In practice, optimising for playability puts a lot of constraints on what can be done visually, and it is very easy for a sculptural ocarina to put visual features in places that get in the way of a player, or use a body shape that harms sound quality. Perono Cacciafoco, Francesco (2019). "A Prehistoric 'Little Goose': a New Etymology for the Word ocarina". Analele Universităţii din Craiova. Seria Ştiinţe Filologice. Lingvistică (1–2): 356–369. Cedroni, Claudio (2011). Il Settimino di ocarine: Storia di una tradizione italiana (in Italian). Edizioni Sonic Press. The limited number of holes does not allow pendant ocarinas to be tuned as accurately as transverse ocarinas. This can seen if you measure the breath curve of one, and you must compensate by irregularly raising or lowing pressure. OcarinaWind is a such a great brand of unique ocarinas, that we have included another of their beautiful instruments on our list. The company specializes in ocarina production. And, they create 12 hole, 6 holes, and wooden instruments. Plus, you can find hand pans and thumb pianos for sale by the brand.

Ocarina tabs list Ocarina tabs list

Also, I don't want to give you too much information, but having the reference note A4 = 440Hz is just a convention. You will find people that play old concert music and new agers that will use another reference (the first for historical accuracy, the others on self-proclaimed health benefits). The use of the term 'key' for this can be misleading as ocarinas are fully chromatic. To relate this to other instruments, a D tin whistle for example is a diatonic instrument that can only easily play one accidental, 'C natural'. You would have to use whistles in different keys to play music in different keys. If lower notes are what you are after then playing a multichamber ocarina in a lower key is a great solution. As a maker, I have found the inline design acoustically problematic. In summary, placing the voicing at the end of the chamber tends to make these ocarinas more prone to screeching when blown at higher pressures, which limits them to lower pressure tuning. The 11 hole ocarina is a compromise between the 10 hole, and 12 hole designs. They have one subhole which can be placed on either the left or right hand. The following image shows it on the right.

Peruvian Pendant – Dating from the time of the Incas, used as instruments for festivals, rituals, and ceremonies. They are often seen with designs of animals. They usually have 8–9 holes. Night and Noble are two separate manufacturers. Night is a Japanese company that produces ocarinas. And, Noble is a Korean manufacturer. Night by Noble is an ocarina that was produced by both Night and Noble. Thus, you have the Night by Noble Plastic Ocarina. Exactly what these instruments were used for is the subject of debate. It is hard to understand their musical use, as they differ so much from other musical cultures. They appear to have been informed by the natural world, imitating sounds like birds, insects, thunder, wind sounds and rustling leaves. By experimenting with the things noted here it should be possible to find a posture that is comfortable for you. If you cannot find a comfortable position, do try ocarinas made by other makers as hole positioning varies a lot.

Fingering Charts – STL Ocarina

He doesn't get as much time to practice and play as he used to, but still manages (just about!) to fulfill all his session requests. According to Joseph, it just gets harder as you get older; you rely on what you learned decades ago and can play without thinking. Thankfully that's what most producers still want from him.Being small they can be worn as a pendant. They are great for spontaneous musical performance as you can always have one with you. By eliminating one of the subholes they retain most of the design flexibility that a 10 hole ocarina allows. The timbre and volume of the whole instrument can be balanced.