Merle Travis and Scotty Moore

I've been working on a style of guitar playing known as "Travis picking". Named after Merle Travis. It's a finger-picking style in the right hand that alternate's bass notes and keeps a 1, 2, 1, 2 kind of rhythm, while the fingers pluck out the melody. Piece of cake. I've been playing my whole adult life this shouldn't be a problem. Uh, right, think again junior. Here's how it goes.

So, Merle Travis was a early country and western singer, songwriter, guitarist. His influence ranges from The Everly Brothers to Leo Fender to Chet Atkins. Here's a sample of the "Travis picking" sound on his own song, "Sixteen Tons".

But, Scotty Moore passed earlier this year and that's what really got me recently interested again in this style. Scotty was the guitar player for Elvis during his early years. Scotty is the guitar of  "That's All Right", "Heartbreak Hotel", "Mystery Train", "Blue Suede Shoes", "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock", and many more. It's "Mystery Train" that's really gets me and I'm still working on it.

Here's what it looks like in guitar tablature:

I'm loving the adventure, and humbled by so many great players. Here's a Wiki link if you need Moore. The Rolling Stones' lead guitarist Keith Richards has said of Moore, "When I heard "Heartbreak Hotel", I knew what I wanted to do in life. It was as plain as day. All I wanted to do in the world was to be able to play and sound like that. Everyone else wanted to be Elvis, I wanted to be Scotty."

Scotty Moore wiki