Sweet Little Ocarina!

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 10:42 am

I have played various ocarinas over the years and they are fun little instruments. I have trouble sometimes getting over their "novelty" because there is only one octave (and sometimes a couple of notes more than that, depending on how many holes there are), but the little ones are great for party tricks. Still, most of the ones I have encountered don't have a particularly pure tone (and I like a pure tone). My dad has an antique aluminum pendant ocarina that looks really cute but sounds kind of airy and thin. Well, I was browsing eBay and I saw this auction:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... gory=47102

I was about to click on Buy-it-Now for $35 (with a lower starting bid), but when I read that the seller casts them himself, I thought I'd write to him and see if he makes them in silver, too. Well, YAY, he does! He and his wife were both speedy in their responses and for $100 (PayPal) including shipping, I got this little gem. It's about two and a half ounces of sterling silver, not particularly lightweight for a pendant, but that's ok. What really strikes me about it is its simply beautiful tone. It's pure and sweet (without being too loud or annoying) and very musical. For those who don't mind the smell of brass, I highly recommend the one in the auction. And for those who do, the little silver one is a lovely thing. It's the smallest ocarina I've seen. The one I got happens to play in C#, the second octave of a soprano whistle (though, as I mentioned, sweetly), and it is in tune with itself AND reality (though the maker only guarantees that it will be in tune with ITSELF). It's a fun little 4-hole ocarina and, as if you couldn't tell, I recommend it heartily.

BillChin · Post by **BillChin** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 11:02 am

Around 1990, I was in Seattle's Pike's Place Marketplace. There was a stall selling a variety of musical instruments. The first one I picked up was a flute and the vendor immediately knew I had no clue, so she kindly suggested an ocarina. I bought a little clay one with a fish painted on it. I eventually wanted more and I saw Bill Och's starter set with a Clarke original in a bookstore. Though, I rarely play the ocarina anymore, I still have a foundness for it.

Your custom-made silver one sounds way cool. Enjoy.
+ Bill

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 11:46 am

My dad always had ocarinas around the house while I was growing up. I was about 8 when I got him to give them (antique black-and-gold-glazed sweet potato ocs) to me. I have long since given them back to him (well, they're in my parents' house, anyway...I still play them sometimes when I visit). So anyway, they have a warm spot for me too.

Ok, now I can play Amazing Grace, Down by the Sally Gardens, Streets of Laredo, Last of the Great Whales (got this from a Solas album), and a few other little tunes on this. Fun stuff.

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 12:34 pm

It's gone from eBay! Someone must have bought it.

Bloomfield · Post by **Bloomfield** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 12:37 pm

How many glaubers are there, I wonder?

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 12:43 pm

Lots. We come in sixpacks now.

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 12:49 pm

Enjoy it, Glauber.

Since the guy makes these himself, anyone can order one directly from him.

trisha · Post by **trisha** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 1:51 pm

Jessie..clever you. I saw these and never thought to ask about silver. However, I have a Langley Mini Ocarina (they do a great range including duet with two chambers of four holes and all the way down to great bass) in off white biskware with a very attractive overlay of dusky blue and pink leaf pattern.

A bit like this one:

But you can get more macho colours from Elderly in the US!!

Way cool as my children would say, and it plays a treat - 6 holes too and the same size as the hippy chappy's.

Trisha

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 9:00 pm

Oooh! Cool discovery!! When Dan came home tonight, I played a few little tunes on the ocarina for him and he loved the sound. He asked if I could get one in E (to record an ocarina part on a song he wrote) and how quickly? I said I didn't know how quickly or IF I could get one that would sound as good (because it would probably be made of clay and by another maker), but then I thought of something. The smaller the volume of the inner chamber, the higher the tone it produces, and since it's only one octave, the rest of the notes are determined by the holes. So, the solution: water!! I poured a little bit of water into one of the holes (this works only in a 4-hole ocarina, as a 6-hole ocarina has two holes on the bottom) and, like magic, it played in D. I poured in some more, and it was in G! So, I took a paper towel and took out little bits at a time until it was a perfect E scale. We worked out a lovely part and will record it on Sunday (I'll repeat the paper towel trial-and-error process). How cool!!

trisha · Post by **trisha** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 3:37 am

And even cooler if you forget to tip the water out before you put it around your neck again

. Same theory as the row of water filled bottles I suppose.

Trisha

Kevin L. Rietmann · Post by **Kevin L. Rietmann** » Fri Mar 05, 2004 3:16 am

Hemholtz resonators...

Haven't played one of those since I was a wee sprite.

GaryKelly · Post by **GaryKelly** » Fri Mar 05, 2004 3:56 am

Y'know, for a moment there Jessie, I thought you were sharing with us a lovely and charming term of endearment that your hubby had come up with for you!

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Fri Mar 05, 2004 7:09 am

Kevin L. Rietmann wrote:Hemholtz resonators...

Regulators?

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 8:29 pm

Hey, it is a nice little 'rina. The smallest and highest pitched i have, and the only one in metal. Nicely tuned, and also very flexible in tuning (probably because it's so small). Kind of like a wild horse, has to be played carefully to stay in tune. Nice sound!

g

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Tue Mar 09, 2004 9:31 am

I find it easier to play in tune than any other ocarina I have played. It's funny, though...when I do that thing with water, I have to hold it at a consistent level or the bell pitch fluctuates. We had a successful recording session with it on Sunday. A fun little instrument!!