- Does anyone recommend a particular soprano ocarina as a gift for a wind-musician niece with a good musical ear?
-Looking for recommendations as to “Little Geese” with good tuning, tone and playability.-Have seen Mountain, Feng
and Songstones so far.
-Thank you
Brian
I have four different ocarinas, I think the best is a HSUN which can be purchased from Elderly Music. I have the tiny soprano D - it is awesome. Tuning is really good - and the size of it makes it novel. I’ve used it with children and they are amazed that such a tiny thing can produce such a big sound.
I also have a HSUN in G. Its okay, but not as nice as the tiny D. I’ve also had several others which I have returned due to the lack of quality. If you are looking for a truly novel ocarina, take a look at the double ocarina. Its divided into two chambers which each hand playing different notes. Fun stuff.
randy
I think a “recorder ocarina” is a good style, in that, unlike Songstone, it has the sort of fingering method used on other types of wind instruments. It’s less confusing, and keeps one developing one’s skills in the same direction.
The inexpensive South American ones available at gift shops, fairs, and from importers have a haunting sound, great for slow airs and minor key and modal melodies.