Playing a shofar is a religious duty during Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Learning this art can be very difficult at first, but in the end you will succeed. Follow these tips to understand the basics.
Steps
Step 1. Buy a shofar at a specialty store
It is not difficult to find and is available at various prices. Some shofars are longer and more aesthetically attractive and therefore more expensive. If you really want to play it in front of a crowd, it better be bright, long and well twisted, but remember that it will be much harder to play. Begin to loosen up with a medium-sized shofar, which has a twist of about a quarter of a turn. Avoid those that are too small from which it is difficult to make a sound. Try some in-store, and buy the one that's right for you.
Step 2. Practice positioning your mouth in the right way
If you've still played a wind instrument, you already know your way around. You need to contract your lips so that they fit into the entry hole of the tool. If, on the other hand, you've never played before, try to squeeze the sides of your mouth. In this way you can both blow and suck the air through your lips. There should be no "leaks" of air between your mouth and the instrument.
Step 3. Try to close this hole
Blow the air as hard as you can, so that the lips begin to vibrate and try to produce a sort of trumpeting. This is how you have to play your shofar.
Step 4. Take the shofar and put your mouth in place
Place your lips on the instrument so that they can vibrate freely, usually in the center of the mouth, but it depends on each person. However, Jewish tradition has it that the right side of the lips is used to blow into the shofar.
Step 5. If you can get some kind of scream, it means you did
It may not sound pleasant to you, but with practice your lips and mouth muscles will be able to make a nice sound, and you will be able to make your shofar make a long, explosive sound for the end of the Jewish holidays!
Step 6. Learn what the meanings of the various shofar sounds are
The Tekiah is a short sound, the Shevarim is made up of three long sounds and the Teruah is made up of 9 short sounds in quick succession. Tekiah-Gedolah is usually the last command, it is a very prolonged sound that means the end of Yom Kippur. Some shofar players say it must last at least a minute! If you want to be the one who rings the "temple call", make sure your Tekiah-Gedolah is powerful.
