member, do I get a copy of the song so I can print it please.

Alex Farran Guitar

Thanks for joining us here Arnold. Yes you have full access to download and use all of my lesson materials! If you're a little unsure on the tech side of things, do check out my guide here, but it's very straightforward... just drop me a line if you're still unsure, but I'm certain this will clear things up nicely: https://www.patreon.com/AlexFarranGuitar/posts/psa-lesson-file-128491797?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Arnold Taylor

Thank you very much for sending me the information so I could print the song. I love the lesson. It’s so complete and detailed. Now if I can only live long enough to learn it.

Alex Farran Guitar

Another my pleasure Arnold, I’m glad you got it figured out so fast! Enjoy working on this (and many other pieces!) .. let me know how you get along.