portrait of tracy

[shinobi]

i'm learning jaco's portrait of tracy, i'm having a few problems, mainly getting the harmonics at the 2nd fret.

the harmonics at the 2nd fret just don't come out. as it is, the only way i can get the harmonics at the 3rd fret to sound is by placing my finger just in front of the 3rd fret, rather than over the 3rd fret itself.

lol i hope u get what i'm trying to say. is there something wrong with my bass setup, or is it just bad technique? thanks

 

[CAVEvents]

the harmonics are not exactly at the frets. they are subdivisions, so they will be before and after the frets.

 

[rottenramone]

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that part just troubleshoot lor... hit any harmonic along that area, then can get.

i still enjoy playing it, albeit like a hot bowl of elephant pee. brilliant solo piece

 

[shinobi]

i still enjoy playing it, albeit like a hot bowl of elephant pee. brilliant solo piece

thats some kinky shit there... i'm taking it one step at a time. some of the harmonics hard to hit. and some of the chords are really a stretch. i've seen some youtube videos where they don't sustain the root note. doesn't sound as nice imo

 

[shinobi]

oh and no doubt it is a solo piece, but i like to think of it more as a song rather than merely a solo

 

[rottenramone]

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i posted mine up a couple of months back

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E93AXroN574

 

[shinobi]

nice... especially the very last chord. its different from the tab that i refer to

there are different ways to play it though. i saw a victor wooten video, he could not reach some of the chords and had to improvise

 

[jbarks]

Your neck factors in a lot in bringing out harmonics... you could try using a compressor as well. It can help quite a bit when doing 2nd frets

 

[shinobi]

compression helps alot... neck may not be set up properly, because i did my own adjustments after buying my bass with its factory set up. i might get it professionally done when i change strings (i don't even know what gauge it is) but they are elixirs and its prob gonna be a long time before i change em.

eh bro rottenramone.... how do u do that last chord

 

[rottenramone]

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last chord? super ultra finger stretch!!!! just keep on doing it till it sounds decent. it's quite hard, but not impossible. took me a damn long time to get that down sial. 8)

 

[rottenramone]

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oh yah, JSUK i didn't use any compressor. just plugged straight into the amp. but i have to admit that adding a bit of chorus will make it all nice and shimmery