Materials, finish differences and ocarina care

Materials and finishes affect more than just the appearance of an ocarina, but also affect things like the susceptibility to moisture accumulation and how the ocarina feels in the hands.

Materials

The main things that material impacts on are the durability, the appearance of the ocarina, and it's susceptibility to moisture accumulation. Material doesn't impact on the sound of an ocarina anywhere near as much as it does in instruments such as the Guitar because it is just containing the vibrating air.

Material has a small impact because many materials, if viewed at a small enough scale, are sponge-like. This can act to damp oscillations within an ocarina, and ocarinas made from non-porous vitrified ceramic do sound different from more common earthenware ocarinas.

Ceramic

Ceramic ocarinas are probably the most widely available, and most of these are made from earthenware, a type of low-temperature ceramic that remains porous. Vitrified (non-porous) stoneware and porcelain ocarinas exist but are uncommon, and hard to make due to high shrinkage.

Earthenware ocarinas never suffer from condensation or moisture build up as condensation soaks into the porosity of the material. These ceramic ocarinas can be played for hours without any issue, and absorbed moisture then evaporates once you have finished playing.

Ceramic ocarinas are fragile, of course, and require due care. They are durable and won't break from day to day playing or being knocked about a bit, but obviously, they will break if you drop them. Given practical considerations, I've never found this to be a problem myself.

Plastic

Plastic ocarinas may be a good place to start and there are some good quality ones available that are inexpensive. They are very durable and can survive being dropped.

The big disadvantage with plastic ocarinas is condensation. Moisture from your breath will build up inside the instrument, including inside the windway, and can cause tone quality to degrade over a long playing session.

The range of them available is also extremely limited in comparison to ceramic.

Wood

High quality wooden transverse ocarinas are rare, expensive, and only made by a few Asian makers at the time of writing, as far as I'm aware. They don't have any real advantage over ceramic or plastic, and wood is difficult to form into the complex ergonomic shape required by a good ocarina.

Finish and playing feel

Ocarinas are commonly available with several finishes including fired glazes, natural shellac, and plain ceramic. Synthetic finishes including lacquers and epoxy are also becoming more common. Of these:

• Fired glazes and synthetic finishes are the most durable.
• Shellac is a middle ground, it is pretty soft, but has other ergonomic advantages.
• Plain earthenware naturally discolours over time as it absorbs skin oils into its pores.

As was noted in Ocarina ergonomics, the finish impacts how an ocarina feels to play, and mirror-smooth finishes are not ideal ergonomically.

Standard ocarina playing technique requires sliding fingers over the surface, and gloss finishes make this difficult to do smoothly. Any finger moisture gets trapped between the finger and the surface, and causes fingers to cling similar to how a glass can stick to a table.

Having a microscopic surface texture greatly reduces this problem:

• Textured 'matte' glazes generally feel better than gloss ones, and shellac feels similar.
• Unsealed, plain ceramic does not feel clingy at all due to being porous. It absorbs any moisture on the fingers, keeping them dry.

It is possible to work around the clinging issue of smooth finishes by applying a small amount of talc or chalk dust to your fingers.

Cleaning ocarinas

Ceramic ocarinas should be cleaned by wiping them over with water on a lint-free cloth. Never use alcohol-based cleaners on shellac finished ocarinas as they will damage the finish.

Do not clean ceramic ocarinas using scented cleaning products or anything with a strong chemical smell. Earthenware is porous and will absorb the cleaner, which will gradually seep out over time, leaving a lingering smell that can only be removed by re-firing.

Plain finished ocarinas will discolour over time as they absorb skin moisture and oils. This can only be removed by re-firing. 600 to 800 °C (1112 to 1472 °F) is adequate and won't affect the tuning.

If re-firing a glazed ocarina, to remove a chemical smell, for instance, it is advisable to stilt the ocarina so that the glaze isn't in contact with the kiln shelf. Should the glaze melt during this process, and it was touching, it would stick to the shelf. Stilting can usually be done using firing rods through the finger holes.

Re-firing a shellac-finished ocarina will remove the finish. I have no idea what this would do to a synthetic finish, but I suspect it would also remove it.

Cleaning the windway

You may occasionally want to clean the windway, which can be done by folding a strip of paper and pushing it through. Note that windways are usually much larger at the entrance than exit, so if the paper gets stuck don't force it, just remove some layers.

Another option is to use of feathers, which may be less likely to leave stuff behind in the windway than paper, but treat them as single-use and try to get clean white ones.

Cleaning the inside of an ocarina

Under normal playing, there isn't any need to clean the inside of an ocarina because if they are allowed to dry after playing, the chamber will stay clean.

Washing out ceramic or plastic ocarinas under the tap should not cause any problems as long as you leave the instrument out in the open air for several days so it can dry fully. Do not use any scented cleaning products or soap for the reasons mentioned before.

Note that washing out a wooden ocarina is ill-advised because exposing wood to excessive moisture may cause it to crack.

I do not advise putting any ocarina in a dishwasher as it may damage the instrument. Thermal shock can cause the material or glazes to crack. Plastic ocarinas may melt or deform, depending on the plastic used.

Storing and transporting ocarinas

Many people are afraid of breaking ocarinas when they first start playing them. Ceramic ocarinas are actually a lot more robust than you may think. They will break if dropped on a hard surface, but they are not going to break from a minor bump. The risk of breakage can be greatly reduced if you do a risk analysis in your head:

• How valuable is the ocarina to you? Is it replaceable?
• If you leave an ocarina sitting on a table, how long will it be there?
• Is a baby or a dog going to grab a neck cord and pull the ocarina onto the floor?

Purpose-made padded ocarina cases do exist, in both fabric and hard shell designs, but can be difficult to source at this time. Many players sew their own with padding between fabric, and they are also easy to improvise from zipped or snap-close hard cases designed for various small objects, such as eyeglasses, toiletries or game consoles. Do not trust thin soft cases to protect ocarinas from drops, though.

Padding can also be easily improvised from things like towels cut to size, thick socks, or even an oven glove with some kind of closure added. Rubber, such as a swim cap, is excellent at absorbing shocks. Your padding can be held in place by friction, or rubber bands. Think about the worst-case impact if you drop it and your outer case doesn't hold shut.

Take care if you wear an ocarina on a neck cord as they are not as secure as you may think. An ocarina swinging around your neck can bump into things and break. A heavy ocarina dropped on a neck cord may break the cord, or the cord may break the ceramic. In any case, it's going to hurt.

Many beginners use neck cords to feel more secure in their playing, but this is unnecessary. There is no reason a well-designed ocarina should feel unstable in the hand. If an ocarina does the instrument or your technique is at fault.

After playing

There isn't anything special that you need to do after playing, although you may wish to leave ceramic ocarinas out so that absorbed moisture can evaporate.

Don't leave ceramic ocarinas lying around where they can be knocked off, don't leave neck chords dangling where they could get snagged on something, pulled by a child etc.