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Considering this answer which cites a halacha that Cohanim must duchen together, I'm curious as to why so many shuls that I have attended throughout many years seem to have a group of Cohanim that don't coordinate the duchenin. The Cohanim are not all singing the same tune, they're not in the same tempo, and there are one or two Cohanim that say the last word of each verse a bit after the rest of the group so it sounds like there's an echo. I know that the Levi'im had a choir in the Bet Hamikdash, and they had a conductor. I assume that they had some type of rehearsal, or even if not, they were better coordinated. At least there's a precedence for nice music during tefillah. I would think that Cohanim would care to sound coordinated, at least, if not on tune, as well.

Is there some reason as to why it is this way? Is it a lack of knowing the halacha or carelessness? Why does this happen consistently?

DanF
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    Most likely it's carelessness. – ezra Jul 06 '18 at 19:34
  • Clearly they tone deaf – robev Jul 06 '18 at 20:49
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    But in all seriousness it's the same with Kaddish. People saying things out loud often can hear others and are off tune/out of sync with everyone else. – robev Jul 06 '18 at 20:50
  • @robev That's a good point. Though, I've been to many places where Kaddish is said together, as in my shul. (Conservative shuls tend to make Kaddish a HUGE deal, BTW.) I've also heard someone tell me that sometimes people say Kaddish separately as they feel a need for their own "personal" Amen. Between you and me, I think it's one of the more ridiculous reasons that I've heard. Many do it separately as they can't keep up with the pace of the others. Again, bad reasoning - others should slow down. – DanF Jul 06 '18 at 21:00
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    In most Ashkenazi communities outside of Israel, this only happens rarely (on yamim tovim), and on days on which there are often large numbers of guests. This likely contributes to the general lack of advanced prep. – magicker72 Jul 07 '18 at 01:39
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    What's duchen? can you please use more clear phrasing. – Al Berko Jul 07 '18 at 19:03
  • After I understood your question it sounds offensive and derogatory. Is that your intention while listening to the Broschos - how well they sing? You might want to rephrase it with probably less humor. – Al Berko Jul 07 '18 at 19:06
  • @AlBerko No offense or derogation intended. It really does not sound coordinated. Perhaps, if this is a consistent pattern, which it appears to be, it's a statement of fact of something that perhaps shouldn't be this way, but is, for some reason. That's what I'm trying to find out. Maybe there really is a reason for the dissonance emanating from some halacha that I'm unaware of. – DanF Jul 08 '18 at 15:00
  • If I diminished your title's intent too much, please change it back. Folks here might be downvoting due to perceived disrespect of the duchan(even though it's a great PTIJ title!). There also might be some that do not appreciate the humor of the CC Choir label. You're one of the guys here I respect an awful lot, DanF, and I don't like seeing you jumped on--just trying to help. – Gary Jul 09 '18 at 12:47
  • Hi @Gary. I accepted your edit. I'll see what else I can do. Thanks for the suggestion. – DanF Jul 09 '18 at 13:56

3 Answers3

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I agree with @Aaron.

We should expect tuneful singing in Duchenen. But the kohanim have to learn the tunes.

The German-Jewish (Yekke) congregations have special tunes for each Yom Tov.

Here are two poor quality recordings of the tunes for Shovuos. IMHO the beauty of the first tune is still discernible.

Avrohom Yitzchok
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This happens in communities where the mesorah has been lost. This loss is especially prevalent in Ashkenazi communities where the education of the children is expected to be handed off to a school or organization.

In communities where the father is still expected to (and does) educate their own children religiously, you don't have the situation you just described. Because it's typically considered the job of the Kohein to pass on his blessing and melody to his children. For example, here is a recording from a Yemenite community : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO-_kCmoFz8 In this community, all of the Kohanim have the exact same melody and they move through the blessing together as a unit.

Note: It may sound like the Kohanim are a tiny bit out of tune, but this is part of the normal tonality expected in Yemenite communities. They will often sing together in fifths apart, and be just slightly out of tune on those fifths to give it an otherworldly sound. But if you listen to them, they are moving in the same time.

Aaron
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This is part of the normal tonality expected in Askenazic communities. They don't mind a slight dissonance as part of their communal melodies. They don't see great importance in perfection of tone unity as an integral part of Serving Hashem.

RibbisRabbiAndMore
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  • I don't think this is done on purpose in Ashkenazi communities. – Aaron Jul 08 '18 at 17:54
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    @Aaron Do you think this is done on purpose in Yemenite communities ?? – RibbisRabbiAndMore Jul 09 '18 at 06:59
  • @RibbisRabbiAndMore I see that my comment has been erased. But, yes, I noticed that the only difference between your answer and Aaron's is regarding the specific community. I'm not convinced that this is the reason. There's a difference between tempo and tune. Not everyone can sing on the same pitch or tune. (I've been in several choirs myself to know that.) But, I can't see it being too difficult to maintain the same tempo. – DanF Jul 09 '18 at 14:05
  • @RibbisRabbiAndMore It's definitely done on purpose in Yemenite communities. Look up Aharon Amram's recording of Yigdal Elohim Hai. If you have an android phone you can download the Aharon Amram app – Aaron Jul 10 '18 at 01:24
  • @RibbisRabbiAndMore Here's not the clearest example. There's slight reverb, but the certain crunchy otherwordly sound is not some sound effect, it's the sound of the Yemenites being perfectly just out of tune. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAUiXPSNa5U – Aaron Jul 10 '18 at 01:33
  • @Aaron I edited my answer a bit. – RibbisRabbiAndMore Jul 10 '18 at 07:55
  • @DanF The Yemenites I've spoken to would argue that only in these modern times do there exist people in their communities who cannot sing on the same pitch or tune. They believe they had complete musical fluency for every member of their community by teaching their children at an incredibly young age. – Aaron Jul 11 '18 at 04:25