Sorry for the bad, bad subject line. I wonder how well playing the ocarina suits a whistle player. Does anyone of you play one (or several)? Is there something like OOA? I’d be interested in a G ocarina, but don’t know what and where to look for. Any suggestions?
Christian
I raised this question last year some time and even contacted an ocarina maker to see why they are not made in G or D (they are made in recorder keys of c & f usually). I was told by the maker that there was not enough interest in D & G ocarinas to justify making them. Ocarinas can be diatonic or chromatic but only play one octave so are not much good for most Irish tunes. However they are great on Scottish pipe tunes which are about one octave. I have a few and they are fun to play.
I have a few that I enjoy playing. They too are pitched in C. I use them primarily for just twiddling around, though I’m sure that if you put a mic to them that they’d work in a performance setting.
My brother collects them - I guess there is someone working the Renaissance fair circuits in the Dallas area that sells ocarina’s that look like little creatures. I understand that they’re pretty fun.
Peace,
Erik
Occarina is a lot of fun, but be forewarned that the fingering is a LOT different than a whistle, and will take a bit of practice. Also, you only get one octave, so your choice of tunes is a bit limited. Susato makes some very inexpensive plastic ones that can be worn around the neck on a string, so you can have music wherever you go. These make great gifts for kids too.
Like whistles, you can try out an ocarina with very little financial outlay – Susato makes a little one that runs about five bucks. They’re also very portable: they even come with a string so they can be worn around your neck for hiking, driving, etc. These can be ordered from the Susato website (kelichek.com?)
Wooden ocarinas have a much better sound than the plastic ones, and the smaller ones run about $20, I think. These are REALLY sweet sounding. My wife has a blast with the little ocarina. The larger they get, the more recorder-like the sound becomes IMO.
Another data point is that you usually get an octave plus a note or two, which can make a great difference in the number of tunes you can play.
Charlie
Christian, I’ve been an ocarina player for a while, and a collector (my O collection still is larger than my W collection!). They’re entirely different instruments from whistles, and though a pleasure to have and play, and collect and display, the range is limited, the fingerings on the various models can be VERY differnt from each other.
If you want a good source of info for ocarinas, try this: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ocarinaclub/
The Ocarina and whistle have a common relative…The Gemshorn. From the Gemshorn the instrument split into the Recorder and the Ocarina.(There are clues that Marco Polo returned with some Chinese types that may have had some influence too)
The modern ocarina came about with the designs of Geussepe Budrio,an Italian craftsman who combined the Gemshorn with the crude ocarina imported from the Inca/New World types. The Budrio or “Sweet Potato” ocarina can play in a range of a 12th(1 1/2 octave).
New styles of double ocarinas can play 2 + octaves. The Chiriqui Indians of Panama have an Ocarina type that can play Chords and we use this voicing in our tea pots,each tonehole is a voicing.
In the late 60’s and early 70’s an English mathematician named John Taylor invented the 4 hole system to reduce the number of toneholes,improve tone and simplify fingering. These 4 and 5 hole types are the most common today.
I’m a long time member of “Ocarinaclub” and there are many talented makers there that would be glad to make ocarinas for you in any key.(Thank you for promoting them Tyghress,they/we suffer from O.C.S.,Ocarina Compulsive Syndrome)
Thomas Hastay.
[ This Message was edited by: Thomas-Hastay on 2001-12-17 14:21 ]
Thank you everyone for the kind and informative answers. Thomas, I had a quick peek at the Ocarinaclub Forum and accidentally hit one of your posts, in which you wrote about the C&Fers(quote): “…The message board there is jumpin and the site has everything.Of course, Ocarinaclub is MUCH better and the people here are more
intelligent but…”.
Feel free to blush;-)
Christian
Oh, goodness, I just gave an ocarina starter kit from The Whistle Shop to an 8-year-old friend. She wanted one because one of the Pokemon characters plays one. I had no idea I’d be starting her on the road to OCS. . . 