Travis Picking Starts with the Thumb: Lock It In First

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Genre: Music

License: Standard YouTube license

Family friendly? Yes

Shared February 18, 2026

If your Travis picking falls apart, it’s almost always because the thumb loses the groove — it speeds up, drifts off the beat, or tenses under pressure. When the thumb goes, everything goes. In this replay I show a practical way to stabilise the thumb so the fingers have something solid to sit on: • why the thumb rushes (tension + attention shift) • a quick reset to get the thumb relaxed again • two thumb-first drills to rebuild steadiness • how to add the fingers back in without the thumb speeding up Simple practice plan: 3 minutes: thumb reset (loose, even, quiet) 5 minutes: thumb-only groove drill (make it musical) 5 minutes: add fingers while the thumb stays locked Comment below with A/B/C/D: A) thumb speeds up when fingers join B) thumb drifts when changing chords C) thumb gets tense and loud D) thumb is steady until I try to play faster Steady Practice Club (optional support): If you want the extended Q&A after the public clinic and the member support layer, that’s what Steady Practice Club is for. Nothing essential is gated — it’s just there if you want extra help.