Now that question does not come up often but if and when it does, you need to be prepared.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia-
“A shofar (pron. pronounced (Sho-far) is an ancient musical horn typically made of a rams’s horn, used for Jewish religious purposes. Like the modern bugle, the shofar lacks pitch-altering devices, with all pitch control done by varying the player’s embouchure. The shofar is blown in synagogue services on Rash Hashanah and at the very end of Yom Kippur, and is also blown every weekday morning in the month of Elul running up to Rosh Hashanah. Shofars come in a variety of sizes and shapes, depending on the choice of animal and level of finish”.
Recently I was asked to perform on a Jewish Shofar during a program produced by our church. Due to the fact that I knew nothing about the instrument and had never even tried to get a sound out of one, I of course said “Sure, I’ll play it”!
After searching the internet for every fact, legend and any historic information about the instrument, I realized that it would require more than a simple “TAH DAH” to sound authentic. Even the actual playing of the instrument would require some preparation.
Problem #1-
The edge of what we might call the mouthpiece rim (this area is actually a very small, sharp edged area on the small end of the horn) is not more than a 1/32 of an inch wide. When you place the mouthpiece end to your lip, the first thing you think of is the edge; sharp enough to punch a tiny little donut hole in my lip?
Solution to problem #1-
If you intend to do any playing on a shofar, I would recommend what I finally did to improve both the comfort and playability of the instrument.
A quick trip to my local hardware store solved my problem for after purchasing a short section of plastic hose with the proper inside diameter to slip easily over the small end of my shofar, I had a very comfortable mouthpiece rim; very close to my trumpet mouthpiece feel. Not only was it much more comfortable on the lip but it also made centering pitches as easy as playing on a bugle.
Problem #2-
What should I play to make it sound authentic?
Solution to problem #2-
Search the internet.
There are many interpretations of shofar calls and after several weeks of searching, I finally decided on the one included below.
So….if you get a call to perform an authentic shofar call for your next concert, you might find this one helpful.
יתכן שהכוח יהיה איתך.
