Trope

Trope is the musical phrase contours (cantillations) which are applied to the words of a sacred text during public readings. These cantillation marks are called ta'amei hamikra in Hebrew, and the markings are standard, even though the pitch contours they represent to the reader may differ depending on the text being read. There are different trope for Torah, Haftarah (Nevi-im or "Prophets" (e.g Isaiah)), the High Holidays (Yamim Nora’im), and various megillot, such as the reading of Megillat Esther on the holiday of Purim. The Trope is not random, but rather follows a set and describable grammar. The Trope and other parts of the Masoretic text (such as vowels and pronunciation notes) were primarily copied, edited and distributed by a group of Jews known as the Masoretes between the seventh and tenth centuries CE.