Yiddish for Musicians
Introduction to Yiddish & Klezmer-loshn

July 24 - 31, 2025; unstructured (free) day: July 28
3 - 6 p.m. | introductory
(You should know the Yiddish alphabet.)

with Janina Wurbs

“Why should I learn Yiddish when I just want to play klezmer?!”
Well, have you ever heard of klezmer-loshn?

Because they were surrounded by Yiddish speakers, klezmorim evolved their own “insider” way of speaking Yiddish: klezmer-loshn, a shared—often bawdy—linguistic code in which they could communicate freely among themselves, even in public settings. But klezmer-loshn is only one of many ways in which the Yiddish language reflects and responds to the life experiences of a klezmer musician.

In this workshop, we’ll use klezmer-loshn as a gateway to the rhythms and “flavors” of Yiddish as a living language. We’ll try to bring that knowledge back to playing our instruments, and we’ll explore how Yiddish can add new dimensions of meaning to our experience of playing klezmer music.

Although this is an introductory-level workshop, you should already be familiar with the Yiddish alphabet. If you need a review (or a start), we recommend this excellent resource: www.yivo.org/yiddish-alphabet.

For native German speakers, we highly recommend this book for learning the Yiddish alphabet: buske.de/der-alef-beys-trit-bay-trit.html.

Duolingo is also a great way to learn the letters, but be prepared for some differences in pronunciation when you get to our workshop.

 

Please note!
This is a 3-hour workshop. It can only be booked in combination with another 3-hour workshop during the same time period, not separately. Please select a second 3-hour workshop during the same time period.

The fee for two 3-hour workshops is the same as for a standard 6-hour workshop.

Workshop fee for two 3-hour workshops:
530 € Standard / 355 € Reduced / 740 € Sponsor / 180 € under 18