Ocarina

The ocarina flute is technically a "vessel" or closed end flute. It is a wind instrument. Various versions of ocarinas have existed since ancient times. The ocarina can produce beautiful music and rhythm. There are numerous styles of ocarinas, like the sweet potato, inline. Different ocarinas have different holes and number of holes. In modern times a video game called zelda the ocarina of time has mad the ocarina popular among children. In this game by Nintendo (R) the character Link plays his flute for different reasons. There are games for Nintendo 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in 1998, and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Holes vary in size. Just about any genre of music can be played on these vessel flutes. A skilled musician can play celtic, classical, Christian, hynns, jazz, bluegrass, hard rock, classic or acid rock, rap, country western, folk music, pop, traditional Irish, Scottish, disco, native american, Latin, Mexican, South American, African, or just any of a number of musical styles you can think of. Ocarinas are made of a variety of materials including hard wood, ceramic, pottery, plastic, other woods, glass, metal, steel, aluminum or just about any material that can be worked into a rigid shape. Skilled performers can add fancy decoration or ornamentation like cuts or rolls to make a simple melody or piece into a virtuoso masterpiece.

Some say that versions of the ocarina originated in Budrio which is a town near Bologna Italy. Although different ocarinas have different fingerings, some ocarina artisans and craftsmen have created ocarina tab or tablature similar to tab used in guitar. Of course traditional notation can also be used in this new age to describe an opus. These flutes are versatile and can be played by an individual or a symphony. Some composers have made score to be used to play harmonies. If the conductor understands counterpoint, then he will understand how to write the scores so that the harmony will be according to modern musical theory.

Since the beginning of time, from ancient to modern times, music and the arts have been an integral part of all cultures and civilizations. Some artisans make ocarinas to play in different keys. The possible keys would be C C# D D# E E# F F# G G# A A# B B# as well as the flat keys in both major and minor. Some ocarinas are chromatic and some are pentatonic only. Of course chromatic instruments are more flexible than non-chromatic flutes. Some fingerings are easy and some are complex. These works of art can have 1 one, 2 two, 3 three, 4 four, 5 five, 6 six, 7 seven, 8 eight, 9 nine, 10 ten, 11 eleven, 12 twelve, 13 thirteen, 14 fourteen or more finger holes. Some play a full octave, some less than an octave, and some even play more than an octave.

Chromatic instruments can be played either as a transposing or non-transposing instrument. High school bands, for example, generally teach all non C instruments as transposing instruments for simplicity of learning. Of course this makes it more difficult when duos, trios, or quartets play together since it requires transposition of the staff of music. Good information about the ocarina can be found at Wikipedia. The ocarina is an instrument. Some are high quality, some are cheap, some are worthy of a public performance concert. Some are toys only. They can be used by the professional or amateur or student musician alike to play haunting meoldies for a choir or chorus or to jam with friends. One just needs to be a learner at heart and have fingers and motivation. Then you can set the mood with your playing.

They can be played along with the guitar, piano, trumpet, accordian, banjo, harp, recorder, cello, violin, mandolin, bass, viola, clarinet, horns, bells, vocalist, tin whistle, penny whistle, bagpipes or just about any instrument you can think of...