Alternating Thumb Style, Building a Solid Foundation - The Basics

The Alternating Thumb part of the Alternating Thumb Fingerstyle style - The Foundation.

Published: 09 Apr 2012 Updated: 07 Feb 2020Visits: 12Code: ULFP117a-CH-1

Category: FingerpickingInstrument: Ukulele Subjects: Beginner • Intermediate • Advanced • Fingerpicking • Strums

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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. For ukulele, without any real bass notes, the thumb handles the lower two strings, four and three.

The alternating thumb fingerpicking style works in any tuning.

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:

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.

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End of Lesson - Thanks, Hope You Enjoyed It!

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A Selection of Books & Reference Charts that are recommended for creating a solid foundation with your chosen instrument and music in general.

Books

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Reference Charts

Ukulele Fingerboard Chart for C Tuning, Low or High G - G C E A

Ukulele Fingerboard Chart for C Tuning, Low or High G – G C E A

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Ukulele Fingerboard Chart for G Tuning, Low or High A – D G B E

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