Westchester Klezmer Program

For generations klezmer has been taught by passing down the music from one klezmer to the next by example. It’s only been in the last two or three generations that sheet music has become an additional means of sharing the musical tradition (for the purists, the “aural tradition” is still the only way!). Learning klezmer ain’t easy, especially if, like most of us, you haven’t grown up with it. Learning new modes (scales) and melodies are one reason. Compounding the problem is learning the ornamentation and improvisation techniques that give klezmer its uniquely Jewish soul. As with jazz, these elements derive from the personality of the player so they’re typically not found in off-the-shelf arrangements. Commercial sheet music is usually limited to simple melodies. Until now, you had two choices: teach yourself by listening to and imitating klezmer recordings, and/or studying with a master.

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Learning to play klezmer, for young and old alike, can be a challenge. The music isn’t often played in major or minor scales. Instead its keys, or modes, are referred to as Freygish, Misheberech and Adonoy moloch to name just three. Its various rhythms Nigun, Freylekh, Bulgar, Chosidl, Hora, Terkisher, Sirba, Sher, Taksim, and Doina, must be mastered. Not so easy if raised on a diet of rock, country, hip-hop, or even classical.

In a bygone era, klezmorim learned the melodies from each other. They were passed from musician to musician in the oral tradition; music stores didn’t exist. Imagine, no sheet music to be handed out, no recordings to buy, no iTunes to download. Continue reading Going to Yale