TCHA LIMBERGER’S LONDON WORKSHOPS 2026

SEPTEMBER 23 & 24
Lejazzetal London presents two Workshops with the great multi-instrumentalist and educator Tcha Limberger.
This SEPTEMBER he is in West London giving four workshops over two days.

1. VILLAGE MUSIC FROM TRANSYLVANIA
2. DJANGO’S MUSIC AND GYPSY JAZZ

Price: £80. (£120 if you attend both sessions) paid in advance
BOOKING FORM AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE
Instruments: Violin, Viola, Guitar, Bass, Cello, Clarinet
Level: Intermediate to advanced

In London just off Portobello Road, address to be confirmed with your booking

Schedule

MORNING SESSION. 10am – 12.30pm. Village music from Transylvania

When teaching this wonderful music, I work hard on stylistic elements. To start, we look at a melody, listen to it, memorise it and play it, introducing ornaments as we go. With more advanced groups, we look at many different ways to play the same melody. For beginners, I stick to one version. We always learn the harmony as well, and look for different possibilities to render the harmonies on violins, violas etc.
Whilst working on different pieces I get to explain things like the three big repertoires of the region. The Hungarian one, the Romanian one and how the Gypsies are placed in all this. We talk about the social function of this mainly village music. Weddings, parties, burial’s, mourning, dancers and their needs, singers and their needs, etc. I talk about the different stages of the wedding, each with its specific rhythms and melodies. The various laments and when they are played etc. We even may look at some lyrics…
These workshops can be attended by violinists, viola players, double bass players, even cellos, guitars, clarinets. To avoid frustration with fellow students, I tend to ask, at least for group classes, that all students are confident in minimum the first three positions on violin. In short, that tuning is not the big issue. For people who are more beginners on their instruments, I prefer to organise private lessons…

AFTERNOON SESSION. 1.30pm – 4pm. Django’s music and Gypsy jazz

GUITAR
I’ll start off teaching from scratch a rarely played tune from the repertoire, looking at basic chords and the melody, then enriching the melody and harmony as we progress through to looking at some ideas for improvisation, and talk about how to function in a band.
will spend most time on good accompaniment.. EVEN for more advanced groups. Showing multiple ways of accompanying the same tune, varying the tone quality of the stroke, realising how the length of each chord affects the drive/swing, how to vary shapes and chords without losing sight of the essence of the tune, and lastly fills and orchestration, ornamenting the rhythm playing as a soloist.
For me, working on solo playing starts from the knowledge of the theme. We will invent variations on the melody, looking at it in different keys etc, involve my restriction exercises to stop us falling back on habits and patterns without realising it, whilst continuously drawing the student’s attention to the quality of sound, tone, vibrato, and dynamics all often overlooked and yet essential for good music.

VIOLIN
The knowledge of chords and how they function is essential here. By learning to accompany tunes, I hope to familiarise violinists with the endless possibilities double stops offer us to suggest different chord functions in tonal music. Eg dominant chords, the tonic, minor four, diminished, etc. In other words, how to weave two lines all the way through a tune to create an accompaniment that is both functional and beautiful.
It goes without saying that all we do is always in the biggest possible consciousness of tone, sound quality, dynamics, vibrato etc. For more advanced players, we’ll work on double stops, how to orchestrate the rhythm section as a violinist… Obviously, we’ll learn some existing phrases, trying to understand what makes them so good, we want to learn and use them. We’ll look at certain scales and substitutions that may inspire us…
Basically, we’ll try to discern what makes a composition beautiful to our ears, and how we can use this understanding to make our solos better…

Book your workshop place

Complete the form below to request a place at one or more workshops. Places are limited to ten per session. We will reply by email to confirm availability and provide payment details.