Scottish music for G/D ocarina sets

Nigel Gatherer's Ardrishaig workshop

11-Jul-2026 09:37 AM
Suits ocarina type: G/D, single and double

Instead of just fitting music to one ocarina type, you can work out how to fit a whole category of music to a minimal set of ocarinas.

I usually take a small set of Pure ocarinas to Scottish tune sessions - 10-holes in D and G, V-system double in G, P-system double in D. And don't often need any others to fit in.

This is an example, with tunes compiled for a workshop in the west of Scotland. I had no input in this, I'm just giving it as I found it. And it all fits my usual set of ocarinas.

https://www.nigelgatherer.com/teaching/ws/mm/mm-33.html

You will never need subholes or an ocarina in C to play Scottish traditional music. This is a consistent pattern - that selection of ocarinas works reliably for Scottish trad and it's very little effort to pick the right one out for a specific tune. (My 10-holes are in two different octaves for greater variety, but they play the same).

My G double has a European-style first chamber ranging up to B - with that, you don't need a G 10-hole as well, since these tunes never need the high C.

The keys and ranges for this selection are standard for Scottish trad - Nigel's workshops usually have fiddles, mandolins, flutes, whistles, smallpipes, accordions and bouzoukis, and these versions suit all of them. Ocarinas in G and D fit in without adapting the music at all.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wf0x069rvoy706bvesuoo/MM-SB.pdf

Edited 11-Jul-2026 11:27 AM by Robert.