Customer Reviews

The Art of Torah Cantillation: A Step-by-Step Guide to Chanting Torah [Book + CD]

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I studied for 6 months with this book/CD combo and mastered the trope (Reform version) well enough to have chanted Torah for my synagogue twice in the last couple of months and am preparing for a 3rd parsha. You won't find every possible combination of cantillation marks here, but you will find 95+ % of what you'll ever run into in the Torah (including special sections for High Holidays, Song of the Seas and the Ten Commandments.)

The only thing better would be to combine this with the availability of a trained cantor. Highly recommended for anyone in a Reform schul.

This book is well laid-out and easy to follow. For the first time in 40 years I can actually read and chant Torah using the trope marks. I am not especially good at reading Hebrew, and have tried unsuccessfully many times to learn trope, but after two weeks with this book and the CD, I was astounded to find myself chanting properly right out of the Tanach! Highly recommended.

Learning to chant Torah can be a difficult task. However, the authors of this text really did their homework and developed a real "step-be-step guide to chanting Torah" complete with CD. The Hebrew print is clean and large enough for anyone to read. Well done!

Much as I enjoyed this workbook and its accompanying CD, I find making the time or finding the self-discpline to be the hard part. If you are a person who needs "babysitting," I doubt if this self-help book will be good for you.

The chants are sung in a comfortable mid-range, as opposed to a soprano or a bass.

A wonderfully laid out, carefully constructed instruction book on the art of chanting Torah. Using the supplied the CD-ROM, it makes learning a lot of fun.

When I was asked to teach tropes at our synagogue, I investigated many websites and systems. Dollar for dollar, this is absolutely the easiest and best course. Oh, there was one better one, for 600% more money! I also found that our very large sister congregation in the next city over also uses this course for their classes. Our Hebrew teacher starts off with a six-week course in basic reading skills first.

I especially liked the way the music for most of the combinations was presented in one concise location in the index. I also like that they actually told us where certain "rare" tropes were used, so that we would know when and where they were coming and when during the year to review them. Lastly, I liked very much that the voices they used were in an average range, and they followed the notes consistently--unlike some I had listened to.

The only improvement the authors would do well to consider is in the music sheets for the regular Shabbat Torah tropes. Because I actually teach my students to read the music, and, technically speaking, the authors have used the wrong key signature with unneccessary accidentals, I have found the first two music sheets too hard for beginning sight-readers. So, I have added a supplemental handount with a different key signature and no accidentals. In spite of this extra work, I would not have selected this course without the outstanding organization of these music sheets. No other course I looked at for any price had this advantage, and it was the primary selling point. The authors did an outstanding job for the High Holy Day trope sheets.

This book & CD combination is perfect for the motivated self-teacher. Having both male and female voices in the examples makes it easier to find your own voice. However, motivation is important, as in any self-teaching. I started learning trop from this book several times in the past, and couldn't stick with it. This is not a fault of the book, rather the fault of being motivated. Once I finally set the goal of chanting Torah 2 months hence, I found it much easier to stick with the book.

Possibly one of the best parts of the book is the last few pages, that actually show the musical notation for the trope marks. This is what most other sources are lacking, but it's immensely valuable to those of us who can read music. Once we've heard the trope a few times, we don't have to turn on the CD in order to be reminded -- just turn to the back of the book, or even just carry around a photocopy of those 3-4 pages.

This book is laid out in a logical, accessible fashion. The book is clearly indexed to the selections on the CD. You can truly learn using this method. Highly Recommended.

It is user-friendly and easy. The CD was particularly helpful. It was helpful that the CD was labeled well. It was easy for me to tally the numbers on the CD with the exercises in the book. I also did appreciate learning from two different cantors. I will advise the cantors to make a "slower paced" CD for beginners. I will recommend the book to any learner. This product is excellent. I look forward to more products by these two Cantors! I will buy any of their products.

The book and accompanying CD, really help learn Torah Cantillation. Highly recommended to anyone who really wants to learn to chant.