The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #164861   Message #3949891
Posted By: Jack Campin
12-Sep-18 - 09:39 AM
Thread Name: Ocarina - Help please
Subject: RE: Ocarina - Help please
Such a small difference is irrelevant. Ocarinas are very breath-sensitive, you can blow it across a range of a minor third. A tiny reduction in breath pressure will get you A=440.

I have a Night by Noble myself. I never use it. The 12-hole design means that the lowest notes on the fingering chart (B flat and A) are too feeble to use in real music - they're a marketing gimmick. It's best if you cover the subhole for the right hand with tape - this means you're reducing the hole count to 11, but you'll get a usable low B natural and C by blowing a bit harder.

Practicing with a tuner (like ClearTune on a phone) will get you used to how hard to blow.

10-hole or 11-hole ocarinas are better, and they're what I use. I have lots of them in different pitches, and some multichamber ocarinas which are a different ballgame.

I have a webpage on the ocarina, focusing on the traditional Italian 10-hole: http://www.campin.me.uk/Music/Ocarina/