Music for the ocarina (sheet music and audio)

When you first start playing the ocarina, it is important to develop a diverse musical repertoire. Here you can find a wide assortment of music that works fantastically on the ocarina.

Jack Campin's 9 note tunebook

Jack Campin's 9 note tunebook is a collection of more than 600 folk melodies from many cultures around the world. And all of this music works great on the ocarina.

The book is available for free in two formats:

• HTML with sheet music and audio.
• The original in textual ABC notation.

This music fits into a range of just 9 notes - with a few sharps / flats, suiting an ocarina in C at notated pitch, and can be played on ocarinas in other keys if transposed.

Irish (celtic) music for the ocarina.

I have compiled a tune book with a wide assortment of Irish tunes that suit a single chambered ocarina, which includes some guidance on playing style:

• Irish (Celtic) music for single chamber ocarina.

If you have a multichamber ocarina like the Pure Double alto D, the entire repertoire of Irish music is open to you.

Take a look at thesession.org, an archive of thousands of Irish and other folk tunes, all completely free. Under the 'tunes' menu, on that website, you can find a list of popular Irish tunes.

Bagpipe music and the ocarina

Bagpipes and ocarinas both have a limited range, and thus a lot of bagpipe music is easily adapted to the ocarina.

It is worth noting that bagpipes are not limited to the highland bagpipe, many different kinds exist, with sounds ranging from loud and strident, to soft.

• The entire repertoire of the great highland bagpipe has a range of 9 notes, G to A in a scale of two sharps. It can be played on a G ocarina at written pitch, and music for the instrument can be easily found online.
• The music of the Sackpipa, an indigenous bagpipe of Sweden, has a 1 octave range from E to E, fitting perfectly on a D ocarina at written pitch, or a C ocarina transposed down a whole tone. You can find a tunebook for Sackpipa here.
• The cornemuse du centre and similar French bagpipes play a range of an octave and a fourth, usually sounding in concert G and are almost fully chromatic. The music is easily adapted to either an F or G ocarina in its original pitch. Searching for 'Balfolk', and the band 'blowzabella' are easy ways of finding examples of this music.
• Some of me tunes, by Julian Goodacre. A collection of tunes written by Scottish bagpipe maker Julian Goodacre, and an autobiography of the life events that spawned them.

Medieval and early music.

While not strictly idiomatic (the ocarina is a 19th century instrument), a lot of medieval and early music can be easily adapted to play on the ocarina.

The living history tune books are a good reference, for example:

• The Living History Tune Book Medieval 12th - 14th Centuries
• The Living History Tune Book volume 2 Medieval 12th - 15th Centuries

Ocarina ensemble / ocarina septet music

Emiliano Bernagozzi, an italian ocarina player, has published a number of arrangements for ocarina Ensemble, available from:

https://​www.​sheetmusicplus.​com/​search?​Ntt=​Emiliano+​Bernagozzi