Is an ocarina like a flute?

Is an ocarina like a flute?

The ocarina is a wind musical instrument—a type of vessel flute. Variations exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body.

How hard is it to play an ocarina?

“The ocarina is one of the easiest of all wind instruments to learn to play. In fact, getting a tone is as simple as blowing a whistle. The great thing about learning the ocarina is that it is easy to play in the beginning but also provides you with a relaxing way to achieve a lifetime of musical enjoyment.”

What type of instrument is an ocarina?

flute
ocarina, (Italian: “little goose”, ) also called Sweet Potato, globular flute, a late 19th-century musical development of traditional Italian carnival whistles of earthenware, often bird-shaped and sounding only one or two notes.

Why does my ocarina sound out of tune?

The most common reason an ocarina will sound out of tune is limited player skill. An ocarina’s pitch changes greatly with blowing pressure. Consequently, blowing too hard or soft will push the pitch sharp or flat. Each note will only sound in tune at one pressure; the lowest notes need the least and highest the most.

Do cheap ocarinas sound bad?

If your ocarina was very cheap, there is a good chance it is poorly made and will never be able to play cleanly. If an ocarina’s voicing is mismatched to its chamber or if the windway is rough, it will have poor sounding high notes.

Is an ocarina just a recorder?

The ocarina plays at the same pitch as the descant recorder and sounds well alongside recorders in groups. Ocarinas are much easier instruments to play, with fewer holes and a more immediate range of notes.

How do you clean an ocarina?

KEEPING OCARINAS CLEAN – HYGIENE Wash hands before and after playing. > WASH Ocarinas in warm water; IMMERSE in a dilute solution of sterilising fluid (Milton or equivalent); or PUT IN THE WASHING MACHINE, contained inside a knotted pillow slip. Ocarinas are washed both inside and out and are fine on the spin cycle.

Are plastic ocarinas good?

Plastic ocarinas have the advantage of being cheaper and very durable. The ceramic ocarinas have a more beautiful, resonating sound, and tend to look better too. The material of the ocarina has hardly any influence on the playability of the ocarina, although the highest notes tend to sound cleaner on ceramic ocarinas.

Are ocarinas loud?

The ocarina’s pitch is highly unstable You can end up with the high notes flat relative to the low notes, for instance. Because ocarinas are loud, they are not forgiving of this, especially when playing with other musicians.

Is ocarina or ocarina pronounced?

It’s pronounced “Ah-ka-ree-na”. That’s the actual, REAL pronunciation.

Is the ocarina chromatic?

The chromatic notes In most cases, the ocarina’s chromatic notes do not have holes of their own. They are played by ‘cross fingering’, covering the holes out of sequence. This works as the whole chamber is always oscillating, and the sounded pitch is determined by the total area of open holes.

How do you play an ocarina in tune?

Playing an ocarina in tune is entirely in your hands as the player. The ocarina’s pitch is quite unstable; it can be bent up or down by several semitones through changes in breath pressure. You have to manage this using two techniques: learning how much pressure each note needs, and making compensations by listening to your intonation.

What is the acoustics of Ocarina?

Arrigo Mignani ocarina, mid-20th century Their acoustics is unlike a tubular flute (whistle, recorder, or transverse flute); instead of a standing wave along the tube, the whole mass of air inside the cavity pulsates in and out.

What is the tuning temperature of an ocarina?

When an ocarina is initially made, it is tuned to play with a given breath curve at a given temperature, such as 20°C. I call this the instrument’s tuning temperature.

How do you raise the pitch on an ocarina?

As the ocarina’s pitch is also affected by blowing pressure, you can compensate for this by raising or lowering your breath. However, as the high notes are far less sensitive to pressure changes than the low notes, the shape of the breath curve also changes.