If you've never done anything with Travis Picking before, I suggest getting your guitar and playing along with this introductory lesson by the great Don Ross

Don Ross intro to Travis Picking

Another legendary free lesson is the Gibson Learn-and-Master Series when Thom Bresh was guest. Thom Bresh is the biological son of Merle Travis and a real heir to the lineage of the Muhlenberg County Travis Picking Style.

Travis Picking with Thom Bresh

/4 Stroke Pattern Miniseries

Once you've gotten your feet a bit wet, try finding a song or technique you want to study from the lists below.

If you do decide to edit a lesson page, please consider using a lesson template.

Travis Picking Song Title Composer Technique CR Key Fingering
/Sounds of silence Simon and Garfunkel Mini Travis Patterns, Expansions 1 Am
/begin again taylor Swift Easy Travis variations 2 G
/Blowin' in the Wind Bob Dylan 4 part bass, walks 2 C
/breath faith hill false travis picking/G box 3 G
/Crazy Love Poco finger displacements 3 C
/get lucky Mark Knopfler Pinches 3 C
/In Spite of Ourselves John Prine placed melody over 4-note bass 3 C
/Jesus: The Missing Years John Prine 4 note patterns 3 C
/landslide Fleetwood Mac improvisation over patterns 3 G
/Leather and Lace Fleetwood Mac Descending Bass Riff 3 D
/Let Her Go Passenger Pinches 3 Am
/Let's Talk Dirty in Hawaiian John Prine 4 part bass, walkups 3 C
/Sixteen Tons Merle Travis Boom Chick technqiue 3 Em
/Such Great Heights Iron and Wine Slow Groove 3 C
/Can't Find My Way Home Steve Winwood Chromatic Chords/Walks 4 D
/Casanova lament Frank Turner Open G/False patterns 4 C
Country Roads John Denver 4 note patterns 4 A
Danny's Song Kenny Loggins Walking in key of D 4 D
Driving South The Early November bass lines over drone pattern 4 G
Dust in the wind Kansas isorhtythm/open C 4 C
Homeward Bound Simon and Garfunkel slow/mini travis 4 G
/Marry Me Train Open C 4 C
Tuolumne Eddie Vedder - 4 C
Leader of the Band Dan Fogelberg - 4 G
blackbird The Beatles false travis picking/G box 5 G Open
can't take it back Lucas Carpenter open F/repeating thumb/ 5 F Open
If I Had a Boat Lyle Lovett Trip Roll 5 G
Just Breathe Pearl Jam - 5 C
kathy's song simon and Garfunkel Open G/double stops 5 G
Leaves that are green Simon and Garfunkel syncopated melodies/bass lines 5 D
Nights Become Days Frank Turner - 5 G
The Boxer simon and Garfunkel - 5 C
Wednesday 3 am simon and Garfunkel - 5 D
You can close your eyes James Taylor - 5 D
Alice's Restaurant Arlo Guthrie circle of 5ths/syncopations/patter 6 C
chicken fried zac brown - 6 G
January at the Halifax Airport Lounge Bruce Cockburn integrating complex melodies 6 ?
How to Rob a Bank Willy Porter syncopations/bridge? 7 G
Lost John Merle Travis - 7 G
That's too much sugar for a dime Merle Travis - 7 Bb
/Treetop Flyer steven stills - 7 Dm
Troubles will be gone Tallest Man on earth - 7 Open G tuning
Casino Night Sonic 2 double stops over boom-chick 8 C
Midnight Special Merle Travis - 8 E
Nine Pound Hammer Merle Travis - 8 G
1952 Vincent Black Lightning Richard Thompson displacements/polyrhythms/speed/improvisation 9 G, Drone Tuning
Kaouding Cissoko Toumani Diabate Complex Pattern shuffling, Fast rolls and Pinches 10 E