The shofar begins with a ram's horn.
By heating the boiling water, one causes the horn is to be soft and flexible, allowing to peel, or "undress" the rough outer shell, until getting to the delicate shell below. In addition, in this state of softening, the horn can be shaped in any desired form according to the accepted practice in the different communities:
In the eastern Jewry tradition, the custom is: The bent shofar, symbolizing the prayer of the Jew in humility, in order to "bend our heart before our Father in heaven ..." 

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In the Yamen Jewry, the custom is:
The long and curly shofar, and some even adorn it and insert jewels.

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Regarding the sound of the shofar, there are also different preferences in the communities: 

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The Yemenite community loves its voice dark and dull, as if it is answering from the desert.
The Ashkenazic community prefers a thin "wining" high-pitched voice. 
The Sephardic community prefers a festive voice, as if it is a harbinger of victory and success or the acceptance of prayer in heaven.