Trope Class

3-25-2020

Great to see you today and yesterday.  I just wanted to make sure that everyone had access to recordings of the blessings before and after the haftarah-- I am including links below.  I wanted to make sure that the students were able to master these blessings over the next couple weeks, and wanted to request that you use the recordings as much as you can over this stay-at-home period to master the words and melodies.  Please email me privately with any questions.  Wishing you all health, and making the most of this difficult time.

Cantor Ken

1. Blessing Before Haftarah Click here for words (Here is the Blessing Before Haftarah sung in a Lower Key)
2. Blessing Before Haftarah for practice singing trope names
3. Blessing After Haftarah 1 Click here for words
4. Blessing After Haftarah 2
5. Blessing After Haftarah 3
6. Blessing After Haftarah 4
7. Blessing After Haftarah 5
8. Blessing After Haftarah 6 

11-28-18 

Both our Tuesday and Wednesday classes have finished learning all of the Torah trope!

For the next couple weeks, we'll be practicing our trope skills using the Maftir Torah portions from the earliest b'nai mitzvah from each class.

Yesterday we practiced the beginning of Sam, Ella, and Avi's (also Caleb's) portions, and today we'll look at the beginning of Madelyn, Ava, and Molly's.  

This practicing should help all the kids build their Torah reading skills as they practice putting the words to the melodies of the trope, and it will help those with a relatively early bar or bat mitzvah get a head start on their portions.

For homework, they should review the first sentence of each of the three portions that we worked on in class, and if possible, look ahead to the second sentences too.  Generally, they should read each word out loud, say and then sing the trope name, and then put the word to the tune of each trope.

They should also review trope, either/both by singing the trope song (p. 7) and/or the trope combinations (p. 6) several times a week, the first 11 recordings on this page: https://www.tiofnatick.org/Torah

Let me know if you have any questions--

Cantor Ken

11-18-18

A quick pre-Thanksgiving update:

Trope assignment: 

We are almost done with learning the trope!  We've gone through the first 8 trope families (pages 3-6 in the packet) on both Tuesday and Wednesday, and by the week after Thanksgiving, you should have flashcards for the first 9 trope families and listen to the first nine tracks of the recordings.  Feel free to go ahead and sing along with tracks 10 and 11 as well (track 11 is the trope song, on page 7 of your packet).  https://tiofnatick.org/Torah.  The students can use their bar or bat mitzvah Torah portions in your folders for practice-- read each Hebrew word out loud, say and then sing the trope name, and when you're ready, do your best to put the tune and the word together.    

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Cantor Ken

11-4-18

Here's a similar update to last week, along with a reminder that in general, the 6th graders should keep reviewing the trope they've learning and looking ahead to the next family or two.  And they should please bring their packet/binder to class each Tuesday or Wednesday, along with their highlighters (yellow, orange, green, blue, purple, and pink).

Trope assignment: 

The 6th graders should make flashcards for the first 10 trope: on page 3 in the packet: mercha, tipcha, munach, etnachta, and sof pasuk, and on page 4: kadma, mapach, pashta, katon, yetiv.  Put the trope symbol on one side of the flashcard, and the name (in English or Hebrew lettering) on the back side.  The goal is to see the symbol, know the name, and then sing the tune.  They should listen a lot to the first three tracks, and then get acquainted with the fourth and fifth tracks, on this page: https://tiofnatick.org/Torah.  We'll introduce the fourth and probably fifth families this coming week on p. 5, involving revi'i and the kadma-v'azla combination; they can go ahead and make those flashcards if they get a chance.  

Please let me know if you have questions! 

Cantor Ken

10-23-18

Two dates to remind you about or ask you to reserve in advance: 

1) The most important is Shavuot, which this year is on a Sunday morning after Hebrew school is over for the year, June 9.  Please reserve this important morning for our end-of-year Torah reading celebration, when we'll have the 6th graders chant individual Torah portions and share the Haftarah and blessings that morning as a culmination of our studies all year.  Please plan to stay for lunch afterwards if you can.

2) Thursday, October 25, 7:00-8:00 PM, we'll have a session for parent/s only to check in with me and Rabbi Liben and ask any questions that came up from reading the guidebooks or our first meeting on Sunday.

The 6th graders should make flashcards for the first 5 trope: mercha, tipcha, munach, etnachta, and sof pasuk (if you get a chance, please go ahead and make flashcards for the 5 trope on the next page: kadma, mapach, pashta, katon, yetiv).  Put the trope symbol on one side of the flashcard, and the name (in English or Hebrew lettering) on the back side.  The goal is to see the symbol, know the name, and then sing the tune.  They should listen a lot to the two tracks, and also get acquainted with the third track, on this page: https://tiofnatick.org/Torah.  By next class we'll be recognizing the tropes, saying and singing the names, and applying these melodies to other words.  

The students should bring their trope packet each Tuesday or Wednesday to Hebrew School, and we'll use them for trope class each week from 5:30-6:00 PM.  (we have binders for the students which we gave out on Wed. but didn't have handy for Tuesday-- we'll give them out this coming week to those who didn't receive them yet).  If you didn't receive a trope packet yet, you can use the virtual ones on the page with the trope https://tiofnatick.org/Torah you can click on the whole packet or on individual pages for the trope you're working on.

Generally, the 6th graders should spend about 10 (to 15) minutes a day learning and reviewing their trope.  I'll send out reminders weekly or biweekly, but if I ever miss an email, the general assignment is to keep learning and reviewing what we've been doing.

Please let me know if you have questions!  I'm looking forward to an exciting year of learning to chant Torah and Haftarah with the 6th graders. 

Grade 6 - Ken's Trope Update

It's been great learning to read Torah with the 6th graders this semester.  Here's a quick update and what to review over break and through our next classes on January 9 and 10. (I won't be here on January 2 and 3, and they will stay with our Teen Educator Katie Hamelburg until 6)

The kids should all be able to recognize every trope, know its name, and know its tune.  We're starting to move a little faster now as we apply the trope and melodies to Torah portions.  Please check with your kids to make sure they can recognize and sing through all the trope; many of them can do so easily and some are having more trouble at the moment.  They should first memorize the names of the trope (using their flash cards), then make sure they've memorized the melodies, and then practice applying the melodies to Torah portions (as described below)

Thanks to our brave volunteers who are doing the first readings on January 6 & 20 at junior congregation.  I wanted to invite all the 6th graders (and siblings) to attend junior congregation when you can to support each other and to improve your synagogue skills and comfort level-- dates are on this page.  The January readers should focus on their readings, and everyone else can turn to your Torah portion in your own bar/bat mitzvah folder for practice (let me know if you have questions or have trouble finding the portion).  A reminder to please reserve Sunday, May 19, Shavuot, a day when all the kids will read in our end-of-year celebration, and I'll be in touch with other families about your dates to read at Jr Congregation or Synaplex (upcoming dates are February 10 at Synaplex, and March 3 & 24 at Jr Congregation)  

A reminder that recordings of all the trope and blessing as well as virtual copies of the packet can be found here: https://www.tiofnatick.org/Torah

Once we return in January, we'll start working on the Haftarah blessings as well as using the Torah portions that the kids are working on for practice.

Thank you, and wishing you a good school vacation and happy secular new year!

Grade 6 - Trope Class

Update after class on November 28 and 29:

We reviewed the five trope families and worked on families 6 and 7, (tracks 1-7 here: https://tiofnatick.org/Torah), which give us the ability to chant about 90% of any Torah portion.

We’ll aim to finish up the trope next week and start working on portions to read for Junior Congregation in 2018.

Here's the assignment for this week:

1) Review the first 7 trope families, being sure that you can recognize each symbol, know the name, and be able to sing the tune.  Be careful of the pairs of trope that look the same (and are placed differently around the word) and also the trope that appear in more than one family, sometimes with a different tune.  (Most of you are doing well with this-- if you can't recognize, name, and sing the trope for the first few families, this would be a good week to catch up)

2) Go ahead and listen to trope families 8  and 9, on page 6 in the packet, which we'll work on next week in class.  You can go ahead and make flash cards for these trope.  (Azla Geresh, Gershayim, Zakef Gadol, Zarka, & Segol)

3) Practice the trope using the v'ahavta paragraph of the Shema on page 12 and/or the “tzitzit” paragraph of the Shema on page 14.  Read the words out loud, sing the trope names (for trope you know), and then put them together. You can use tracks 33, 34 (for page 12) and 36 (for page 14) on the website to check yourself.

Please aim for 10-15 minutes of practicing a day if you haven't started individual lessons yet, and 20-30 minutes for those who have.