Shofar

Jewish tradition · musical instrument · ancient ritual

Made from ram horns. A shofar is crafted from the horn of a ram, which is cleaned and shaped into a musical instrument. Different shofars can be different sizes and shapes depending on which animal's horn is used and how much it's been finished.

No fancy pitch buttons. Unlike a trumpet or bugle, a shofar has no keys or buttons to change the sound. The player controls all the different pitches just by changing how they shape their mouth and blow air through it.

Special holiday blowing. Jewish people blow the shofar during Rosh Hashanah and at the end of Yom Kippur, which are important holidays. They also blow it every weekday morning during the month of Elul, counting down to Rosh Hashanah.