New album with Ralph Schut is out!

Are you a fan of flatpicking guitar, mandolin or brother duets? Do you like bluegrass and country songs? Chances are that you’ll like our new album as it contains all of it, plus much more. We did the tracking and mixing in my studio and you can now purchase the album both as a physical CD … Read more

My New Guitar

Let me show you my new guitar built by Ondra Holoubek. In the video, I talk about materials, finish, tuning, and how the soundport affects the sound of the guitar. Don’t forget to turn on the English subtitles! In the end, you can hear my version of the tune Whiskey Before Breakfast in which I … Read more

Capo comparison

If you play guitar, you must have a capo. Otherwise, you have to learn all 2341 chords that can be played on guitar. It does matter which capo you have so I recorded this video. I compare the following capos in it: Dunlop 83 CN Shubb L4 Hlavatý Holoubek Glider GL-1     Well, now … Read more

Homage to David Grier

People are competitive, irrational and subjective creatures. And so are musicians (they are people too). I don’t like foolishness and narrow-mindedness so I try to accept new music with an open mind and to not compete in music, neither to judge it since it’s not a measurable sports discipline. Therefore, you won’t hear me claiming … Read more

3 minute solo concert from close-up

I love performing with my bands, no matter if we play bluegrass, folk, Irish or jazz. Besides that, there’s another discipline I’ve enjoyed very much recently – solo concerts. They require much more musical effort but also bring a lot of freedom. To feel less lonely on stage (and to exasperate purists) I use a looper … Read more

Tunefox – A Way To Improvisation

New instructional application for musicians playing on banjo, mandolin and guitar called Tunefox has been launched recently. It is focused on improving improvisation skills using licks in an innovative way. It actually offers several helpful functionalities that make Tunefox a very versatile and powerful tool in my opinion. The most innovative part – exchangeable licks – is … Read more

In The Guitar Paradise

In the fall 2017, I did a private workshop for two bands in Ehingen, Germany. On my way back, I stopped by my friend Ludvík who introduced me to his friend and band mate. We came to his house on Sunday evening to see his guitar collection. Ludvík raved about it but since I’m not … Read more

Do You Play? So Listen.

listening

The Importance of Critical Listening for Musicians. List of Recommended Bluegrass Recordings. How to become a better musician — universal answer HERE! Every year I meet a lot of people who want to become better musicians. They want to play better rhythm, tasteful fills, faster solos, fancier chords. They would like to sing more convincingly, … Read more

“Gillova vokální dílna 2017” – vocal workshop

Our first vocal workshop “Gillova vokální dílna” was held in Rejvíz, Jeseníky Moutains, Czech Republic in September. 29 students came from different parts of Czech and Slovak Republics to immerse in singing lead and harmony vocals, proper vocal technique, ear training etc. According to the feedback from them, the most helpful parts in the program … Read more