After more than thirty years with music mostly written by someone else, I want to spend more time writing my own songs. It’s a lengthy process because the inner critic, who has heard so much well-written music, works very hard. That’s why the award I received in The Mike Auldridge Instrumental Composition Contest organized by … Read more
In the summer I went north again to my favorite Scandinavia. I explored places, history, and people, played, taught, and filmed. Perhaps the following pictures and videos capture my impressions better than words: Ondra KozákI’m a musician and tutor who likes asking Why? and talking with clever people. Sometimes I write something. You can learn … Read more
Casey Driessen *1978 American fiddler, composer, producer and teacher www.caseydriessen.com Casey, you come from a musical family. You’re a father yourself. How did your parents influence you musically and how do you influence your daughter? My dad was playing banjo and pedal steel in bluegrass/western swing bands when I was growing up. I play the … Read more
My relationship with violin went through several phases. It was my first instrument – I imitated my dad’s playing at the age of four. At six I started at the music school and I liked my first teacher because he was strict. When he praised, it meant something. I also had home control and support … Read more
Sometimes I email news to fans. This is how I recapped my 2020. If you wish to receive such condensed messages from me in the future, subscribe here. If you prefer fresh news, you can find me on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Ondra KozákI’m a musician and tutor who likes asking Why? and talking with clever people. … Read more
We used to play this Pee Wee King’s song (1950) based on an old-time fiddle tune with the Petr Brandejs Band. Inspired by Mark O’Connor’s version and exploring the ADAE tuning, I arranged it for our upcoming duo with Radimem Zenklem. Before you can hear it live, here is my winter solo version. Ondra KozákI’m … Read more
The bans are over but we still enjoy working playing together remotely. Here is our 3rd music video with Peter Mečiar. This time also with the great Michal Šimko (bass guitar) and Michal Fedor (drums, video by Mečiar 🙂 ). A song for all women: All videos with Peter Mečiar here. Ondra KozákI’m a … Read more
A tune I wrote for our daughter. I first recorded it a year ago for Mandolin Mondays #173. This arrangement reflects how she’s changed during the year 🙂 Ondra KozákI’m a musician and tutor who likes asking Why? and talking with clever people. Sometimes I write something. You can learn about what I’m doing … Read more
We are long time friends with Peter Mečiar who helps me with our bluegrass workshops and with the program “Monthly Challenge“. We both also love Western swing. “Make a western swing record with Mečiar” has been on my Plans&Dreams list for a while. I love pedal steel guitar and Peter plays it so great! He … Read more
After I finished my guitar album Overtones, I’ve been focusing on fiddle quite a lot. Part of it is this new video bundle with 6 traditional fiddle tunes. It contains sheet music (melody, simple and advanced solo, intro, outro), video and guitar playalong tracks in two speeds for the following tunes: Cripple Creek, Cherokee Shuffle, … Read more