Ocarina

Ocarina

Classification	Wind, Woodwind, Aerophone
Related instruments
Xun, Tin Whistle, Recorder, Flute

The ocarina ( /ɒkəˈriːnə/) is an ancient flute-like wind instrument.^[1] While variations exist, a typical ocarina is an oval-shaped enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body. It is often ceramic, but other materials, such as plastic, wood, glass, and metal may also be used.

History

Giuseppe Donati, Italian inventor of the modern ocarina, with his work.

The ocarina is a very old family of instruments, believed to date back some 12,000 years.^[2] Ocarina-type instruments have been of particular importance in Chinese and Mesoamerican cultures. For the Chinese, the instrument played an important role in their long history of song and dance. The ocarina has similar features to the Xun, another important Chinese instrument.^[3] Different expeditions to Mesoamerica, including the one conducted by Cortés, resulted in the introduction of the ocarina to the courts of Europe. Both the Mayans and Aztecs had produced versions of the ocarina, but it was the Aztecs who brought the song and dance that accompanied the ocarina to Europe. The ocarina went on to become popular in European communities as a toy instrument.^[4][5]

Its common use in Western countries dates back to the 19th century in Budrio, a town near Bologna, Italy, where Giuseppe Donati transformed the ocarina from a toy, which only played a few notes, into a more comprehensive instrument (known as the first "classical" ocarinas). The word ocarina, in the Bolognese dialect of the Emiliano-Romagnolo language, means "little goose." The earlier form was known in Europe as a gemshorn, which was made from animal horns of the Gemsbok.

After being featured in the Nintendo Legend of Zelda games, the ocarina attracted a marked increase in interest, and a dramatic rise in sales.^[6][7] The ocarina also plays a prominent role in several of the novels of the UK Author Rober Rankin (see, e.g., Raiders of the Lost Car Park).

Musical performance

Tone production/acoustics

How an ocarina works:

1. Air enters through the windway
2. Air strikes the labium, producing sound
3. Air vibrates throughout the inside of the ocarina
4. Covering and uncovering holes lowers and raises the pitch

The ocarina, unlike other vessel flutes, has the unusual quality of not relying on the pipe length to produce a particular tone. Instead the tone is dependent on the ratio of the total surface area of opened holes to the total cubic volume enclosed by the instrument. This means that, unlike a flute or recorder, sound is created by resonance of the entire cavity and the placement of the holes on an ocarina is largely irrelevant — their size is the most important factor. Instruments that have toneholes close to the voicing/embouchure should be avoided, however, because this weakens tonal production since an ocarina is a Helmholtz resonator.

The resonator in the ocarina can create overtones, but because of the common "egg" shape, these overtones are many octaves above the keynote scale.^[8] In similar Helmholtz resonator instruments with a narrow cone shape, like the Gemshorn or Tonette, some partial overtones are available. The technique of overblowing to get a range of higher pitched notes is not possible with the ocarina because of its vessel shape, so the range of pitches available is limited to a 12th. Some Ocarina makers increase the range by designing double- or triple-chambered ocarinas tuned 1 octave apart although some double ocarinas are not made to increase the range, but to play in harmony with the other chambers. The double and triple ocarinas can also play chords.

Different notes are produced by covering the holes, and by opening and closing more or less of the total hole area. The tone is then produced through the sound hole/embouchure. The tone can also be varied by changing blowing strength to bend pitch.

Musical notation/tabulature

Ocarina music is written in three main ways. The most apparent is the use of sheet music. There are archives of sheet music either specifically written for ocarinas, or adapted from piano sheet music. Since some ocarinas are fully chromatic and can be played in professional musical situations, including classical and folk, sheet music is an ideal notation for ocarinas.

Second, is the use of numerical tablature, which expresses the musical notes as numbers. Some makers have developed their own system of numerical tablature for their ocarinas, while others follow a more universal system where numbers correspond to different notes on the scale. This method is typically used by beginners who have not learned to read sheet music.

A third method uses a pictorial tablature similar to the ocarina's finger hole pattern, with blackened holes that represent which holes to cover. The tablature represents the holes on the top of the ocarina, and, where necessary, the holes on the underside. This enables easy playing, particularly for beginners. The two most popular tabulature systems are:

• The John Taylor four-hole system (invented in 1964 by British mathematician John Taylor)
• The 10 hole sweet potato system (invented by Giuseppe Donati of Budrio Italy)

Depending on the artist, some may write a number or figure over the picture to depict how many beats to hold the note.^[9]

Types of ocarina

There are many different styles of ocarinas varying in shape and the number of holes.

• Transverse (Sweet potato) - This is the best known style of ocarina. It has a rounded shape and is held with two hands horizontally. Depending on the number of holes, one just needs to open one more hole than the previous in order to ascend in pitch. The two most common Transverse ocarinas are the 10-holes (originated by Giuseppe Donati in Italy) and the 12-holes.

• Pendants: There are two types:

*English Pendant - These are usually very small and very portable. Example: the "English" Pendant, which uses an English      fingering system (4-6 holes). 

*Peruvian Pendant - Dating from the time of the Incas, used as instruments for festivals, rituals and ceremonies. They are (usually the area occupied by them) today with designs of animals or simply oval (8-9 holes).

• Inline - These are often called a "fusion" of the Pendant and the Transverse. This style is known for being very small and compact, yet there are more holes than the pendant. This allows one to ascend in pitch with the linear finger pattern rather than finger combinations

• Multi chambered ocarinas - Better known as "Double" and "Triple" ocarinas, this type exists within the three broad categories of ocarina. These ocarinas overcome the disadvantage of ocarinas of having a limited range of notes. A Transverse Double ocarina typically plays 2 octaves + 2 notes, and a Transverse Triple ocarina plays with a range about 2 octaves + 7 notes. Double ocarinas for Pendant and Inline ocarinas also exist. Double Inline ocarinas are specially designed to be able to play chords, for harmonic playing.

• Ocarinas with keys have been produced by several makers, mostly experimentally, beginning in the late 19th century. Keys and slides may be added with the intention of either expanding the instrument's range, or to enable the fingers to reach holes that are widely spaced.

Gallery

A modern "inline" style ocarina from America. Made of Corian.	A triple chambered ocarina in the bass register.	An Asian double chambered ocarina. The two blow holes in the mouthpiece are clearly visible, which makes it possible for the player to play an extended range of notes (17 in total, in this case from A4 to C6).	Meissen "Blue Onion" pattern porcelain transverse ocarina, early 20th Century.	Front and back view of transverse ocarinas. The double holes on front indicate a fingering system developed in 20th Century Japan.
The English pendant ocarina, invented in the 1960s by John Taylor, produces an entire octave using just four finger holes.	Ocarinas owned by a professional ocarinist.	Novelty ocarina - ocarina in the shape of a teacup.	A transverse ocarina.

Similar instruments

Other vessel flutes include the Chinese xun and African globe flutes. The xun (simplified Chinese: 埙; traditional: 塤; pinyin: xūn) is a Chinese vessel flute made of clay or ceramic. It is one of the oldest Chinese instruments. Shaped like an egg, it differs from the ocarina in being side-blown, like the Western concert flute, rather than having a recorder-like mouthpiece (a fipple or beak). Similar instruments exist in Korea (the hun) and Japan (the tsuchibue).

A related family of instruments is the closed-pipe family, which includes the panpipes and other instruments that produce their tone by vibrating a column of air within a stopped cylinder.

The old fashioned jugband jug also has similar properties.

The traditional German instrument Gemshorn works nearly the same way as an ocarina. The only difference is the material it's made from: the horn of the chamois, goat, or other suitable animal.

Molinukai

Molinukai are made in the shape of a tube or a toy figure. The tube-shaped whistles are made of clay mixed with sand. The clay is kneaded and rolled, and rolled around a small stick. The stick is removed, one end of the tube is squeezed shut, while the other end is flattened and the blowing hole is made with a thin splinter. A whistle hole and two to four finger holes are made in the top. Toy shapes are made in the same way as tubes, but the hollow is carved in a finished shape. The molinukai are carved and then fired in an oven. The sound of a molinukas is soft, and the timbre is delicate. Musical possibilities are determined by the number of finger holes. Melodies are improvised. At times, sutartines were played with these whistles. The molinukai were toys used by herders and children.

See also

• Flute
• Native American flute
• Pan flute

References

External links

• ocarinas at the whistle museum