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 ARCHIVED TOPIC: What is this style of picking


Please note this is an archived topic, so it is locked and unable to be replied to. You may, however, start a new topic and refer to this topic with a link: http://www.flatpickerhangout.com/archive/37926

Uncle Brad - Posted - 06/09/2014:  12:27:58

I'm fairly new to the guitar.  I understand what flat picking is, but what is this style of picking demonstrated by Doc Watson?



   youtube.com/watch?v=migePRg5ClE



What a genuinely great person he is!



 



 


DaddyJ - Posted - 06/09/2014:  12:56:39

That's called Travis picking. Named after Merle Travis who is credited with popularizing the style. Doc is wearing a thumbpick and a fingerpick on his index finger. He plays an alternating bass line with the thumb and the melody with his finger. Doc was a big fan of Merle Travis and named his oldest son Merle after him. Merle Watson died in a tragic accident when he was in his 30's and is the inspiration for Merlefest, one of the premiere Bluegrass and Roots Music festivals in the country.

masteraviator - Posted - 06/09/2014:  14:06:04

Merle Travis doing what he did best on the same song.

youtube.com/watch?v=YC8LQ1UQO8k

CentralMO - Posted - 06/10/2014:  11:25:17

Here's a great video with Doc explaining how he does it.





youtube.com/watch?v=cE2swkx9WX...p;index=1


twayneking - Posted - 07/20/2014:  09:15:50

Thanks for the video of Doc. Very nice.

Jim Yates - Posted - 07/20/2014:  10:49:25

This style is called Travis pickin', Cotton picking, thumb picking or, mostly, just plain "finger picking".


 


Here's Merle himself doin' some Travis Pickin'.  He's either playing a Bigsby guitar or a D28 with a Bigsby neck.   youtube.com/watch?v=btVAuFMpNr4


 


Travis Pickin' is sometimes called Cotton Picking after Elizabeth (Libba) Cotton, who, being a southpaw, played an upside down guitar, playing the bass strings with her finger and the melody with her thumb.  She grew up with right handed guitar playing brothers who would not let her switch the strings on the only guitar in the house, so she was forced to learn this way.   youtube.com/watch?v=4OfP3oKeknw


 


John Hurt was another practitioner of this style and another of Doc's (and my) musical heros.  youtube.com/watch?v=N5pHz0AbeZQ

Edited by - Jim Yates on 07/20/2014 10:53:02

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