# So, I've been playing this song for decades, and I don't know its name **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 16, 2016, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-been-playing-this-song-for-decades-and-i-dont-know-its-name/752340 "2016-04-16T08:37:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2016, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-been-playing-this-song-for-decades-and-i-dont-know-its-name/752340/1 "2016-04-16T08:37:21Z")
I first learned this from my bass teacher as an exercise when I was a kid. I worked it up to the point where he was satisfied with my run through of it, and by then it was ingrained in my memory. It’s become one of those things I just play when I pick up the bass. So, after the thousandth listen the other day my wife asked “What’s that song called?”, and I realized I really didn’t know. I can’t recall the title or the original composer, but I do remember hearing the original on one of the tapes my bass teacher made for me all those years ago. It’s a bass solo. I’ve gone through the surviving tapes from those lessons, and it’s not there. I associate it with the 70’s, but I really don’t know what decade it’s from. [Here’s](http://drawerdevils.com/unknown/Unknown_Selection.mp3) an mp3 of me playing through it twice. It’s short, the whole recording is 2:07. I believe I’m playing it faithfully to the original, but since it’s a piece I only know through memory, I can’t be sure at all. Thanks in advance for anyone who listens and tries to figure it out. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-been-playing-this-song-for-decades-and-i-dont-know-its-name/752340/2 "2016-04-17T00:39:06Z")
Doesn’t sound familiar to me, but here, have a free bump of the topic in hopes someone else might see it and know. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-been-playing-this-song-for-decades-and-i-dont-know-its-name/752340/3 "2016-04-17T03:52:52Z")
Have you tried Shazam? The app doesn’t work on my phone but I’ve been impressed at what it can identify. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-been-playing-this-song-for-decades-and-i-dont-know-its-name/752340/4 "2016-04-17T05:25:38Z")
Thanks for the bump, and no I haven’t tried Shazam. I may have to sign up and try it out. I’m pretty surprised that no-one’s recognized it yet. The board has a pretty good record on this kind of thing. But then again, it’s possible I’m not playing it that well. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-been-playing-this-song-for-decades-and-i-dont-know-its-name/752340/5 "2016-04-17T06:20:16Z")
I play the bass as well it sounds vaguely similar to Jaco Pastorius - Portrait of Tracy [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEs5sKDXZuk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEs5sKDXZuk) It may not be that particular song you were trying to play but the sound is definitely indicative of his style and sound. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-been-playing-this-song-for-decades-and-i-dont-know-its-name/752340/6 "2016-04-17T06:32:46Z")
This is Shazam app on my phone has no idea what it is. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-been-playing-this-song-for-decades-and-i-dont-know-its-name/752340/7 "2016-04-17T07:01:28Z")
Ok after listening more thoroughly I’m pretty convinced I was right about Jaco Pastorius it just sounds so similar the tone, the fretless bass sound unless that’s just an effect, he also was a prominent bass player in the 70’s and recorded a great album that featured other jazz greats like Herbie Hancock. I think the actual song you were attempting to recall might be Continuun: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbMRB1BJBHY&index=3&list=PL5FDEFCF049BF94A3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbMRB1BJBHY&index=3&list=PL5FDEFCF049BF94A3) You should really give the whole album a listen he was truly a bass master and hugely influential even on the likes of Victor Wooten. Sad to say he had some mental issues (Bipolar) and got into an altercation with a bar owner and was beaten to death. RIP ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-been-playing-this-song-for-decades-and-i-dont-know-its-name/752340/8 "2016-04-17T11:30:25Z")
Thanks, **pool**. I used to think it was by Jaco before, and I did look through some of his work for it (I can also make a total mess of “Portrait of Tracy”, so it’s not that track). The original I remember is unaccompanied bass, so it’s not “Continuum”. It certainly fits with Jaco’s style better than anyone else I can think of, and it’s almost certainly written by a bassist after him if it’s not him, but I can’t find the song that makes my brain think “that’s it!” I haven’t gone through every Weather Report/Jaco album looking for it, but I may have to. Who knows, maybe my teacher pulled it off a live video or something? The original is on a fretless, I learned it back when I had one. My recording is done on a fretted bass, but the action’s set just a little too low, and the 6W tube amp is starting to overdrive. In fact, if anything makes me think it’s not Jaco, it’s because I don’t remember the original recording having that crisp, clean Acoustic 360 sound that Jaco used. I remember the tone having more growl to it. And thanks for saving me from having to sign up for Shazam, **astro**. I kind of doubted that algorithm would find it, since we wouldn’t be feeding it the original recording. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-been-playing-this-song-for-decades-and-i-dont-know-its-name/752340/9 "2016-04-17T16:04:49Z")
I wanted to say “Hot Cross Buns”. 😛 I’d phone your teacher. 😛 gosh - is that being run through the infamous Rat pedal? Truly nice sustain! ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-been-playing-this-song-for-decades-and-i-dont-know-its-name/752340/10 "2016-04-18T01:35:22Z")
Thanks for the compliment on the tone, it’s just the bass directly into the amp. It’s a VHT Special 6 Ultra with the input gain at about 3, and the output on 10. If I could remember the teacher’s name so I could look him up, I’d probably remember more about the song. 🙂