Portrait Of Tracy [BASS COVER] - with notation and tabs

[@CalebMaSmith]

After dozens of hours, I can proudly say I have done this song

[@leofont6026]

Clean!!!!

[@LageYouTube]

Same

[@Fasmistic]

after a dozen hours i can proudly say i cannot reach the 2(6) :)

[@MegaJesusini]

@@Fasmistic put your finger in the 2 normally and mute the note with your thumb of the plucking hand and you will get the armonic

[@Fasmistic]

@@MegaJesusini yeah started doing that and it made the song a cakewalk aside from that last chord

[@7stringjazz1]

The bass solo that changed bass guitar forever.

[@xaza5625]

this is one of the songs that future me will take care of XD

[@lawabidingcitizen5153]

I hope I manage to learn it someday too, I'm still a beginner at the bass, but I'm progressing steadily (I think)

[@sodapoplad]

Try it today

[@GustavoOio]

Now is your future "me" ;)

[@xaza5625]

@@GustavoOio almost lmao

[@mehhego2857]

I love seeing your comment on so many videos

[@mah38900]

If Claude Debussey wrote a solo piece for electric bass, it might sound like this.

[@kenjicarlos8402]

Jabussy Pastorius

[@chickencutlet3]

@@kenjicarlos8402 dude seriously?? 😭

[@kenjicarlos8402]

@@chickencutlet3 Jacussy Pastorussy

[@chickencutlet3]

@@kenjicarlos8402 you’re a sick sick man 💀

[@EdwardJohnWyatt]

Absolutely! Nice observation! ❤

[@IntoTheBass]

Of all the available KZbin videos pertaining to this "Jaco Master Piece, A Portrait of Tracy," this is the very best lesson/tutorial I've seen yet.

[@BennyTheBassman]

That's an amazing compliment Ernie. Not sure I deserve it, but I truly appreciate it. Thank you.

[@IntoTheBass]

Hi, Benny! - Happy New Year to You & Yours. I believe that you deserve my "humble" compliment because it is as sincere as the hard and time-consuming work you had to put into creating and sharing this well-done video, and the enriching content it contains that I assure you will help me and others who care to appreciate and learn from it. - You're Welcome, Benny!

[@kasimsultonfan]

Unbelievable. There IS hope for us plodders. Amazing piece of bass composition. And still some players think that they need 5 strings...

[@bestmonkineu4342]

@@kasimsultonfanAs a 5 string player, yes we need our B string! 😂 We may not always be the best bassists but a lot of us are in hardcore/metal bands trying to give backbone to drop B tunings and so on!

[@kobeoncount]

Thanks for the lesson.I've been working on it and here are some tips.The note 2(6) is very hard to play if you don't have really big hands.You can play it like this:Put your finger normally on the 2nd fret,and with the plucking hand use your thumb to mute the string and pluck it with the index finger.The positioning is important,find the best position for the plucking hand by listening,it should be beyond the 24th fret and somewhere around the 27th. If you can not get the right sound by the harmonics,try plucking harder and don't forget to let the strings go after you played the harmonics.

[@VideoPrens]

Thanks man this has really helped me .

[@loobey99]

Good idea! that's what you call pinch harmonics

[@gaspardguillaumie8586]

Thanks a lot

[@wertj3977]

I personally like to angle my bass down a bit when doing the harmonic. For some reason, your hands get locked in 10x easier

[@bigboidiego812]

Thank you so much

[@jaaz.handss]

man, after three years of playing this song and not knowing that section from 1:37 , somebody, SOMEBODY has finally figured how to play that damned part! I can now officially play the entirety of the song thanks to you, and I can die in peace now :) absolutely perfect job man, thank you so so much for the time and effort put into this man, you have no idea how much I appreciate it.

[@novono4107]

i always played that part with a single note on G string 7th and 5th then 9th on D and 9th on G lol 😭

[@EwanLynch]

That 2(6) harmonic stretch always gets me. Great playing.

[@OriginalXenoraptor]

what does it mean "2(6)"? This is natural harmonic on 2 fret? Cause my sounds different (

[@Powerracer251]

@@OriginalXenoraptor It means you hold down 2 with your index and put your pinky over 6 to play that harmonic. The idea is that it's creating a similar effect to a (4) harmonic on an open string if the string was tuned 2 semi-tones higher. My hands are literally too small to do that tbh.

[@thedankknight8333]

@@Powerracer251 thanks I was confused

[@alexnackley3865]

thanks!!!

[@sickcallranger2590]

For anybody still struggling, there’s another way to do it that feels easier to me. Fret the note as usual with your left hand. Now place your right thumb over the fret of the harmonic (6 or 18, I use 18), and pluck the harmonic with the index of your right hand. You can use that for all false harmonics, no left hand stretching required.

[@gnukev]

Nailed it. Couldn't believe it was one guy on bass with no overdubs, when I first heard it on Jaco's first solo album 1976. I bet back then, he was the only bassist who could play it. But we evolve. The final chord is so incredibly lovely. So great to see the notation, as well. Thank you.

[@headbangingidiot]

except for that 9(13) at 2:38 haha

[@スパルタ-s5y]

I don't think I've ever heard a performance this beautiful! Excellent!

[@BRIGGSdylan]

That last fake harmonic is crazy. Insane how he got it so clear in the original recording Sorry meant to say false harmonic, sorry for comfusion!

[@sergioandresvalenciaarias7857]

I think the same

[@wertj3977]

Completely agree. Though it's not impossible to get close. The trick is to make sure your index is behind the 9th fret a bit. For some reason this makes it clearer

[@clyth_3194]

You can get the same effect holding down the 9’s and tapp harmonic the 13’s

[@wertj3977]

@Guodlca It wasn't dubbed. Pretty sure there was this reporter who didn't believe it was real. Then he met Jaco in real life and saw Jaco do it in person and was convinced. Even if that story isn't true, I doubt Jaco would be one to do that

[@Fireglo]

Fake harmonic?

[@Josiah_P_Barnes]

You, sir, are an artist. Thank you for this ethereal experience.

[@kylerharris4246]

If anyone’s trying to play this and struggling to get the third fret harmonics to ring out it really helps if you play close to the bridge.

[@PrinceofPersia6423]

Thank you so much man for your hard work. It just so happened that the same time I wanted to learn this song you posted this video and it's perfect. Definitely subbed, thanks again!

[@BennyTheBassman]

That's awesome!! So glad it worked out, and thanks for the sub, and the kind words. Really appreciate it.

[@hatrian]

dont think I ever commented about it but I played this at my 11th grade school band performance and this video was a great help! That was like 3 years ago and I still know this song by heart on the bass.

[@virginiamarkson4917]

OMG!!!! This is amazing, beautiful, HaH (hard as hell), truly interesting, and just plain FABulous, Ben. What a wonderful way to celebrate having over 500 subscribers! Oh! Did I say I loved it? YES!

[@nastyhardcore7641]

wow i didn't think girls listened to music like this

[@timbrennan2957]

Thank you. I swear I used to be able to play this song but its been 20 years. And this video reminds me of how much I'd forgotten about it. Thanks.

[@ricka5959]

Awesome Benny! I would also love to see you do "The Chicken", or a lesson on the main groove would be killer. Cheers

[@dennistzo]

I've been playing the bass for 1 year and I can proudly say that I can play the intro

[@Blahaj385]

Tip: If you're playing on a PJ or jazz bass, turn the bridge pickup all the way up and the other one down, and boost treble.

[@user-jh1jj9rj3g]

This song sounds great even with a fretted bass, I love the tone. Good job!

[@RiveBassCovers]

Well Jaco did record this with a fretted bass. As a matter of fact some of his best works came off a fretted bass

[@tim.honiss]

@@RiveBassCovers Yep. Come On, Come Over was also recorded on a fretted bass. The rest of the album is fretless though

[@analogaudiorules1724]

BEAUTIFUL.....simply beautiful...

[@xavierlion1905]

No lo puedo creer, gracias hermano, muchas pero muchas gracias, no sabes lo feliz q nos ponemos algunos, amigos bajistas, cuando pones videos como estos, ers genial, te estimamos mucho en Ecuador, ahora la cosa es tocarla como tu, te agradeceriamos mucho mas por el resto de la cancion, sigue asi bro, ers genial, para arriba tu canal, q inspiras mucho a los demas, suerte y muchas gracias, bye

[@BennyTheBassman]

Eso es demasiada amabilidad en un comentario, hermano. Muchas gracias. Me hace tan feliz leer que estos videos están ayudando a la gente. Realmente aprecio las palabras.

[@wertj3977]

Just a little note Benny! At 1:15 I see you're using single harmonics for your A and D harms. I personally play unison ones using the harmonic on G, D and D, A so it creates a more powerful sound since they both play the same note in the end. Not 100% this is from the original but it's definitely something to try because it sounds awesome! Love the vids

[@fatheroftwo852]

This, and that there's a two harmonics listed as 2 & 2½ on A D and G when its really played as a 3 then 3½. Those are the only two complaints I have, insanely good work on Benny's part to only have those two points to groan about >.>

[@drbassface]

Yes! Took me decades to realize that 5th and 7th fret unisons! Bravo

[@basscubs]

Sounds great, man. God damn, this takes patience, even 15 years later.

[@Muppio]

This is how good Jaco was, i legit thought he was doubling the bass the first time i heard this.

[@yoda_on_the_perc_30]

Someday I’ll be able to play this song, that will be an amazing day indeed.

[@hans-christianherbig7377]

From measure 23 (I hope I counted correctly) Jaco plays the harmonics doubled. E.g. d on the g string at the 7th and simultaeously on the d string at the 5th. Similarly he plays the a harmonic on tha a and d string. This gives this bell like sound. It took me years to realize this.

[@jboyle453519]

that tone is amazing

[@redvine1105]

Very nicely done 👏. that final harmonic is just freaking impossible

[@lagrattalo]

my favorite bass song !!! you got it yeahhhhhhhh

[@crimeraaa]

Small tip for anyone struggling to play the 2(6) harmonic on the A string! If you can't reach it (I certainly can't) you can do a sort of pinch harmonic instead. You can press down either B (2nd fret), D# (6th fret), G# (11th fret) or high D# (18th fret) on the A string, very liightly dampen your right thumb's side slightly where the high D# harmonic is (for my P-bass it's a little past the neck pickup A string poles) and use your index/middle finger to pick it. It's important to dampen lightly! If you do it too much you'll just get a muted string. I personally use a little bit of my right thumbnail as I feel I can get a more consistently light enough dampening with it. If you do it right you can let the low E string and high B harmonic ring out nicely similar to how Jaco does it. I personally prefer pressing down either the 2nd fret B or the 6th fret D# for the harmonic, as those frets let me leave the harmonic to ring while I play the open E and the high B harmonic on the G string. Alternatively, if you don't mind not being able to let it ring nicely, you can press B natural on the E string (7th fret) and stretch your pinky to the D# (11th fret) and play the harmonic from there.

[@Gryffindor8]

Amazing playing, but the transcription is what’s really impressive!

[@xavierlion1905]

Para algunos bajistas esto es oro

[@BennyTheBassman]

Eso hace que este bajista sea muy feliz.

[@Heylomusicmusic]

This piece continues to amaze! 🎉❤✌️♥️

[@TheHackersboss]

Feels good to watch your cover and know that i play it correctly. Aint no reference more credible than benny lol

[@cometface]

As bleak yet beautiful this song is, I hope nobody in this comment section has to go through the actual emotion put into this song. It may be beautiful after the fact, but God it must hurt unbearably

[@aaronbcallaghan]

This is a beautiful piece and you did a great job playing it

[@35Danconn]

This song has been my "Everest" for bass playing. If I can conquer it I'll feel like I'm a real bassist finally. The hardest part in this has been the 2(6) false harmonic. My left pinky just does not want to stretch that far! I tried using my right hand to play the corresponding harmonic near the pickup. This seems to work better for me. Any thoughts?

[@zakosahn1877]

Use your right thumb and lightly hold it over the pickup, then pluck the string using your right index finger. (while actually pressing down on the 2nd fret). It'll take a couple tries to get the right spot haha

[@35Danconn]

@@zakosahn1877 That's what I've been doing. edit: Actually I use my index to hit the harmonic and my middle finger to pluck it.

[@Gusielog]

Have you finally gotten the harmonic?

[@Youngmidnight24]

I did the same thing and it works

[@bensouder8648]

I can hit it like 1 in 10 tries but I'm doing this on a 6 string and the stretch is absurd. Is there seriously no other way to do that harmonic?? That's a diabolical length to go to just for one fleeting note lol. Jaco was not human, my goodness.

[@hannahwalker7221]

I have to say, you introduced me to Jaco, and launched me into a whole new way to play!

[@just_no5287]

Jaco was absolutely great and his knowledge about music was really exceptional. He composed some songs completely for joni Mitchell.

[@matthewkozlowski3821]

Here we go.. this is a great piece. Really good.

[@BennyTheBassman]

I eventually got there!! Thank you Matthew.

[@camrongray3406]

You did a perfect job

[@LowEndDan]

Im gonna give this one a shot, its about time.

[@willig22]

Does anyone know what the 1/2 marker means at 0:55? I tried watching his hands but it looks like he’s on the 3rd fret which is confusing.

[@donaldbest7621]

Really nice! Great compositions make me so relaxed.....such a sweet rendition.

[@Antonio-TonyOSilva]

Very Nice My friend, the best lesson about portrait of tracy, congratulations!!!

[@water331]

thanks for the vid bro. I didn't realize I was playing the 2(6) section that wrong. just knew it always sounded wrong.

[@williamrobinson1973]

Benny, I've been loving your channel! You do great work and transcriptions. You're alright with me man. That last harmonic and how you did it so people can see. 👌 You alright in my book man. 👍 Keep up the great work. Forever Bass!

[@davymartinez]

Those harmonics, man...! Great performance, as usual, keep them up! (Btw, I've already thought about another couple suggestions, so I'll pitch'em later on, I bet you already have a growing queue of nice requests to fulfill)

[@BennyTheBassman]

Thank you David. Appreciate it man. Looking forward to those requests! :)

[@davymartinez]

Ok, so for a change of pace, let's move from funky-soul to 80's neo-prog, so how about a rendition of Marillion's beautiful "Childhood's End"? I think it's a superb combination of melodic groove and sophisticated rock. That proggy outro at the end is my major roadblock. Thanks in advance!

[@lutherhamilton]

I will never learn this but I will definitely listen to it

[@justsponge1380]

This is awesome and definitely the most detailed cover thanks!

[@rc2257]

Absolutely brilliant!!! Love it!

[@alexthelion98486]

THANK YOU SOMUCH FOR THIS!!! BLESS UPPP

[@antiv]

Very good. Thanx for the awesome notation, very helpful!

[@Gmacdrums]

Beautiful Dingwall Prima Artist in the back there.

[@SirBoopBoop]

Beautful rendition. Portrait of Tracy is very hard for me to play because I was cursed with small hands lol. Those stretches throughout the song kill me 😅

[@moralespalaciosteven]

Great interpretation, thanks for sharing!

[@matiascampero6455]

wtf amazing

[@igorchives24]

holy moley that last harmonic

[@sergioandresvalenciaarias7857]

Jaco es leyenda,no comprendo si el hacia la ultima nota (harmonico) como lo dice la tab,ya que por lo visto te toca hacerlo por separado ya que es muy difícil hacerlo al mismo tiempo.Excelente trabajo

[@consistentuploads2843]

Amazing, great song

[@jonathanbaker3153]

lols love that end note! good effort!

[@JonHop1]

I dont think anyone can replicate how Jaco played it tho... Hundreds of Covers and the feel Jaco had is just impossible to duplicate.

[@ryanbell9177]

Amazing job!

[@JamesDavisakaRemguy]

Nice, nice job, that was very beautiful, Ben. I cannot say that I am even close, but I want it, so let the fingers bleed! I did go right to the last note, however, and guess what - I got it! (Maybe I should just quit there?) Here's how: lay your left thumb just below the 9th fret on its outside edge, i.e. the side that would hit the strings if you played slap as a lefty. Your thumb will want to curl, let it. Strum the strings just to make sure you fretting cleanly and then use three fingertips (your choice which) to play the harmonics at the 13th. I don't know if that is how the maestro played it, but it works! I guess I'll have to learn the rest of the song now, eh?

[@JamesDavisakaRemguy]

UPDATE: I learned how to play the song! Only thing is... I can't do the last note any more. Yeah, I know - cruel irony. But it's gone.Just can't remember how it goes, even reading this description. Who's the genius who wrote this crap? Total turd-burger!!

[@robbelk6465]

The best I've of pot,and! On a pb.great stuff

[@nicolasurteagabriceno3388]

Thank you for your work.

[@SegantChe]

Thanks a lot, man! I'm so happy

[@gabrielpaille2903]

Sound very good!

[@sulikojunk]

That’s absolutely gorgeous bass channel! Thank you for your great work! Can you please make a cover for Jaco’s the Chicken? Greetings from Central Asia, Kyrgyz Republic.

[@Sladeofdark]

Masterful!

[@kevinfitzpatrick95]

Very clean

[@wildyeti79]

Thank you for the tutorial!!

[@Gmacdrums]

Flawless

[@footsoljier6468]

Isn’t this one of the hardest bass songs to ever play?

[@svenjansen2134]

Might just be yes.

[@dylannnnnnnnn]

teen town probably

[@nickchambers3935]

Those first few notes always remind me of falling rain

[@PlayaveTV]

L' Harmonie de Jaco 🎵🎶🌈👍👍👍👍💖

[@future62]

Was this song the first recorded use of harmonics on bass? I can't imagine what it was like to hear this for the first time

[@derk486]

Google

[@future62]

@@derk486 What's that?

[@derk486]

future62 look it up on google im sure you’ll find it there

[@mehmed6529]

Prog rock probably already did it by 1976

[@stubmandrel]

Far from, but it is a milestone in its complexity.

[@jesusgomez6460]

Espectacular hermano muy vuen travajo saludos desde Argentina

[@BennyTheBassman]

¡¡Muchas gracias!! ¡Hola desde Canadá!

[@Egg-yolk-thing]

I am 14 and have been playing bass for 3 days after playing guitar for a year and a half and dad (who has been playing bass for 40 years) has challenged me to learn this, already got the first 8 bars at 2x speed, already further than my dad is... wish me luck

[@Egg-yolk-thing]

After a solid 2 days I have officially learnt and masterd Jaco's masterpiece

[@MrBasstothemax]

​@@Egg-yolk-thingbet post a video

[@francescosmaldino7286]

Bravo!👍

[@headbugband]

THANK YOU😁

[@Adam_A._J.]

0:00 - 0:51

[@thierrylemetayer3371]

bravo !

[@nurik]

Thank you!! Great resource

[@magicpassos]

Amazing!

[@Trbit689]

This was fantastic. I sat down to jam to this song a little bit and was having trouble figuring out the 2nd note of the descending melodic line after the intro. Turns out you showed me that it is the 3rd fret that needs to be played for that note. I was literally sliding my finger up and down the D string trying to find that note, but alas... thank you. It wouldn't make sense to use a natural harmonic over the pick up for that note, which is what I was doing (even after watching live versions of Jaco playing this). I'm currently blaming it on my cheap bass, but perhaps there's some user error in there playing a part as well. One extremely slight critique: I'm pretty sure, after a few listens, that a G is played instead of an F# after the first hook where you have 2--0 on the E and 0--2 on the A. I personally think this sounds better given that G is a resounding bass note for the 2nd harmony in the main phrase, but maybe I am wrong. Of course, this note doesn't really matter, and this is already super jazzy, but just thought I'd point this out. I wish you luck with your channel! I'll be keeping tabs on this channel, most definitely. Thanks again.

[@josemanuelrosasreyes1509]

buen trabajo amigo,gracias si todavia nadie te las ha dao efusivamente yo te las doy me faltaba un armonico que tu me has mostrao amigo.

[@BennyTheBassman]

¡De nada amigo! Estoy tan contento de que esto haya ayudado.

[@guitargirlutube]

Yeeeeessss!!! I love you!!! )

[@BennyTheBassman]

[@bad8400]

1:12

[@_omega420]

May we have a lesson on which fingers to use when playing the 11/8 section at 1:15 please ? It's a little tricky figuring out which to use when watching you

[@sannicolays6283]

increible

[@crev1018]

im going to try and make this the 2nd song i learn. first one was paranoid android

[@diegosatori5718]

Please do lost my treble long ago from vulfpeck PLEASEE

[@ericgoldsmith8114]

Can anyone give me tips on how to get that chord at 0:54 to ring. I can’t get a sound from it and I’ve tried playing it super close to the bridge. Plz I’m desperate lol

[@BennyTheBassman]

Eric Goldsmith I found it to be clearest if I’m right in the middle of the 2nd and 3rd frets. Also bass eq probably has a lot to do with it.. are you playing close to the bridge with the bridge pickup on full? Also boosting the treble helps

[@breitbartsimpson4940]

your notation is stellar! thank you for all this! question about harmonics (i'm fairly new to bass), i'm using some bartolini big singles and even with only the bridge dialed in, my harmonics dont come in as clear. Is it part technique and part j bass magic??

[@fatheroftwo852]

I assume you might've learned by now, but if you still haven't, I'd love to fill you in on some tips and give you a YT vid maybe :D

[@jonescrusher1]

Fantastic playing, thanks for the transciption too.

[@Svatopluk]

Quick question: can you say a little something about any compression you might be using? Really good job, by the way.

[@joppy2675]

can you do havona weather report

[@blakereed1654]

Very, VERY helpful!! But I was wondering, does 1/2 mean start at one fret, then move up one? I'm confused near the beginning where you play harmonics on the second fret and then you seem to move up one fret. Thanks for your help!!

[@Vetemonks]

I don’t know if you got the answer that you were looking for but the half is halfway between the metal frets, usually harmonics are played on the metal fret but the 1/2 means in between