Adding Lead-In Trops
Here’s a simple verse (Genesis 3:2) that has an
etnachta and a sof pasuk and two other trops, mercha and tipcha.
Mercha and tipcha are often paired like this. Does it
seem obvious that they point to each other? Does it seem obvious that mercha seems
to be pushing forward and that tipcha seems to be pulling back?
First, let us sing the sequence of six trops. Do that again with me a few times until you
feel comfortable with it.
Now say the words. If you are feeling a bit
Hebrew-challenged, here they are in transliteration:
When you feel comfortable saying the works, sing them with me. Repeat that a few times.
Mercha, tipcha, etnachta and sof pasuk are part of a
family of trops. There is one more in the family, munach. Here is a verse that
includes a munach (Genesis 3:18).
It is common to find munach between tipcha and
etnachta.
Sing with me the sequence of seven
trops repeating until it comes easily.
Here’s the verse in transliteration:
Get a little practice saying the words, then sing along with me a few times.
Most trops have consistent melodies, i.e. they are
sung the same way whenever they come. But like everything Jewish, there are
exceptions. Munach is a big exception. It is a filler trop, and its purpose is
to extend a trop sequence. The way it is sung depends on the trop that follows
it. Thus there are many different versions of munach.
Now that you know a little more, let’s come back to
our first example – Genesis 1:1.
Sing the trops. Sing the verse.