The Ocarina is a somewhat obscure woodwind instrument, pronounced awk-uh-reen-uh. It is a wind instrument derived from ancient flutes. While there are several different variations of the ocarina concept, the typical ocarina is an oval-shaped instrument with between four and twelve finger holes and a tubular mouth piece that projects out away from the body. The ocarina is often ceramic in nature, although other materials are also capable of being used including glass, plastic, metal and wood for example.

The Ocarina makes up an old family of musical instruments that is believed to date back as far as 15,000 years ago. Instruments similar to the Ocarina have been found to be of particular importance in Chinese cultures and Mesoamerican cultures as well. The instrument played a vital role in the long history of dance and song in China. The Ocarina is similar in features to the Xun, which is another instrument of Chinese origin with plenty of importance to the culture's history.

Numerous expeditions to Mesoamerica resulted in the eventual introduction of the Ocarina to Europe. There were versions of the ocarina produced both by the Mayans and the Aztecs as well, but the Aztecs were the people that brought the Ocarina's song and dance to Europe. The ocarina went on to find popularity in many European communities, especially as a toy musical instrument.

There are a number of different styles of ocarina instruments and they vary based on their shape, their design and their number of holes.

Transverse Ocarina - This is the sweet potato ocarina. This is the best known of all styles of ocarina and it has a rounded shape that is held horizontally with both hands. Depending on the chosen number of holes, only one additional hole needs to be opened than the previous in order for the pitch to climb. The two most common types of transverse ocarinas are the 10 hole ocarina and the 12 hole ocarina.

Pendant Ocarina - These ocarina instruments tend to be quite small and very portable in nature, and there are two different kinds that exist. The English Pendant ocarina uses a 4 to 6 hole English system for fingering, and the Peruvian Pendant ocarina uses a Peruvian 8 to 10 hole fingering system. Of the two, the English pendants are the more common type of ocarina.

Multi Chambered Ocarina - Multi chambered types of ocarinas are better known as triple and double ocarinas, and there are three broad categories of ocarina instruments that these types fit into. These ocarinas will overcome the disadvantage that many instruments have in that their range of notes is severely limited. Transverse double ocarinas can play two octaves plus two notes, and triple Transverse ocarinas play within a 2 octaves plus seven notes range, for example.

Photo Credits: whiteoakart

Originally posted 2009-08-06 05:28:44. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Acoustic Musical Instruments, Instrument History, Ocarina

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aztecs, chinese cultures, chinese origin, different styles, european communities, expeditions, finger holes, history of dance, hole ocarina, mayans, mesoamerican cultures, mouth piece, musical instrument, Ocarina, ocarinas, s song, song and dance, sweet potato ocarina, wind instrument, woodwind instrument, xun