Boplicity

I've been asked to "blow the shofar" at a friends wedding. Any one with experience out there got any advice or suggestions? I'd like to go beyond just sounding a single tone.

Sterling

Like any brass instrument, it depends how long it is to see how many partials you can get out of it. i have a shofar that is quite small, about six inches long and I can get two, maybe three notes out of it. It takes a bit of trial and error to find out how to orient your lips to the instrument.

Boplicity

Thanks for responding. The shofar I have is an actual ram's horn and I'd say it's something like 36''. I can get lots of partials from it but as you say it is hard to get the lips oriented to the small "mouthpiece". What have you tried to get a dependable sound? Do you know if there "traditional" melodies or forms?

Sterling

My shofar has no mouthpiece, just the flat small end of the horn. It is an oblong hole, so I orient it on my face to get as much buzzing as possible. As for tunes, got me! I grew up methodist. My Shofar came from one of my students who was having his Bar Mitzva in Israel and I told him to bring me back something!
As for melodies, hmmmmmmmmmmmm, ask at your local Synagogue, watch some epic movies The Ten Commandments, and try to fake something regal for a wedding? I'll bet that the congregation will not know the difference. A lot of it will be in the presentation. I have friends who play bagpipes(willingly!) and they are pretty much for show at weddings. I'm sure that they could play most anything and it would go over well. Pomp is pomp! (When done well).

Boplicity

Danke Schein!