Choosing your first ocarina

The main question to ask when choosing your first ocarina is 'what music do I want to play?' Because ocarinas have a limited sounding range, it is important to choose one that provides the range of notes that you need.

If you're new to music, or otherwise just looking to play by yourself for fun, then a single chamber alto C would be a practical option. Alto C ocarinas have enough range to play a lot of popular song melodies, and you can learn all the skills of exceptional ocarina playing on one.

If you're looking to:

• play with other musicians,
• adapt music from a given tradition,
• or otherwise need to play a specific range of notes,

then it will be important to look for an ocarina in a given key, or a multichamber ocarina to attain the range of notes that you need. Ocarinas are chromatic, and the key of the instrument is chosen to provide a given range, not to play in a given key.

Ocarinas in other keys and pitch ranges also open up expressive options because they have different character. Bass ocarinas, for example, are much more mellow and generally quieter. You may prefer a bass for that reason, even if playing alone.

Multichambered ocarinas

Multichambered ocarinas offer a few distinct advantages:

• You can play a lot more music using only one instrument, without needing to modify the music to fit.
• They sometimes sound better, as each chamber produces only a small part of the total range.
• Most multichambered ocarinas do not have a right thumb hole. This lets the right thumb exclusively support the instrument, and may ease advanced playing.

You may want to consider a multichamber if you're looking to be able to play a wider range of music without changing instruments, or want the freedom to adapt music that requires a wider range of notes.

Learning to play multichambered ocarinas is not that much harder than learning to play single chambers, and they look much more complex than they actually are. The first chamber is essentially the same as a single chambered ocarina, and it's fine to ignore the higher chambers at first.

Playing characteristics

As discussed in 'Ocarina playing characteristics and timbre', many options are available. Ocarinas can be made to play with a lot of pressure or little, have a textured reedy sound, or be exceptionally pure.

• Ocarinas with steeper breath curves create a larger difference in volume between the high and low notes, which can suit vocal music.
• Flatter breath curves make playing high tempo music easier, as well as simplifying the task of playing music which leaps around the range.
• Ocarinas with textured timbre tend to blend into the background more, while pure sounding instruments tend to stand out more.

In general, ocarinas with ten holes, as well as multichambers, will have a more balanced timbre and sounding volume over their whole range. Twelve hole ocarinas often have a considerable difference in volume between their lowest and highest notes.

These factors are a matter of preference. For the most part, it is easy to hear them in a maker's sound sample. One reason for playing high-pressure ocarinas is to attain more volume. However, in this day and age, amplification is another solution.

Hand size and ergonomics

If you have either very large, or very small hands, the pitch of an ocarina will also be an important factor because lower pitched ocarinas are physically larger. A bass could be 30 to 40 centimetres long, while a soprano will be around 12, for instance. If you have large hands, you may find soprano ocarinas, or even some alto ocarinas, impossible to play.

If it is possible to hold the ocarina before buying it, ensure that you can cover the finger holes without your fingers touching each other, as that makes playing easier.

Don't fret too much

There is more value in getting some kind of ocarina, and getting started learning to play, vs spending a lot of time thinking about which one to get. Whatever you do, you'll gain valuable experience.

Ocarinas are inherently inflexible, as so many things are set when they are made. As you learn to play, you will start to develop preferences for what you do and don't like. It is inevitable that you are going to want to try other ocarinas. You can always sell the ones you don't like.

But one thing I would say is: Always get the best ocarina you can afford.

A good musical instrument is not a single-use or short-lived item. If looked after, an ocarina can easily last for hundreds of years. In fact, there are still playable ocarinas around that were made by Giuseppe Donati in the 1800s.

Relative to other instruments, ocarinas are not expensive. Getting a great quality, well tuned ocarina will make your learning process so much more fun and productive.