Looking back on 2025…
We’ve had a fantastic 2025 here at DDB – moving to a new office, LOTS of video editing and filming some exciting projects.
As always, it’s been amazing to welcome so many people to the website, such as email subscribers, YouTube viewers, and course students. I very much appreciate your support and can’t wait to share what 2026 has in store for us. But before we look ahead, let’s take a moment to celebrate a very special year.
The Highlights from 2025!
January 📦
There was a big change for DDB to start off 2025, as Romy and I spent the first few weeks of the year moving into our new office! We moved into a building opposite the college where I studied music 20 years ago, so it's nice to be back and in an area of Leeds that's full of creatives.
After lots of carrying, unboxing and building flat-pack furniture, the new environment created the perfect place to get stuck into releasing all the amazing content we filmed in 2024.
Geoff sat at our new desks
So many boxes…!
We also shared an article in January listing 15 popular songs featuring double bass that you can read here if you missed it. One of the songs features an incredible Masterclass artist of ours, so see if you can spot that one.
February 😎
February saw the release of our first course with Chris Minh Doky, not only bringing a new artist to the website but also a new genre. Funky Bass Vol. 1: Bass Lines features an awesome band and excellent lessons by Chris. We can’t wait to show you Vol. 2, so keep your eyes peeled for that in early 2026.
The crew and the band with Chris Minh Doky in Gothenburg
March 🚂
March was a fairly quiet one for us while we got our heads down working on the upcoming releases. We also shared a video lesson and transcription by Jason Heath on the popular melody This Train in different positions. It's a great lesson and a fun melody to play, so be sure to download the transcription and add this tune to your repertoire.
April 👂
After multiple requests for an ear training course, we were proud to release Listen Up! by John Goldsby during April of 2025. It’s always a pleasure to welcome John back to DDB, and that was no different this time.
Check out John’s course on ear training.
May 🎂
In May, we celebrated 12 years of DDB and took the opportunity to thank everyone for being part of our community. I hope you’ve been enjoying what we do and that we have helped you move forward with your playing. Here's to many more years of learning and loving the double bass!
Also in May, we released our first interview of the year with the incredible Boris Kozlov of the Mingus Big Band. It was also the first interview that we filmed in our new office, which was super exciting for us. It's lovely to bring the artist to our own space and show them where the DDB magic happens! It’s also a great interview, so definitely worth checking out if you missed it.
JUNE 🇸🇪
In June, we released a Masterclass with the iconic Swedish bassist, Anders Jormin. Filmed in the stunning workshop of bass maker Elinore Morris, these videos are jam-packed with musical demonstrations and insights into the playing of one of Europe's biggest bass stars. It was a real honour to meet Anders in person and to visit Elinore’s workshop in Sweden. Here are some clips from the Masterclass for you to enjoy if you haven’t already seen them.
JULY 🎤
In July, we released an interview with three-time GRAMMY-nominated bassist, Jahmal Nichols – a sideman to the stars! Known particularly for his work with soul music legend Gregory Porter, Jahmal has also shared the stage with many other renowned artists and released two albums as a bandleader: 2 Worlds 1 Mind and Black Frequencies.
Jahmal really is an incredible player, so if you're a fan of jazz bass, you won't want to miss this one!
This month, we also released an updated version of Advanced Fundamentals by David Allen Moore. Since filming the original version of the course back in 2018, David has collected more teaching tips for double bass technique, and he shared those in this free update.
David and the crew in the studio
August 🎁
In August, we released a bite-sized lesson by the incredible Katie Thiroux. It’s a great lesson on improvising bass solos – there's so much you can do without adding in lots of extra notes. If you're a beginner or if you want to review the basics, give this a try and don't get distracted by all the pitch options.
This month, we also collaborated with Thomastik-Infeld to run a giveaway for a set of their new Peter Infeld strings. It was an honour to work with Thomastik, and we hope to have more projects like this in the future!
September 🇨🇦
September was an exciting month as we finally released one of our major filming projects from 2024, as well as headed back to the studio to film something new!
First, we introduced the incredible Joel Quarrington to the website. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Joel is one of the most influential and esteemed educators, so we are thrilled to present his groundbreaking work at Discover Double Bass. You can check out his course, The Joel Quarrington Method, here, or listen to his incredible playing in the video below.
Later in the month, we headed to the studio for a week with jazz bass legend John Goldsby. It’s always a pleasure to film with John, and we have some really exciting things planned for 2026 with him.
John, Robin, and the crew in the studio
October 🎶
In October, we released the course SwingDoom! by Reginald Veal. It was such an honour to meet Reginald; he has been one of my bass heroes for many years, and I absolutely love his playing. If you missed it, check out the interview and trio performance. It was a wonderful conversation, and I’m sure you will LOVE his playing.
November 📣
In November, we took a deep dive into the DDB vault to showcase our best free lessons on intonation. Playing with great tuning is an essential skill that can really set you apart from your peers. However, as all double bassists know, it’s not easy, and it’s something we have to work on each and every time we pick up our instrument.
Whether you’re a beginner or have been playing for years, a jazz bassist, a classical bassist, or somewhere in between, our tutors have something for you.
We also released a lesson by Chris Minh Doky on getting funky with the metronome, which was one of our most popular of the year. It's a short video, but if you're into funky bass, I'm sure you will enjoy it.
December ☃️
December has been about winding down for Christmas. After such a busy year, Romy and I are looking forward to some time off over the holidays. However, we did get up to some interview filming with a super exciting artist.
What’s coming up in 2026…🧐
2026 is already shaping up to be an exciting one! There is more funk on the way early next year, as well as some great new content by John Goldsby.
We can share a teaser photo from the interview that we filmed in December. It’s a really unique one and I am extremely excited to share it with you in early 2026.
Our first interview guest of 2026.
Thank you!
So that’s a wrap for 2025! Thank you so much for reading this end-of-year review and for being part of our journey over the last 12 months. Let’s keep working on our playing, enjoying sharing our music, and see where the next year takes us!
Best wishes,
Geoff (DDB Founder, Masterclass Host and double bass fanatic)
P.S. Here’s the link to join our newsletter for updates 👇