Table of Contents
What was the ocarina used for?
Lavishly decorated, and with a beautiful sound, these vessel flutes were used in ancient cultures to charm the birds, please the gods, and lift people into a higher state of consciousness. Such flutes are now known as ocarinas.
Is an ocarina hard to play?
The ocarina is an excellent beginner instrument. It is easy to learn, difficult to master, and relatively inexpensive to purchase. Because of its simple structure and form, the ocarina is a good starting point for anyone who wants to learn to play and read music.
How does an ocarina work?
All ocarinas work in the same basic way: a musician blows air through the mouthpiece and then the wind way of the ocarina, the air strikes the labium and produces sound, the air vibrates throughout the inside of the ocarina, and covering holes lowers pitch while uncovering holes raises the pitch.
Are ocarinas toys?
The ocarina belongs to a very old family of instruments, believed to date back over 12,000 years. The ocarina went on to become popular in European communities as a toy instrument.
What is wooden Tarka?
The tarka (Quechua, Aymara: tharqa) is an indigenous flute of the Andes. Usually made of wood, it has 6 finger holes, fipple on mouth end and free hole on distant end. The flute is made of natural wood and features a whistle-type mouthpiece with a small air hole.
Can you tune an ocarina?
Tuning an ocarina takes patience and precision: patience on your part, to not damage the finger holes as you widen them to match the note you are looking for, and precision from an accurate chromatic tuner, which will help you gauge the correct tone readings from your instrument.
How many notes can an ocarina play?
We have a 4-hole Ocarina. It plays 11 notes by covering different combinations of holes. Make up your own tunes by playing these five notes in whatever order you like.
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.
Is ocarina better than flute?
Having at least tried both, I can assure you the flue is much harder, but much more capable as an instrument. The ocarina is essentially a type of whistle, like a recorder or penny whistle, that doesn’t require much training to get it to produce the majority of notes. You’ll be able to figure it out quickly.
How are ocarinas made?
An ocarina is a woodwind instrument that origin can be traced back to 5,000 BC throughout America, and India. A clay ocarina is made by firstly making the mouthpiece from clay and using a flat stick to allow air in, it is then added to a bigger piece of clay which will form the rest of the ocarina.
How many types of ocarinas are there?
There are three main styles of ocarina: transverse (also called a sweet potato), pendants (English or Peruvian), and inline.
How much does an ocarina cost?
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What is the origin of the ocarina?
Italy.
What kind of sound does an ocarina make?
The ceramic Alto, plastic Oc® and cardboard Card-oc® all play at a singing pitch with D as their lowest note, although skilled players can ‘nose-shade’ down to a C sharp. The Mini ocarina sounds an octave higher and the Bass (rhymes with ‘face’!) sounds an octave lower.
What kind of instrument is dholak?
A two-headed hand drum, Dholak is a folk percussion instrument. Around 45 cm in length and 27 cm in breadth, it is widely used in qawwali, kirtan, lavani and bhangra. The smaller surface of the dholak is made of goat skin for sharp notes while the bigger surface is made of buffalo skin for low pitch.
What is Tarka music?
The tarka is a wind instrument of the type of the vertical flutes (recorders), made of wood and parallelepiped format, of a single piece. In its middle zone it has 6 holes for the fingers. The length of the notes is about two octaves, and there are tarkas with lengths ranging from 20 to 40 cm.
What is classification of tarkas?
Tarka (medium) 20th century (3.9 cm.) D: 1 3/4 in. (3.2 cm.) Classification: Aerophone-Whistle Flute-recorder.
Why does my ocarina sound bad?
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.
What key is an ocarina in?
This page assumes you understand octave registers, their naming convention, and scales, if not please read ‘Octaves and scale formation’. Ocarinas are made in different pitch ranges—bass, alto, and soprano—and keys, like C, G, and F.
How do you know if your ocarina is good?
If an ocarina sounds fine on its low notes, but its high notes are exceptionally airy, this can also signify a bad instrument. But do note that ocarinas are very sensitive to playing technique, particularly on the high notes, so this can also indicate poor player technique.
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.
What is the best material for an ocarina?
The most common material for ocarinas is ceramic. Ceramic is made of heat hardened clay. Think of ceramic dishes or glasses. But, ceramic works great in ocarina construction because it vibrates very well.
Is an ocarina a woodwind instrument?
The ocarina is a woodwind instrument developed in 19th Century Italy. Earlier instruments existed which functioned in the same manner, namely a globular flute with fipple mouthpiece, including the bird whistles of the North and South American Indians and the gemshorns of Renaissance Europe.
