He had little formal education and was trained in clarinet and violin by his uncle, Tomas Makovsky, who had once taught a royal family in Russia.

Then, in 1895, his older sister, Anna Brdicka, paid his passage to the United States, where she and her husband had settled in Clarkson, Nebraska.

A short time later, he joined a travelling wagon show that needed a clarinet player and began his work as a professional musician.

There he gave private music lessons, played in the theater, and directed a concert band in the Delmar Gardens.

He had soon started organizing and directing bands in nearby settlements (Woodward, Mustang, Yukon, Prague) which he would then turn over to local directors.

The pipe he smoked, bent into a miniature saxophone shape, and the uncrushed black bow tie which he always wore, became his trademarks.

Makovsky was stern on the podium and uncompromising in musical detail and interpretation at each of the Monday through Friday 7 a.m. rehearsal hours, yet he was a sincere friend to all.