Besides the arpeggio and Alberti bass, the third most important fingerstyle accompaniment pattern is Travis Picking. Named after the American country and western singer and songwriter Merle Travis, the fingerpicking pattern has many variations. To this, I added two left hand techniques of hammer on and pull off for fun, hence “Travel with Travis: Hammer & Pull” for high G ukulele.
Travis picking for the ukulele is basically picking the outer strings of the ukulele first, and then the inner strings. There are many variations. The one used in this piece can be denoted as 4-1-3-2 by string numbers (G, A, C, E strings) in terms of order of strings.
I use the grace notes to indicate left hand techniques, i.e. use the left hand fingers to produce sound by either hammering on (going from a low number to a high number fret) or pulling off (the reverse; from high to low number fret).
The piece moves through five sections, a good exercise for both the left hand (not just fingering and switching chords but also hammering on and pulling off) and the right hand (the same fingerpicking pattern throughout).
Pick! Pluck! Play!
“Travel with Travis Hammer & Pull” is aimed at the second level in the “Pick! Pluck! Play!” book.
The last page “Ukulele Chords” of the new book contains a table of ukulele chord diagrams ordered alphabetically for the chords used in the book.
I’m thrilled about releasing these books as a precursors (prerequisite) to the 12 Chinese Zodiac Suite, which contains three skill levels.
I am recording all my new compositions in the 100 Days of Ukulele 2025 project. To me, this challenge means uploading a new video recording of a new piece each consecutive day from 1st March to 8th June 2025.
For other recent compositions and arrangements by Anne Ku, please visit the Daily Music Writing Project or scroll through the consecutive blog posts.
