Highland bagpipe ocarina

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Technical Information

Playing range: F#5 to C7

Good for:Highland pipe tunes

Finish Options

Description

This hand made ocarina is ideal for playing highland bagpipe tunes, with a scale designed to emulate it.

The highland bagpipe is unusual, having an 9 note range best considered as a 8 note A mixolydian scale with an extension G below the tonic.

This ocarina simulates that by tuning the low C up to a C sharp without need for cross fingering.

Note that due to the larger right middle finger hole the sub hole has been moved to the left hand. The subhole note, as well as the high C are tuned normally.

Hand made in the UK

Pure Ocarinas are hand made in the United Kingdom by Robert Hickman. Robert has been making ocarinas since 2011 and being both a player and maker gives him a unique perspective, influencing the design of his instruments.

Improved Ergonomics

Pure Ocarinas were designed from the start as concert quality musical instruments, and great ergonomics is a key focus. They are carefully balanced to sit comfortably in the hand, with ergonomically placed and angled finger holes.

All Pure Ocarinas have a functional tail and cappello that make it easier to hold the ocarina on the high notes. These support points can be used in combination with the 3 point grip, a technique that keeps the right hand fingers close to their finger holes when playing the high notes. Using these support points allows large leaps to be played easily.

The physical weight of the ocarina has also been reduced, as it is easier to support a lighter instrument.

Learn more about ergonomics --->

11 holes – better tuning and no acute bend needed

Pure Ocarinas deliberately dispense with the second sub-hole found in Asian 12 hole ocarinas. Eliminating this hole allows the instrument to play with a shallow breath curve and balanced timbre across the entire range. Having a shallow and predictable breath curve makes it easier for you to play complex music with good intonation. Eliminating this hole also allows the ocarina to have strong clear high notes with no need for the acute bend, further improving the ergonomics.

Tuning

The tuning of Pure Ocarinas are individually adjusted by hand to ensure an even breath curve over the entire playing range. All glaze is cleaned out of the holes before firing as stray glaze would mess up the tuning.

These ocarinas are tuned to play in a440 concert pitch at 20 degrees centigrade, with a shallow breath curve that is consistent over the instrument's entire range.

How the different finishes feel

It is important to note that different finishes feel different to play. I can summarise as follows:

  • Glazes. Fired glazes are easy to clean and durable, but trap a layer of moisture between the skin and glaze. This gives the ocarina a 'sticky' or clingy' feel and make smooth finger sliding difficult.
  • Shellac. Natural shellac has been used to finish ocarinas for hundreds of years. It has a better feel than fired glazes, and feels much less sticky under the fingers.
  • Plain. The plain surface of the ceramic. A plain finish is advantageous if you tend to have damp fingers as earthenware is porous. It will absorb finger moisture and keep your fingers dry, resulting in a more consistent feel. Though it does stain over time and can only be cleaned by re-firing to burn it out.

Sliding movements on glazed and shellac ocarinas can be made significantly easier by covering your fingers with talk or chalk dust. This serves to absorb any moisture present and prevents the gripping surface of the skin touching the instrument.

I personally prefer plain finished ocarinas as they have the best feel to me. The staining does not bother me as they age to a slightly yellowed appearance similar to old bone, a likeness frequently cited by people who have seen my instruments.

Reviews

Item Rating: 5 of 5

A masterfully crafted instrument

I ordered this ocarina in March after I talked to Robert about my love for traditional music and my experience playing the ocarina and the tin whistle. The ocarina took longer to arrive than I anticipated, but I knew that the instrument would take awhile to come since it was made to order and that the delays Robert faced in making it were of no fault of his own. Nevertheless, the ocarina was definitely worth waiting for.

One of the most impressive things Robert's ocarinas is that all of the features that make them aesthetically beautiful make them ergonomic. Every ramp, ridge, and curve on the ocarina aids the player in holding the instrument, making high notes and fast playing easy to handle without any worry of accidental drops. The plain finish, which I ordered, enhances the ergonomics further, as its rough and porous surface prevents the players hands from sticking to the ocarina and thus makes sliding movements easy to accomplish.

Fingering the neutral scale is comfortable, and the split hole and subhole feel natural to use. I ordered mine with Italian fingering, which is a perfectly reasonable request if one has hands sufficiently large to cover the larger pinky hole necessary, and I like it for this particular ocarina since it puts the high B in a position more convenient to play for tunes in the keys of A and D that require it. All accidentals including low C natural are available via cross fingering, so the player is not limited to the repertoire of the Highland bagpipe. That said, Highland bagpipe music sounds absolutely beautiful on this instrument and is intuitive to play.

Of course, tuning and tone are the most important things when it comes to any musical instrument, and this ocarina excels in both. The tone from low F# to high F# is sweet and ever so slightly earthy, and the highest notes are pure but with a certain breathy feel that keeps them from being overly penetrating. The breath requirement was higher than I anticipated, but the volume is more than adequate and the breath curve is nearly flat. The ocarina's tone and playing characteristics suit the Highland bagpipe repertoire perfectly. If you love bagpipe music and are a beginning or an accomplished ocarinist looking for a quality instrument made for playing your favourite bagpipe tunes, I cannot recommend this instrument enough.