Alternating Thumb Style, Building a Solid Foundation - The Basics

As the subtitle of this Fingerpicking Basics lesson for Ukulele implies, this lesson's focus is on the alternating thumb part of the style. Commonly called Travis Picking on guitar and Scrugg's Style for banjo. For guitar it’s an alternating bass note style with the thumb playing the lower, bass notes.

Author(s): Curt Sheller Publisher: Curt Sheller Publications Code: ULFP117a-CH-1

Main Category: Fingerpicking Main Instrument: Ukulele

Subjects: Chords

2020-02-07

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Getting Started with Ukulele

The Study of Music Today

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Ukulele Series - Curated Lessons on Specific Topics

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Building Your Foundation Lesson One Lesson Two Lesson Three Lesson Four Lesson Five Lesson Six Lesson Seven Lesson Eight, The Pinch Lesson Nine, Variations Rhythmic Variations 3/4 Time More Rhythmic Variations Banjo Rolls Embellishments How to Read TAB Extra Material Single Note Picking Patterns Summary Additional Lessons All Series Videos

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Alternating Thumb Style, Building a Solid Foundation - The Basics

As the subtitle of this Fingerpicking Basics lesson for Ukulele implies, this lesson's focus is on the alternating thumb part of the style. Commonly called Travis Picking on guitar and Scrugg's Style for banjo. For guitar it’s an alternating bass note style with the thumb playing the lower, bass notes.

Guitar

Called "Travis Picking" on Banjo, the Alternating Thumbstyle techniques from this series of lessons and the Fingerpicking for Ukulele, Alternating Thumb Style can be applied to the guitar as well.

As the ukulele has only one set of four adjacent strings, the Guitar has three sets of four adjacent strings. This means the same principles are directly applicable to the guitar. And can be adapted to the guitar's adjacent string sets.

For Guitar the adjacent four strings sets are:

➀ ➁ ➂ ➃

➁ ➂ ➃ ➄

➂ ➃ ➄ ➅

Banjo

Called Scruggs Style on Banjo the Alternating Thumbstyle techniques from this series of lessons and the Fingerpicking for Ukulele, Alternating Thumb Style can be applied.

For Banjo the adjacent four strings sets are:

➀ ➁ ➂ ➃

➁ ➂ ➃ ➄

However with the standard 5-string banjo have a high string fiver you will mostly use the top (towards your toes) strings. For the Banjo Rolls all five strings are used.