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Getting started playing ocarina with sheet music

How to play ocarina with sheet music

Sight reading sheet music on the ocarina

Learning to play complex sheet music on the ocarina as a beginner

Reading sheet music with a key signature

Reading rhythms: forget counting

Identifying ocarina friendly sheet music

Transposing sheet music to fit the ocarina

Playing sheet music by pattern recognition

The cover of the book Serious Ocarina Player by Robert Hickman, showing two ocarinas
All articles are also available in one book

Serious Ocarina Player will help you to progress your ocarina playing beyond the basics. It details things which affect the sound of an ocarina, what the instrument is capable of, and what to expect from the instrument, all in one place.

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Ocarina basics

  • What is an ocarina?
  • What are ocarinas capable of?
  • The types of ocarina
  • What type of ocarina should I learn?

The design of transverse ocarinas

  • Ocarina anatomy
  • How ocarinas work
  • How to identify ergonomic ocarinas
  • The ocarina's fingering system
  • Breath curves and tuning
  • Tuning and ambient temperature

Choosing an ocarina

  • Evaluating the quality of transverse ocarinas
  • Keys and pitch ranges
  • Playing characteristics and timbre
  • Recognising badly tuned ocarinas
  • Materials, finish differences and ocarina care
  • Choosing your first ocarina

An introduction to music

  • The components of melody
  • Understanding rhythm
  • Octaves and scale formation
  • The logic of sheet music
  • Harmony for ocarina players
  • The relationship between melody and chords

Playing your first music on the ocarina

  • Fundamentals of playing the ocarina
  • Learning the fingerings
  • Playing your first music on the ocarina
  • Figures, phrases and motifs
  • Where to breathe
  • Controlling your finger movements
  • Different ways of notating music for ocarina

Holding, blowing and playing in tune

  • How to hold an ocarina
  • Playing the high notes
  • Blowing an ocarina correctly
  • Intonation (playing in tune)
  • Dealing with warm or cold environments
  • Getting a good sound on the high notes

Effective practice

  • Practising effectively
  • The value of mentours
  • Practising rhythms
  • Scales, intervals and arpeggios
  • Developing your playing tempo
  • Recording for practice

Getting started playing ocarina with sheet music

  • How to play ocarina with sheet music
  • Sight reading sheet music on the ocarina
  • Learning to play complex sheet music on the ocarina as a beginner
  • Reading sheet music with a key signature
  • Reading rhythms: forget counting
  • Identifying playable sheet music
  • Transposing sheet music to fit the ocarina
  • Playing sheet music by pattern recognition

Getting started playing ocarina by ear

  • How to play the ocarina by ear
  • Finding notes and playing longer melodies
  • Recognising melodic patterns
  • Learning to identify melodic intervals by ear
  • The basics of improvisation on the ocarina

Music and the ocarina

  • Music for the ocarina
  • Choosing an ocarina to fit the range of a song
  • Playing ocarinas in different keys
  • Modifying music to fit the ocarina

Making your music sound musical

  • Articulating notes on the ocarina
  • Playing cuts and strikes on the ocarina
  • Ornamentation
  • Ornamentation: rolls, cranns, and strike cranns
  • Articulation and ornamentation applied
  • Notating fingered articulations (cuts and strikes)

Playing multichamber ocarinas

  • Multichamber ocarinas & tunings
  • Multichamber fingerings
  • Holding a multichamber ocarina
  • Blowing a multichamber ocarina
  • Chamber switching on multichamber ocarinas

Frequently asked questions

  • Is the ocarina easy to play?
  • Is the ocarina a good instrument for young children?
  • What is the differance between a 12 hole and 10 hole ocarina?
  • How do I play vibrato on ocarina?
  • Why do I get hand pain from playing the ocarina?
  • Why do I get a lot of moisture in my ocarina?
  • Why does my ocarina have airy high notes?
  • Why does my ocarina sound airy in recordings?
  • Why does my ocarina screech on its high notes?
  • Why does my ocarina sound out of tune?
  • Why are my ocarina's high notes flat?
  • How do I mute an ocarina?
  • How do I switch chambers smoothly?

Appendices

  • Want to play well? Stop using ocarina tabs!
  • Cons of the ocarina as a first instrument
  • How to teach the ocarina to children
  • How to become a great ocarina player
  • Seven common ocarina mistakes to avoid
  • Fourteen tips for practising the ocarina effectively
  • How to record an ocarina
  • Composing for the ocarina
  • Challenges in marketing the ocarina
  • A case for electronic ocarinas

Exercises

  • Finding interest in technical exercises
  • Beginner sheet music sight reading exercices for ocarina
  • Basic scales for single chamber ocarinas
  • Diatonic intervals for ocarina
  • Pentatonic scales for the ocarina

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