2020, a year in review
Well, while we can’t say that 2020 has been the year we expected, there has still been lots happening at Discover Double Bass. We managed to publish 6 new courses, 57 lessons, interviews and performances, and we welcomed two new tutors to the team: Joseph Conyers and Jason Heath. They join our line-up of 11 tutors and 26 online courses, so the range of topics just keeps on growing.
The pandemic has affected us all in so many ways, especially impacting the music and events industry and we know how hard this year has been for musicians around the world. We hope that we have managed to keep many of you practicing and learning, as well as providing inspiration as a distraction from the world, even if for a little while.
Due to travel and work restrictions caused by the pandemic, we had some really exciting projects that have temporarily been put on hold this year, but we are hopeful that in 2021, normal service will resume before too long!
So, please join us in reviewing the last 12 months, including some of our favourite videos, photos, and releases (plus some hints for what’s happening next year!).
Here’s How 2020 Unfolded…
In January and February, we spent most of our time producing new content. This was a real stroke of luck as it meant that we were able to keep sharing new videos throughout the pandemic. We welcomed two new tutors to the faculty - Joseph Conyers and Jason Heath filmed their first courses for Discover Double Bass and Olivier Babaz also filmed his second course.
We welcomed behind-the-scenes staff member Rebekah, who has been here a year now working on all sorts of projects for DDB, allowing us to produce and release more content than any other year so far.
Later in January, we published Danny Ziemann’s third DDB course, The Bass Player’s Rhythm Workshop, designed for jazz bassists who want to develop a killer rhythmic feel and groove their bandmates will love. It features a live band and some very classy bass playing!
March saw the publication of a new course by our classical expert David Allen Moore: Advanced Fundamentals. It’s a brilliant fresh look at double bass technique, perfect for bassists of any level who are looking to cement their foundations of technique.
Here’s a preview lesson, which isn’t as spooky as it’s title suggests!
During April, one of our popular releases was from John Goldsby, as he gave us 60 things to practice on the bass. You can download the PDF for free here.
We also released a course from another existing tutor, Olivier Babaz following on from his popular course on Jazz Bowing. This time, it was The Creative Improvisor, an inventive look at different techniques to reinvent your solos!
Here’s a video of Olivier which features an incredible performance (05:12).
Also in April, was one of Geoff’s highlights of the year, when we released a 3-part interview with great Larry Grenadier. It was such an honour to be able to feature him on the website!
Here’s the third part of that interview, all about Larry’s double bass gear.
In May we celebrated the arrival of our first course especially for orchestral music, Orchestra Chops Vol. 1 by Joseph Conyers.
Take a look at a lesson from Orchestral Chops, which examines 6 different popular orchestral excerpts.
June was also special for us at DDB as we had been working hard on a lockdown project to give back to the double bass community at such a hard time. We launched the ‘5 Questions’ project, showing interview questions from world-legends of both jazz and classical double bass and compiling their answers in videos right through to September. It was such an amazing project and we are so thankful to everyone who took part; we know so many people have enjoyed watching those videos this year.
Here’s a couple of the most popular videos from the Classical Masters and Legends of Jazz Bass interview series:
Skip to July when we re-released Olivier’s course Jazz Bowing to include 2 new chapters and over 1 hour of extra lessons, to make the course even better. There is now 6 hours of content in this creative course! Watch a short performance from Olivier here:
In August, we celebrated the 7th anniversary of Discover Double Bass! We were really proud to look back at how far we have come in the last 7 years and how our team and community has expanded.
Geoff 7 years ago in 2013.
Geoff with Jason earlier this year…not too much has changed!
We also marked the occasion by releasing a brand new DDB trailer, featuring all 11 tutors.
August was also a special month, as we returned to the studio to film with our jazz bass expert, John Goldsby. John presented some incredible new lessons which you won’t want to miss!
We have been working hard to prepare the footage from these sessions for publication and the first videos are scheduled for release in January 2021.
Geoff with a ‘mystery’ bassist.
September saw the release of a much-anticipated course from bass-legend, Jason Heath: Beginner’s Classical Bass. It’s perfect for absolute beginners, and Jason is such an experienced and enthusiastic teacher! We have also found many experienced bassists have also enrolled to review the fundamentals of classical double bass technique.
Here’s Jason in action:
In September and October we also started releasing videos from our latest project of interviewing some prominent UK-based bassists, starting with Nick Blacka (GoGo Penguin), Leon Bosch, and Zoltan Dekany. These videos feature some incredible performances and filming locations and we hope our followers have enjoyed this extra free content. There are more exciting interviews coming out in the next few months!
Finally, November and December saw the release of many more exciting videos including an interview with Valentina Ciardelli, the introduction of Gift Certificates for the first time, and daily advent practice inspiration on our social stories throughout December!
Here are a few of our favourite pictures from this year!
So, we’ve (finally!) reached the end of 2020 and a special thank you go out to our ever-growing community of bassists around the world. Wherever you are, we’re so glad you’re taking your double bass journey with us, whatever stage you’re at.
2021 is going to feature lots more exciting projects, new courses and new developments. If you’re new to the community or have been with us for a while, we’ll hope you will join us!
Here’s to 2021!
May it bring a bit more joy, a bit more practice, and a lot more double bass!
Happy New Year from Geoff, Rebekah, all the tutors, and the extended Discover Double Bass team.
Happy New Year from Geoff and Rebekah
2020 Survey
Help us out by sharing your opinion of 2020 with us, and what you want to see from us in 2021…
