How to Play Travis Picking
Travis picking is a recognizable fingerstyle pattern where the thumb plays an alternating bass between two lower strings while the fingers above add melody or chord notes syncopated, in between the bass hits.
The foundation: an alternating bass
The thumb in Travis picking doesn't hit the same bass string repeatedly - it alternates between two neighboring bass strings, usually the chord's root and the next one over, creating a 'walking' bass effect. That's the first thing to nail down on its own, with no fingers on top - the same principle as in the article on thumb independence.
Syncopation - offset from the bass
The notes the top fingers play in classic Travis picking don't land at the same time as the bass - they land between its hits, and that offset is exactly what creates the characteristic syncopated, 'rocking' feel that separates Travis picking from simply playing bass and melody at the same time.
It doesn't work without an independent bass
Travis picking physically requires the bass to keep alternating evenly regardless of what the top fingers are doing at that moment (see the article on thumb independence and the one on combining bass and melody) - without that independence, the syncopation either doesn't come through or throws off the bass itself.
Where to start learning it
Take one simple chord (C, for instance) and first play just the alternating bass for a few bars under a metronome. Then add one note on top between the first and second bass hit - just that one note, not the whole pattern at once.
Gradually expanding the pattern
Once that one syncopated note is solid, add the next one, then change the chord while keeping the same alternating-bass principle. It's worth assembling the full classic Travis pattern with 4-5 top notes only once each individual piece has already been checked on its own.
Try it in practice
Open the metronome