2019 has been a wonderful year for Discover Double Bass as well as a very special one for me personally (more on that later).
It’s also been a very busy year as we published 32 lessons, 6 courses and added 4 new tutors to our faculty.
Here’s how 2019 unfolded. . .
In February we published our first course by the renowned educator John Goldsby. You will likely know him as the author of 'The Jazz Bass Book' and as a featured columnist for BassMagazine.com and Bass Player Magazine for three decades.
At Discover Double Bass our mission is to publish courses by world-leading bassists and educators, so naturally we were thrilled to present two full-length courses by John Goldsby in 2019, Jazz Bass Vol. 1 and Vol. 2.
Here’s John’s first lesson for Discover Double Bass, featuring a walking bass etude on the chord progression to Killer Joe.
We had a blast filming these courses and it was wonderful to watch John perform with the band. Here’s some photos from behind the scenes of the recording sessions.
“I like to teach small building blocks which anyone can master. Then we take these techniques and apply them to musical etudes and exercises.”
March saw the publication of ‘Fractal Fingering’ which covers David Allen Moore’s innovative concept of fingerboard geography for the double bass.
The course is full of inspiring and insightful lessons, like this one on thumb position.
“My goal as a teacher is to provide my students with the master key to a lifetime of improvement and development: to learn how to learn.”
In May we welcomed a new tutor, Olivier Babaz. Olivier is known as a jazz bassist with incredible bowing technique, which is a rare combination! He has also been presenting workshops on the topic for years, so was an obvious choice to cover the topic in a video course.
Jazz Bowing comprises 5 hours of HD video across 61 lessons. If you are a jazz bassist who wants to improvise with the bow, it will be a great fit!
In this preview lesson from the course Olivier shows us how to slap with the bow.
“There is already a lot of material out there for learning classical bowing, but many students find it hard to relate to jazz. I have put this course together to help and inspire you on your journey as an improvising bassist with the bow.”
Here’s a compilation of performances to show you what Olivier can do!
These sessions featured Caroline Boaden on drums and Sam Dunn on guitar. Here’s a look behind the scenes.
Moving on to June, I had the great pleasure of attending the ISB convention in Indianapolis. It was an inspiring week of performances and masterclasses, and I can’t wait till the next ISB convention at Lincoln, Nebraska in 2021!
Here’s some snaps from the trip.
In July we had the great pleasure of welcoming Katie Thiroux to our faculty of tutors and publishing her course ‘From Beginner to Bandstand’. Katie is an award-winning bassist and vocalist who continues the hard-swinging bass tradition of bassists such as Ray Brown, Milt Hinton or Ron Carter.
I’ve been a huge fan of Katie’s bass playing for years so it was a real thrill to be able to share lessons like this one, which also happens to be our most watched lesson of 2019.
She can also play a mean bass solo!
Katie was joined by her drummer Matt Witek and pianist Sam Watts for the recording sessions. Here’s a look behind the scenes.
“The lessons that I’m sharing with you are things I’ve learnt throughout my whole life, and it all comes from my love of this beautiful instrument, the bass.”
As I mentioned earlier, 2019 was a very special year for me as I got married in July! My wife and I had a wonderful day with our families and friends.
In case you are wondering the day included lots of live music and even a double bass, but I wasn’t playing it! :-)
My personal favourite moment of 2019!
October saw the release of Integral Technique, a course by Dr Marcos Machado. Marcos is a true virtuoso of the double bass and his concept of left hand technique is explained in this huge video course.
Watch this incredible performance of Bottesini's Cadenza from Double Bass Concerto #2, which highlights his amazing technique and musicianship.
In addition to being a mind blowing bassist, Marcos Machado is also a very funny, generous and warm hearted person. Here’s a look behind the scenes with Dr M!
“With these lessons, you will learn to play with total freedom to express your musical ideas.”
What’s Next?
Several new tutors are joining the Discover Double Bass team in 2020. These are all inspiring artists who I know you will love!
New topics and genres will also be covered to make sure that there’s something for everyone. If you have a tutor, lesson or course request we would love to hear from you, so please drop us an email and let us know.
We will also be publishing new content from our existing faculty of experts, the first being a course on rhythm by Danny Ziemann in January. Here’s a bass solo from the sessions to whet your appetite!
A look behind the scenes of the recording sessions for the Bass Player’s Rhythm Workshop which due for release in January 2020.
“Learning to develop a strong sense of time can feel elusive and mystical... and I was always frustrated by a lack of educational materials on the subject. In this course, we break it down to help you become your most swinging self!”
It’s been great to look back over 2019 with you and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have.
Thank you for all your support and for being part of our community. I hope you have an amazing, bass filled 2020!
Geoff Chalmers
Discover Double Bass Founder
To follow our journey in 2020 and keep up to date with the latest tutors, lessons and courses please follow Discover Double Bass on Instagram.