When I was an acting student, I remember hating improv class. It seemed so messy! So undisciplined! But when I really watched what my more talented classmates were doing I realized that the ability to improvise in a believable fashion was the result of being totally secure in the situation. Only when you have all kinds of information at your command can you be free to let go of some of the 'rules' and fly.
The same thing is true about hazzanute - the art of the cantor. It's made up of many rules; the correct nusakh for each time of day, for each kind of service, the motifs that make a piece of liturgy recognizeable, the melodies that congregants already know, woven with new melodies to keep the davenning fresh. These are the tools of the trade for a cantor. But then one has to go further. It's not enough to keep repeating and repeating. You have to improvise a little. You have to step outside your comfort zone to keep the music of prayer alive.
There is a saying that is attributed to Cantor Max Wohlberg, of blessed memory. He said, "Nusakh is like underwear; you have to change it occasionally!" Even if he didn't say it, it's a great thought. We like the comfort of the melodies of our youth, but that doesn't mean we can't add new melodies. And for hazzanim it also means we might like the first 'licks' we learned in cantorial school, but we can only soar as prayer leaders when we feel free to bend them and improvise. Davenning is like life: it doesn't go in straight lines!
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