Viability of "Utility" mutlichambers

Wanted to open a discussion for utility style multichamber ocarinas. The three that I know of are from Zin, Zilei and whatever company the Coda EDC is from.

The main similarities is that all three have a range of 2 octaves in the first two chambers (with change), with each chamber playing one octave. The increased number of holes in the second chamber leads me to believe that accidentals would have a more intuitive breath cut to them as compared to accidentals on the second chamber of a V-style double. I think the sound quality would also be improved as it foregoes holes for some fingers, meaning less holes per chamber and thus a more uniform timbre/volume/breath curve. The main downside I can think of is that going from the low note in the second chamber to the high note in the first requires the left hand fingers to be lifted which might cause some additional unwanted noise when switching, although there's a possibility that practice could mitigate said issue.

Here are the features that I've observed that are different between the three:

Zilei: Can have a third chamber which is more similar to a typical third chamber on a V-style multi, with capability to overblow allowing for a range of 3 octaves (plus some from subholes). The right hand also uses different holes between chambers, but the fingers on the left hand simultaneously cover two holes. Does not have a hole for the right thumb nor the left pinky, which allows for those fingers to be permanently on the ocarina to facilitate chamber switches.

Video of the Zilei:

Zin: Not too sure as even their website doesn't have a listing, only pictures. I'm assuming it doesn't have both thumbholes, but not having to cover two holes makes it more intuitive for a person coming from single ocarinas to play. Also foregoes the left pinky hole. The main downside I think is going up in a scale from one chamber to the other means all fingers having to go back down, as opposed to only the left hand on the Zilei (as the right hand can be "prepped").

Video of the Zin:

Coda EDC: Has a hole for every finger, with the hole on the top face of the ocarina being split into two. As both thumbholes are present (with one being used to play accidentals), I'd assume that clamping on the ocarina might be the primary chamber switching ergonomic (as the ocarina is an inline). Has the same downside as the Zin.

Video of the Coda EDC:

Would love to have people share their experiences and thoughts with these ocarinas. Why do you think they aren't played as much as typical multis?

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Wanted to open a discussion for utility style multichamber ocarinas. The three that I know of are from Zin, Zilei and whatever company the Coda EDC is from....

Why they aren't played very widely among English speaking ocarina players is probably largely because they are not very widely known, and in the case of the Coda, inline ocarinas not being very popular.

My main concern about these ideas relates to sound quality / timbre, as it is impacted by chamber shape. The Zin having a horizontal wall inside it is going to change the timbre vs a single chamber. I have never personally played a Coda, but I taught someone who had one several years ago, and it sounded very 'thin' vs a standard transverse ocarina.

The Zilei instrument I don't think would be so impacted by that because the second chamber - I think - is just extended to overlap with the left hand, and the left hand finger holes drilled directly into it. Someone I know at songbird ocarinas played a scale on one of these instruments over a zoom call a number of years ago, and the high notes on one of the chambers sounded very airy and unbalanced. I don't know if that is still an issue.

Covering multiple holes with one finger will have some impact on the ability to play pitch slides, but having never played one I can't say how impactful this is.

A big objection that I have to these at this time, is that each is only made by one manufacturer. There is an enormous amount of diversity available in ceramic ocarinas, covering timbre, volume (absolute), volume dynamics of high vs low notes, breath curve shape, airy vs clean sound, ergonomics, not to mention visual design.

Diversity of makers is critical because most factors of an ocarina are fixed when it is made. Different makers will also organically produce instruments with varied ergonomics, because people's hands are different, and makers typically design for themselves first.

For the innovations that you mention to be viable, they need to be adopted by and made by a diverse range of makers, to allow that same diversity to manifest. I don't know what the patent situation is regarding these.

The ocarina community is / has been a haven for small and independent instrument makers to thrive, because getting started with making is quite cheap and approachable, which has lead to the high diversity of available instruments. When I first started making, there was an active community on the TON forum supporting new makers.

Getting new people into making will be more difficult to maintain if the only practical way of making something involves complex / potentially expensive manufacturing approaches, even if it is free of patent issues.

There is a risk here also if hard to make instruments become the norm, coupled with commercialisation / megacorp-style business practices, of forcing small / independent makers out of the market entirely, considerably reducing instrument diversity.

I wrote an article about this a few years ago:

https://pureocarinas.com/importance-of-open-design-ocarina-community

Thanks Robert for your insight. The Coda and Zin seem near impossible to perhaps create a ceramic version of without major tweaks to the design, and presumably the Zilei structurally a very different instrument compared to a typical multi meaning makers would need to spend a lot of time designing their own "version" which aligns with the properties of their other ocarinas. Do you have a hypothesis for why the notes were airy, is it due to the chamber design? I do agree that Zilei having a patent for their design is not in the best interest of the ocarina community.

I suppose the difficulties with typical multis I mentioned aren't really present in professional performance, so there isn't a particular incentive to pivot to a completely novel take on extending an ocarina's range.

Definitely agree with Robert's points. Unless there's a diverse range of makers producing instruments based on the same pattern, there will never be widespread adoption of a new system.

There's also the TNG double pendant ocarinas which use the same concept. Each finger covers two holes with the smaller chamber being inside the larger.

I personally think the "utility" system is the best compromise between the Pacchioni and Vicinelli patterns and I'm hoping to get my hands on one soon.

Here's another maker advertising an improved Pacchioni system which is functionally identical to the Zilei. https://abocarinas.com/doubles/

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Here's another maker advertising an improved Pacchioni system which is functionally identical to the Zilei. https://abocarinas.com/doubles/

This maker was in attendance at Budrio ocarina festival. I tried their instruments which are functionally the same as the zeili system.

Having now played an ocarina using this tuning system myself, i have a few thoughts on it. The system fingers as-if you have two full octaves playable with 7 finger holes, so you get up to the high b, then put all of your fingers down again and play a second octave using the same fingering sequence as the first blowing the second chamber.

The system allows quite a large number of well tuned harmonies between chambers, but the fingerings are not consistent.

It has some compromises vs the Pacchioni system. Because the notes on the second chamber are also played by the left hand, whenever you leap chambers you typically must also move fingers on the left hand.

In my own playing of Irish music, I frequently finger the low note in a leaping pedal note sequence on the first chamber and leave it fixed while leaping between this note and a moving note on the second chamber, the second part of Frank's reel for example. On the Zeili system 'locking' fingers like this on an inactive chamber is (at first impression) impossible.

I'd have to try learning tunes on it to know for sure, but I suspect that the Zeili system would be ergonomically worse for the music I play, and moving fingers repeatedly would tend to cause unwanted pitch bends between notes.

Regarding IP, they said that Zeili has a patent on the system within china only. I will be watching to see how this develops and if this maker faces any push back.