Sound Like Chet & Tommy With These Classic Fingerstyle Riffs
by Simon Candy
In this video, you’re going to learn two classic fingerstyle guitar riffs that capture the magic of travis picking in the style of legends like Chet Atkins and Tommy Emmanuel.
Now, a lot of players believe riffs like these are only for advanced guitarists — that you need years of fingerpicking under your belt before you can even touch them.
But here’s the thing… with just some basic fingerpicking skills, these riffs are absolutely within your reach.
And when you learn them the way I’m about to show you, you won’t just have two cool riffs to play… you’ll also discover how to turn them into real music — music that sounds polished and pro, not just like an exercise.
Here’s how we’ll do it:
• First, I’ll play the riff for you,
• Then I’ll break it down step by step, show you exactly how to practice it,
• And finally put it into context so you can use it musically right away.
Watch the video below to learn more:
Travis Picking Riffs
Riff 1: Banjo Roll
Let’s start with a really simple but powerful riff — the classic banjo roll!
It gives your fingerpickng that rolling, flowing sound and can be found in many travis picking tunes:
This riff is important because it’s more than just an exercise. It’s a way to create movement underneath your chords
If you master this, you can plug it into dozens of songs, getting maximum mileage out of it.
Watch the video above for a detailed demonstration and breakdown of this riff.
Riff 2: Bass Note Pick
The second riff focuses on the bass picking approach — a signature part of the Travis picking style:
Watch the video above for a detailed demonstration and breakdown of this riff.
Riff Integration
Now these riffs sound great, but they are still a little out of context.
Next, we will integrate them into your playing at a slightly broader level, by mixing them in with some travis picking.
Here is the banjo rolls mixed in with some travis picking:
And here is the bass note pick riff mixed in with some travis picking:
Watch the video above for a detailed demonstration and breakdown of both examples above.
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