The question on the mind of every budding shofar blower is, “Where do I find the perfect shofar?” Well, I am not going to tell you where to buy it, but I am going to advise you on how to choose it.

We often receive our first shofar as a gift; maybe at our bar mitzva or from a relative returning from Eretz Yisrael, or even as a hint from our wives. While the gesture is always nice, frequently the shofar we get from someone else is not the shofar that will be easiest for us to blow. When the time comes to take shofar blowing seriously, whether as a ba’al tokea in shul or for our families at home, we find ourselves in the market for a new shofar. Your first “real” shofar must be chosen to fit your specific needs.

How do you choose your ideal shofar?

Here are some tips to help you pick that shofar. Several factors must merge to make it the right shofar for you. What follows is an alphabetical list of features that affect the sound and the ease of blowing which you should be familiar with when selecting your shofar.

Appearance: Shofaros are usually priced according to how nice they look, but when it comes to blowing, appearance is of no consequence. Don’t be taken in by looks, instead, choose your shofar based on sound/tone quality and ease of blowing.

Balance: Two important features of the shofar that are often overlooked are balance and weight. You must be comfortable with your grip. You should be able to hold the shofar against your lips in a stress-free pose with just one hand. Try to avoid one that weighs down on your hand or requires you to twist your wrist into an uncomfortable position.

Channel: The long, usually straight and often flat part that extends between the mouthpiece and the curve. This section is also known as the shaft. The air travels through this channel to produce the shofar sounds. As the sound passes through it ricochets off the walls; a longer and wider channel allows for more bouncing which translates into a louder sound and a lower pitch. Thick walls absorb some of the sound so it comes out duller, thinner walls absorb less and produce a sharper, shriller sound. A very clean and smooth interior will produce a crisp and clear sound. A rough interior will produce a hoarse or raspy sound.

The channel ends at the Curve. The simpler the curve the less energy needed to push the air around the curve—or in simple English—less energy needed to blow.

The curve feeds into the Bell. This is the wide opening at the top of the shofar where the sound emerges. The wider the opening the deeper and stronger the sound will be.
Density: The thickness of the shofar’s walls affects the quality of the sound. Thick walls produce a deeper, duller, heavier foghorn-like sound. Thin walls produce the higher shriller sound preferred by some chassidim.

Embouchure (ahm-boo-shoo r): That’s a technical word which has multiple meanings in music, one of them is the Mouthpiece. This is the smaller of the two holes in the shofar. The blower places his lips on this opening to blow into the shofar. There are many configurations for the mouthpiece exterior, flat, oval, round and ‘D’ and the interior can be, natural, flared and funneled. Different people will find different shapes easier to blow. The shapes also impact the sound or tone of the shofar. Experiment with the different shapes until you find one that is easy for you to blow.

How to choose the right mouthpiece?

Put the shofar to your lips—most stores will allow you do this—and blow through all the sounds, tekia, shevarim, terua and shevarim-terua. Make sure you can blow all of them easily and that the shofar feels comfortable on your lips and does not cut into them.

Do you want a deep foghorn-like sound or a shrill and high pitched one, or is it ease of blowing that’s most important to you? If you are looking for a specific tone, then focus on the length and shape of the channel, the density of the walls and the width of the bell. If ease of blowing is what you seek, then your focus should be on the configuration of the exterior and interior of the mouthpiece.

The ideal shofar has a comfortable mouthpiece, a straight channel with a simple curve. Those who like deeper tones will choose a wide bell with dense walls, and those who like high pitched notes will chose thin walls and a narrow bell.

Blowing one hundred perfect notes starts with finding the perfect shofar. Be successful in choosing a shofar and be successful in blowing all hundred notes!

About the Author: Avrohom Reit lives in Brooklyn and is the author of the Tekufas Hashana series – halachic works aimed at elucidating everyday mitzvos. Books in the series include: Teka Beshofar – Mastering Shofar Blowing (Feldheim), Zeh Kaporosi – The Custom of Kaparos (Mosaica Press), Lekicha Tama – A Lulav and Esrog Buying Guide (Feldheim) and Chalutz Hana’al – A Concise Overview of the Mitzvah of Chalitza (author).

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