Hi guys, I'm Robert, the creator of Pure Ocarinas. The ocarina became my passion in 2011. Inspired by the unique sound of the instrument, I began researching how to play them well, and how to make ocarinas that sound reliably over their entire range.
Pure Ocarinas make no compromises. They are concert quality musical instruments designed to make complex music easier to play. These ocarinas are comfortable to hold, with great ergonomics, accurate tuning and a minimal breath curve.
Below you can also find an assortment of music to play on the ocarina, access to our community, and guidance on how to get started or improve your playing.
Reviews:
Concert Quality!
I am very impressed with the sound and quality of my new DAG! It has exceeded my expectations and I can't get enough of practicing with it just to hear the music it makes. My first thought was "this is concert quality!"...The precision that went into making this is astounding. Robert is truly a master of his craft.
My Favorite Alto C
I feel bad for never having reviewed it up till now, because it is hands-down my favorite ocarina that I own. The ergonomics are wonderful, the tone is clear throughout the entire range, and the breath curve is very gentle.
Excellent ocarina! Love it.
I'm very glad I got one of these, while I'm still a fairly inexperienced ocarinist (I've been playing for 3 and a half months at the time of writing this, though I try to get an hour of practice, two if possible in per day) I noticed the ergonomic benefits of this almost immediately.
Best ocarina I own
This is the only double ocarina I’ve bought that I enjoy. I’m a recorder player and play a lot of those in my collection, and got into the ocarina because I thought it would be similar. I’ve become a fan of mostly single chamber transverse and getting them in different keys.
Comfortable and Beautiful
The craftsmanship is impeccable and the blue glaze is immaculate. It is so comfortable to hold and beautiful to play that practising is no chore.
Absolutely beautiful
This ocarina is incredible! The workmanship is top notch and the thing just looks stunning. The ergonomics are great. It also plays like a dream and sounds absolutely incredible. The breath curve feels so natural and its perfectly tuned. Every time I play it my soul gets filled with joy.
Join our community: Serious Ocarina Players
Serious Ocarina Players is a friendly discord community focusing on learning, playing and making ocarinas as serious musical instruments. You can join using the following link:
- We aspire to create an environment that makes learning easier.
- Discuss great instruments and practice methodologies that work.
- Share audio of your performances, and we will gladly offer constructive feedback.
What members say:
- In my experience, other communities are filled with people who give out bad advice and get real defensive over other takes. This discord server is a breath of fresh air.
- Here you can actually have different perspectives and don’t get sentenced to downvote hell, people here in the server would rather debate and try to learn something rather than disagree and defend their point to no end.
- I’m all for an environment that makes learning easier.
Music:
Once you have an ocarina, you may be interested in some music to learn:
Learning and ocarina education
We at Pure Ocarinas believe that it is important to accept that playing musical instruments is complex. We designed our resources to provide you with a clear roadmap through the complexity, offering learning tools and methods that work, taking you from the basics, through to expert.
Our resources teach you how the ocarina and music learning work from the ground up. People are different and understanding the 'why' enables you to create a practice approach perfect for you.
Getting started
Start playing the ocarina
Get your ocarina playing started on the right foot. Learn the fundamentals that will hold you from beginner to expert.
Effective practice
Understand how practice works with your brain, and optimise your approach to get great results fast.
Intonation practice tools
Utilise our practice drone, pitch graph, and chromatic tuner right in your browser. Enhance your breath control and intonation.
Reading sheet music
Learn to sight read sheet music on the ocarina subconsciously. Internalise the common rhythm and fingering patterns of music, then connect them with the visual patterns of notation.
Playing the ocarina by ear
Develop your ear, learn to understand what you're hearing, and perform it on the ocarina.
Practice tools
Interactive scale and interval practice
These tools generate scale and interval exercises for many different types of ocarinas, with fingering charts and audio to guide you. Scales and intervals are the basis of all music. Practising them enables you to move around the notes on your instrument with ease.
Music to practice playing by ear
A large collection of tunes that fit in the range of a single chamber ocarina, organised by difficulty. Use these to practice playing by ear, knowing with confidence that the note you're hearing does exist on your instrument.
ABC notation tune practice tool
Practice tunes in ABC notation with our tool. It breaks tunes into small chunks, offering audio to guide your intonation and rhythm.
Ocarina workshops and tuition
Book Robert to teach a workshop in person, covering topics ranging from the basics, ornamentation, or the performance of Irish music. Find out more.
Get the book
Serious Ocarina Player covers everything you need to know to play the ocarina well, including how to identify good instruments, develop skilful playing techniques, play by ear or from sheet music, use ornamentation, and much more. There is something for everyone, from beginners, to experienced musicians. Learn more--->
The Ocarina Bible
This book is pretty well known in the ocarina community and often referred as "The Ocarina Bible", not only to shorten the title but also because, well... everything you need to know is inside!
Everything you need to know about the ocarina is in this book!
I truly cannot recommend this book highly enough to anyone looking to improve their performance on the ocarina. If you are new to the instrument, following the carefully written advice within will put you right on the correct methods regarding breathing while playing, holding the instrument, performance, precision, and learning how to play in general.
An amazing book
I just received the printed copy of your book “Serious Ocarina Player”, and I am delighted by the richness in detail and precision of the instructions. I have read most of the book already, as I am frequently visiting your website for hints and inspiration. For me, the parts about vibrato and ornaments are the most interesting, as well as the little web programs to practice with the drones. So cool and helpful! Thank you!