 A mono-chamber 12-hole ocarina | |
| Classification | Wind,woodwind,aerophone |
|---|---|
| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 421.221.42 (Vessel flute with duct and fingerholes) |
| Related instruments | |
| Xun,slide whistle,tin whistle,molinukai | |
| Sound sample | |
 AnE major (in concert pitch) scale, followed by a rendition ofFrère Jacques. This is a home-made six-hole English pendant ocarina. Problems playing this file? Seemedia help. | |
Theocarina (otherwise known as a potato flute) is awindmusical instrument; it is a type ofvessel flute.[1] Variations exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and amouthpiece that projects from the body. It is traditionally made from clay orceramic, but other materials are also used, such as plastic, wood, glass, metal, or bone. The Italian Ocarina was invented in 1853 by 17-year-old Giuseppe Donati, who also gave it the name ocarina. Donati handmade each ocarina from clay, with anything from 7 to 10 finger-holes and a spout for a mouthpiece.
The ocarina belongs to a very old family of instruments, believed to date back over 12,000 years.[2] Ocarina-type instruments have been of particular importance inChinese andMesoamerican cultures. For the Chinese, the instrument played an important role in their long history of song and dance. The ocarina has features similar to thexun (塤), another important Chinese instrument (but is different in that the ocarina uses an internal duct, whereas thexun is blown across the outer edge).[3] In Korea, thexun is known as the hun (Korean: 훈;Hanja: 壎). In Japan, thexun is known as thetsuchibue (土笛;lit. 'earthen flute'). Different expeditions to Mesoamerica, including the one conducted byCortés, resulted in the introduction of the ocarina to the courts of Europe. Both theMaya andAztecs produced versions of the ocarina, but it was the Aztecs who brought to Europe the song and dance that accompanied the ocarina. The ocarina went on to become popular in European communities as a toy instrument.[1]
One of the oldest ocarinas found in Europe is fromRunik,Kosovo. TheRunik ocarina is aNeolithic flute-like wind instrument, and is the earliest musical instrument ever reported in Kosovo.[4]The modern European ocarina dates back to the 19th century, whenGiuseppe Donati fromBudrio, a town nearBologna, Italy, transformed the ocarina from a toy, which played only a few notes, into a more comprehensive instrument (known as the first "classical" ocarina). The wordocarina derives fromucaréṅna, which in theBolognese dialect means "little goose". An earlier similar instrument was known in Europe as agemshorn, which was made from animalhorns of thechamois (Dutch:gems).[5]
In 1964, John Taylor, an English mathematician, developed a fingering system that allowed an ocarina to play a full chromatic octave using only four holes.[1] This is now known as the English fingering system, and is used extensively for pendant ocarinas. It is also used in several multi-chamber ocarinas, especially in ones that are designed to play more than one note at a time.
The ocarina is featured in the 1998Nintendo 64 gameThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, as well as its 2000 sequel,The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, which has been credited for increasing the popularity and sales of ocarinas due to the game's strong sales.[6]
French composer Pierre Arvay (1924–1980) wrote several pieces of library music for the ocarina. One of these –Merry ocarina – became well known in the UK when it was used as a regular musical segment in the BBC children's programmeVision On, broadcast between 1964 and 1976.[7]
Hungarian-Austrian composerGyörgy Ligeti (1923–2006) called for four ocarinas (to be performed by woodwind players who play their own instruments during the rest of the piece) in hisViolin Concerto, completed in 1993. In 1974, the Polish composerKrzysztof Penderecki (1933–2020) incorporated 12 ocarinas in his compositionThe Dream of Jacob. Later, he incorporated 50 in the final section of hisSymphony No. 8, completed in 2008, where they are meant to be played by members of the choir.
There are many different styles of ocarinas varying in shape and the number of holes:
How an ocarina works:
The airstream is directed toward the labium by afipple or internal duct, which is a narrowing rectangular slot in the mouthpiece, rather than relying on the player's lips to aim the airstream as in atransverse flute. Like other flutes, the airstream alternates quickly between the inner and outer face of the labium as the pressure in the ocarina chamber oscillates.
At first, the sound is a broad-spectrum "noise" (i.e. "chiff"), but those frequencies that are identical with the fundamental frequency of the resonating chamber (which depends on the fingering), are selectively amplified. AHelmholtz resonating chamber is unusually selective in amplifying a single frequency. Most resonators also amplify moreovertones.[11] As a result, ocarinas and othervessel flutes have a distinctive overtoneless sound.
Unlike many flutes, ocarinas do not rely on pipe length to produce a particular tone. Instead, the tone is dependent on the ratio of the total surface area of opened holes to the total cubic volume enclosed by the instrument.[12] This means that, unlike atransverse flute orrecorder, sound is created by resonance of the entire cavity and the placement of the holes on an ocarina is largely irrelevant – their size is the most important factor. Instruments that have toneholes close to the voicing/embouchure should be avoided, however; as an ocarina is aHelmholtz resonator, this weakens tonal production.
Theresonator in the ocarina can createovertones, but because of the common "egg" shape, these overtones are many octaves above the keynote scale.[11] In similarHelmholtz resonator instruments with a narrow cone shape, like theGemshorn orTonette, some partial overtones are available. The technique ofoverblowing to get a range of higher-pitched notes is possible with the ocarina but not widely used because the resulting note is not "clean" enough, so the range of pitches available is limited by the total area of the holes.
Some ocarina makers bypass these physical limitations by creating ocarinas that have two or three resonating chambers, each with their own windway andlabium. There are two main systems that dictate how these additional chambers are tuned: the Asian system and the Pacchioni system. The Asian system maximizes range by beginning each chamber one semitone higher than the highest note of the previous chamber. The Pacchioni system instead focuses on smoothing the transition between chambers by overlapping their ranges slightly, thereby making it easier to play melodies that fall in that range.[13]
Ocarina music is written in three main ways. The most apparent is the use of sheet music. There are archives ofsheet music either specifically written for ocarinas, or adapted from piano sheet music. Since some ocarinas are fullychromatic and can be played inprofessional musical situations, includingclassical andfolk, sheet music is an ideal notation for ocarinas.
Second is the use of numerical tablature, which expresses the musical notes as numbers. Some makers have developed their own system of numericaltablature for their ocarinas, while others follow a more universal system where numbers correspond to different notes on the scale. This method is typically used by beginners who have not learned to read sheet music.
A third method uses a pictorial tablature similar to the ocarina's finger hole pattern, with blackened holes that represent holes to cover. The tablature represents the holes on the top of the ocarina, and, where necessary, the holes on the underside. This enables easy playing, particularly for beginners. The two most popular tablature systems are:
Depending on the artist, some may write a number or figure over the picture to depict how many beats to hold the note.[14]
Due to its lack of keys, the ocarina shares many articulations with thetin whistle, such as cuts, strikes, rolls, and slides.[15] However, tonguing is used more often on ocarina than on tin whistle, and vibrato is always achieved through adjusting breath pressure instead of with the fingers.[16]
Othervessel flutes include the Chinesexun and African globe flutes. The xun (simplified Chinese: 埙; traditional: 塤; pinyin: xūn) is a Chinese vessel flute made of clay or ceramic. It is one of the oldest Chinese instruments. Shaped like an egg, it differs from the ocarina in being side-blown, like theWestern concert flute, rather than having arecorder-like mouthpiece (afipple or beak). Similar instruments exist in Korea (thehun) and Japan (thetsuchibue).[17]
A related family of instruments is the closed-pipe family, which includes thepanpipes and other instruments that produce their tone by vibrating a column of air within a stoppedcylinder.[citation needed]
The old fashionedjug bandjug also has similar properties.[citation needed]
The traditional Germangemshorn works nearly the same way as an ocarina. The only difference is the material it is made from: the horn of achamois,goat, or other suitable animal.[17]
Theborrindo is a simple hollow clay ball with three to four fingering holes, one hole slightly larger than the other three, which are smaller and of equal size to one another.[vague] The holes are arranged in anisosceles triangular form. The borrindo is made out of soft alluvial clay available in plenty everywhere in the centralIndus Valley. Being of the simplest design, it is made even by children. Some adults make fine borrindos of larger size, put pottery designs on them, and bake them. These baked borrindos, with pottery designs, are the later evolved forms of this musical instrument, which appears to have previously been used in its simple unbaked form for a long time.[citation needed] The sound notes are produced by blowing somewhat horizontally into the larger hole. Finger tips are placed on smaller holes to regulate the notes. Its ease of play makes it popular among children and the youth.[citation needed]
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