The Shofar is based on four different calls or sounds.
- Tekiah: One long blast, a summons or wake up. Used to get everyone’s attention.
- Shevarim: Three medium blasts, sometimes compared to the sound of weeping. Some use it to shed tears at another year passing.
- Teruah: Nine blasts as eight quick staccato notes followed by a longer blast that seems to have an alarming urgency about them.
- Tekiah Gedolah: One very long blast that raises in force and volume to announce the end has come.
The shofar is sounded 100 times during Yom Teruah as a tradition. And a long and loud shofar blast marks the end of the fast day of Yom Kippur. You must not blow a shofar like a kazoo but rather let the sound naturally occur.
