Got my first real oc and I’m not loving it’s sound. I’ve heard sound clips of the OC that are haunting and beautiful. So I bought a good one – 12 hole sweet potato, ceramic, new. It takes a lot of air to get a musical sound, this is still kind of muted and accompanied by a breathy hiss (cross between a Clarke original and a toilet bowl). 
It’s also kind of loud. I have been able to get it to play in tune, but do not like the timbre.
It’s in C which they call an alto (in a recorder this would be a soprano). I wanted something with a soft round sound and that nice oc legato. Nothing I’ve come across mentions breath control or technique aside from fingering.
Maybe I’ve become too whistle-centric. 
Walden?
You’ll find that there are differences from ocarina to ocarina. I guess usually I think of a fairly pure sound and perhaps an over-strong bell note as “typical.” Another thing, with 12 hole ocarinas, is sometimes it helps to face downward a bit on some notes, for less hiss.
To go smoothly from note to note, you just slide your fingers on and off the holes, rather than lifting them up and down abruptly. You can do a lot of note bending that way.
You can do vibrato by breath wavering or by finger vibrato, which, on the ocarina, is more a matter of partially uncovering and covering a hole or two over from your lowest note hole, repeatedly.
There is some information on technique at this site: http://www.fl-oca.com/eocarina.htm The English is a little rough, as it’s a Japanese site.
Walden, thanks for your helpful reply (and for bringing us OcarinaLand – great resource). The Japanese website had the most info about technique I’ve seen so far, but very vague and not helpful. This is a WPN 12 hole Ocarina I bought from St. Louis School of music. I saw on the Oc board that you have one (part of the reason for my selection).
After more time blowing at various levels in various positions I am still not getting a decent sound. The bell note is pretty good, as are the lower notes, the upper notes however are mostly hiss. I have been super careful about fingering and breath control. I can do the sliding and vibrato but the hiss is hurting my ears. The oc is always billed as an easy instrument. I’m having a much harder time with this than I did when I started with recorder and whistle. I even had an easier time getting a decent sound out of a bamboo flute. Could it be a bad oc?
Frustratedly yours
I LOVE WALDEN’S OCARINA LAND!!!
It’s certainly possible. I’m by no means an ocarina expert (I got my first “non-toy” one today, actually!) but it couldn’t hurt to contact the maker or seller and explain your problems…most places wouldn’t have a problem with an exchange.
It really is necessary, on 12-hole ocarinas, to hold it in a downward position on the higher notes. This is not the case on other ocarinas, but once one gets the technique, the sound is generally considered to be superior to that of other ocarinas.
I know there’s discussion of this at Ocarina Club, on Yahoo, but it might not be that easy to run a search and find it.
Walden, thanks for the info. I have tried holding the oc downward, bowing my head (how it was described in the Yahoo thread), playing soft, hard, upside down and sideways and have only gotten varieties of hissing in relative pitch. By exaggerated tonguing I can get an explosive burst of air to produce a short staccato “toot.” This is very loud and does not sustain. My ears are now ringing from my efforts
The Oc didn’t come with any instructions only a little fingering chart on the box, (which didn’t include sharps and flats).
This from the St, Louis SCHOOL of Music.
Time to give up?
Before giving up, I’d try and get them to exchange it.
How do you like your oc. What kind and where did you get it? Hope your experience has been better than mine.
Doug
I found mine at a rummage sale, it’s a Langley tenor G. I like it a lot because it’s not as piercingly shrill as all the others I’ve had over the years, so now I think I’ll actually be able to practice and learn something on it. Just ordered some tunebooks and CDs from the same company.
Thanks for all the information. It’s hopeless. I contacted the seller and hope to be rid of this thing soon. Makes me worry about some kid getting one of these and being turned off to music (not to mention ocarinas) forever. May get one of Charlie Hinds wooden Ocs.
Doug