Taamim
Taamim, plural of ta’am, a Hebrew term meaning “cantillation marks” or “tastes,” are the system of cantillation signs used in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible. They accompany vowels (nikud) and, together with them, guide pronunciation, phrasing, and emphasis. Unlike musical notes, taamim are not melodies themselves; they encode traditional melodic motifs and syntactic cues that readers and cantors apply during chanting.
The taamim indicate how verses are divided into musical and syntactic units, signaling where to pause, where
Historically, taamim arise from Masoretic scholarship in the early medieval period, with the Tiberian cantillation system
Commonly cited cantillation signs include Etnachta, Munach, Shalshelet, Zakef Gadol, Zakef Katan, Pashta, Telisha Gedola, Telisha