Free App
Shofar Coach — blow into your phone, get an answer
A baal tokea practising alone hears himself "from the inside" and never really knows whether his shevarim came out as three or two, or whether the tekia reached the required length. Shofar Coach records the blast, recognises tekia, shevarim and terua and the whole sequence (tashrat, tashat, tarat) on its own, and grades every sound by halacha — pasul, kosher or mehudar — with the source next to every verdict. Free, no ads, and everything stays on the device. Fully in English, Hebrew and French.
What you get after every blast
- Automatic recognition of the sound — tekia, shevarim or terua — and of the whole sequence, without telling the app in advance what you blew.
- A 0–100 score per sound and an overall score, graded "kosher" or "mehudar" — and "pasul" when necessary, with the reason.
- Measurement in tromitin — the halachic unit — not only in seconds. The unit is calibrated from your own terua, because the length of a tromit varies from blower to blower.
- Actual shevarim count against what is required, the length of each shever, and how distinct the terua pulses are (a continuous wail = kosher but not mehudar).
- Halachic alerts in real time — for instance a breath between the shevarim and the terua, according to the custom for seated or standing blasts.
- A quoted halachic source next to every verdict, and practical tips for technical improvement.
- A waveform with the cuts marked, progress tracking, the last five recordings for playback, WAV export and WhatsApp sharing.
Four parts
Test
Recording and analysis. An automatic mode that recognises everything on its own, or a sequence mode where you choose tashrat / tashat / tarat in advance.
Guide
A step-by-step blowing course in seven illustrated modules: producing the sound, a steady air stream, a straight tekia, three shevarim, nine terua pulses, the breathing sequence, and calm. With reference demonstrations from recorded lessons.
Halacha
The chapter on the mitzva of shofar from Peninei Halakha (Yamim Noraim, chapter 4) in full, verbatim and with all footnotes, courtesy of the author and publisher. Alongside it the Shulchan Aruch and Rema, and a board of links to responsa.
Spirituality
A curated board of lessons — recorded and written — on the meaning of the blasts, the intentions, Rosh Hashana and teshuva.
What is special, engineering-wise
- It picks the shofar out of noise. The engine does not rely on loudness alone: at every instant it checks how periodic the sound is, how stable its pitch is and whether it sits in the shofar's frequency range — and so separates a blast from speech, children in the background and street noise. Validated on dozens of recordings and recorded lessons of experienced blowers.
- Top-down analysis. A shever and a tekia are the same sound, differing only in length and context — so the app first identifies the teruot (the only truly distinct sound) and from them infers what every other sound in the sequence is.
- Calibrated to the blower. The tromit unit is derived from your own terua (÷9), as Peninei Halakha explains that the measure varies by blower.
- Everything on the device. The analysis runs in the browser or on the phone; the recording is never uploaded to any server.
Sources
The rulings inside the app rest on Peninei Halakha — Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, Yamim Noraim, chapter 4: the mitzva of shofar. The full chapter appears inside the app courtesy of the author and publisher; all rights in the text are reserved to Yeshivat Har Bracha. Alongside it, the Shulchan Aruch and Rema. Other authorities appear as links only, never as rulings inside the app.
Frequently asked
Which devices does it work on?
On an Android phone from the store, and in any modern browser — including iPhone (open shofar.appotto.com in Safari and tap "Add to Home Screen"). Exactly the same engine.
What about background noise?
The engine filters speech and noise and reports how much of the recording is actually shofar. If the background is too loud it will say so — then move closer to the phone or to a quieter room.
Why is the app free?
Because it is a mitzva. It is given for the benefit of the many, with no payment, no subscription and no ads — and it will stay that way.
Can I load an existing recording?
Yes. "Load recording" analyses any audio file, not only a live recording.