Interesting ways to bring in the bass

[jd_watt]

Hello, I'm working on a song that begins very minimally with just 4 chords going in a loop. The drums don't kick in until the final half of the song, and I'm struggling with finding an effective/interesting way of bringing in the bass (preferably before the drums kick in at the end).

Can anyone suggest some interesting ways if introducing the bass in a song? Maybe some examples or tips? Thanks for having a look!

 

[FretlessMainly]

Well, you didn't post the four chords, which would have been a very useful nugget 'o' information in addressing this. Since you are clearly trying to build tension, my immediate thought would be a root/octave pedal over all four chords - preferably the same tonal center over all four chords which, just before the drums enter, the pedal deviates a chord or three before to lead in the drums.

Edited to add: please post full chords, not E D G B or the like. To choose a pedal tone or tones, chord function is necessary (i.e., Major7, minor7, Dominant7, minor7(b5), diminished, augmented, etc.).

 

[Munjibunga]

I'd have the bass and drums come in together earlier in the song. I like songs that start without the bass - when the bass comes in, people may not know what happened but they will know that it sounds better all of a sudden. I like the kick drum to be there to accent the bass notes.

 

[motyx]

I often use my thumb to pluck the strings while muting them with the side of my hand, just like guitar mutes to get a smooth muted sound and when the drums kick in I switch to standard fingerstyle plucking.

 

[jd_watt]

Good suggestions, guys. Thank you. The song basically starts with 4 chords: D- /G- /B♭/C
Each chord is played on the one of the beat and is sustained throughout the measure.
Having the drums enter sooner would help, but I'm more of a hired hand, so I don't know how responsive they'll be regarding that. Worth a mention though.

Maybe some melodic stuff higher up the neck, holding off on the lower, bass notes?

 

[t77mackie]

Do this!:

 

[Max Bogosity]

Use your volume knob or volume pedal to fade in each note. Make it sound like an upright played with a bow. Start simple and quiet and just ease your way into it. When the drums start, you can start playing more normally.

 

[Timgebutler]

How about a bit of Pino or Jaco (a la Joni Mitchell era) style fretless thing? Works really well over space IMO.