Identifying sheet music that fits in your ocarina's range

Because the ocarina has a limited range, it's essential to learn to quickly identify sheet music that fits in your ocarina's range.

To determine the range of a piece of music, we notice the distance between the lowest and highest note it uses, known as an 'interval'.

• A difference of one staff position is called a 'second'.
• A distance of two staff positions is called a 'third'.
• An interval of an eighth is called an 'octave'.
• Larger intervals than this are named 'octave and a second', 'octave and a third', and so on.

Try working out the intervals in the following example. Note that only the difference between the positions of the note heads is important, not their absolute position. The order of the notes is not important either; just start with the lower one.

To work out the range of a piece of music, you look through the whole melody, finding the highest and lowest note that it contains, then find the interval between them:

Note that the low C on the staff technically refers to C4, also known as 'middle C'. On the ocarina, it is common to consider this to be the instrument's low C, regardless of octave. Alto C ocarinas play an octave higher than written, and sopranos two octaves higher.

The ranges of common ocarinas

• A single chambered ocarina can play approximately an octave and a fourth. This is roughly six lines or six spaces of standard music notation.
• Multichambered ocarinas often have more range. A two chambered ocarina with the Asian tuning system, for example, has a range of around two octaves, spanning eight lines or spaces in staff notation.

Note that these ranges exclude subholes. If you want to accommodate for them, just add one or two notes to the bottom of the range. For the rest of the examples here, I will assume the range of a single chambered 10-hole C ocarina.

The same idea applies to ocarinas in other keys; we simply need to shift the note range up or down. You can find the range of the ocarina starting from the root note of the scale. Here, for example, are the ranges of ocarinas in D and G in relation to a C ocarina:

There is a trick to finding the ranges of the root note of the major scale of any key signature:

• In sharp keys, the key note of the major scale is always the note above the last sharp in the key signature.
• In flat keys, it is three scale degrees below the last flat.

This is true for both the treble and bass clefs. Remember that it's perfectly fine to look up the key signatures in the circle of fifths; it is not essential to remember all of them.

Transposing music

Any music that is within these ranges will be playable on an appropriate ocarina. Music in the C range can be played on a C ocarina, and music in the G range can be played on a G ocarina.

But what about if you wanted to play something in the range of a G ocarina on a C ocarina?

If you scan over the notes of the above notation, you'll see G to B. At first impression, it might seem that this is unplayable, as it would go out of range at the top. Yet, it can be easily adapted due to a technique called 'transposition'.

Because all of the major scales are based on the same pattern, we can take the notes of one scale and substitute the equivalent notes from a different scale. The pitch will be higher or lower, but will be recognisable as the same melody.

Here is the melody transposed to fit an alto C ocarina:

How to transpose music is something we'll address in the article Transpo­sing sheet music to fit the range of your ocarina.

Other notes regarding music ranges

You'll often run across music that has an appropriate range, such as six lines on the staff, but which doesn't neatly fit in the range of a single major scale. This can be music with a range of D to G, for example, with one sharp in the key signature.

In this case, the highest note is F♯, which is out of range of an alto C single. Playing this music requires either using an ocarina in D or a multichamber.

You may find it interesting that the base note of natural, melodic and harmonic minor scales can be found with this trick:

• In flat minor keys, the name of the key is two scale degrees above the last flat.
• For sharp keys, it is one scale degree below the last sharp.

Examples

Firstly, the Swallowtail Jig. A quick scan over the notes reveals that the tune has a range of G to high B; this is an octave and a third, which fits easily. You could transpose it down a fifth to fit on an alto C. Alternately, it can be played as written on an ocarina in G.

The Swallowtail

The next tune, The Girl I Left Behind Me, has a range of D to G, which fits fine within the desired range. If you transpose it down a major second (two semitones), it will fit on an alto C ocarina in the key of F. One accidental is required to replace B with B♭.

Music where the key note is in the middle of the range is not uncommon. Such tunes typically require playing on an ocarina in a different key from the original music to achieve the necessary range of notes.

The Girl I Left Behind Me

The next tune, Michael Wiggins, is somewhat odd. It's in D Major, with a range of F♯ to high A. It fits, but a naive approach transposing it down six semitones leaves it in A♭ Major. It can be played much more easily by assu­ming an ocarina with a sub-hole, transposing it down seven semitones to G.

Michael Wiggins

Lemmy Brazil's Number 2 has the same range and will fit using a subhole, although whether this is advisable is debatable. The low F♯ in the tune occurs on a strong beat. This note needs to be strong, and a subhole may not be adequate.

Lemmy Brazil's

Closing

Learning to recognise the range of any music you're viewing allows you to broaden your repertoire. As you get some practice, you'll be able to spot playable music in unusual keys or ranges at a glance.

If a piece of music fits within the range of an ocarina, this does not necessarily mean that it is practically playable or that it will work musically. Some music is written for an instrument with certain characteristics, such as a specific timbre or a wide range of volume dynamics, and will simply not sound right without it.