Travis Picking exercises for ukulele

Travis Picking refers to a fingerpicking pattern that makes use of an alternating bass. On the four-string ukulele, the right hand can fingerpick outside strings alternating with the inside strings using two, three, or four fingers. We explore five different variations of Travis Picking exercises for ukulele (both low G and high G) in this blog post. Scroll to the bottom to see which books in the Pick Pluck Play! Series contain Travis Picking!

Travis picking from Merle Travis

American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist Merle Robert Travis (1917 – 1983) is credited with originating a guitar fingerpicking pattern that uses the thumb to alternate between two strings.

Travis Picking is heard in a lot of folk songs.

How to fingerpick Travis picking

It’s possible to fingerpick with just two fingers (thumb and index).

Then try three fingers (thumb, index, and middle).

Finally use, all four fingers (thumb, index, middle, and ring finger).

Don’t immediately jump into using pima fingers (four fingers of right hand). Try using just the thumb and index.

Then thumb, index, and middle.

Repeat each section until fluid and fluent.

Can you come up with your own variation on Travis Picking?

Travis picking exercises in ukulele books

I wrote several fingerstyle and chord studies on travis picking. You can find them in the following books (available on Amazon worldwide).

Double Stops on Travis – a one-page fingerstyle study on Travis picking for high G ukulele applying “double stops” – pressing two strings at once in Step by Step to Chord Melody: Fingerstyle Ukulele 12 Progressive Miniatures, the 3rd title in the Pick Pluck Play! Series (published in January 2026).

Travel with Travis in the Wind – a 2-page chord melody study in Book 3 Advanced Beginner Fingerstyle Ukulele, the 9th title in the Pick Pluck Play! Series (published on 8 August 2026).

Pop on Travis – a 2-page chord melody study on variations of Travis picking applied to the famous pop common chord progression in The 80/20 Guide to Ukulele: Common Chord Progressions, the 7th title in the Pick Pluck Play! Series (published on 20 June 2026).

Travel with Travis Hammer and Pull – a 2-page chord melody study with left-hand techniques of hammer-on and pull-of in Book 4 Early Intermediate in the Pick Pluck Play! Series (expected release date in Autumn 2026).