5 Best Ocarina for Beginners 2021: Brand Buying Guide

Ocarina is one of the most unique wind instruments. Invented years and years ago, the instrument still has its own fan base among the high-end modern ones, for its mystic sound. Ocarina is technically a type of vessel flute with four or more holes and a projection hole. 

The first mention of ocarina or a similar type of instrument was found in documents over 12,000 years ago, in China and America. The instruments were used by Mayans and the Aztecs as well. The modern-day ocarina can be made of different materials such as wood, bone, metal, glass, plastic, but the most common type is the one made of ceramic clay. 

The Different Types of Ocarina

Used during the Mayan civilization, ocarina has come a long way and naturally has gone through innumerable modifications to create many varieties of it. Ocarinas are classified either based on their shapes, sizes, or the number of holes on them.

Of all the ocarinas, the transverse one is the most common and is vividly used by musicians all across the world for its ergonomic design. Also known as the sweet potato ocarina, these usually have 10 or 12 holes on them, with an almost conical body which the musician holds to play.

Another common type of ocarina is the pendant style ocarinas. These are really small in size and usually have a lesser number of holes than the transverse ocarinas. The English Pendant ocarinas use the John Taylor way of fingering and usually have four to six holes. On the other hand, the Peruvian pendant ocarina dates back older, and often has an animal-like design, with eight to nine holes on them.

Except for these common ocarinas, there are complex ones such as the multi-chambered ocarinas, the inline ocarinas etc.

Also, like other wind instruments, the ocarinas can also be classified based on their pitches to alto, tenor, soprano, and bass ocarinas.  

Things to Consider When Buying an Ocarina

While buying an ocarina, the first thing to remember is the purpose of playing it. Based on the material, the pitch range, and its size, the instrument can create various different styles and moods of music. Having an idea about the type of music it will be used for is, thus, necessary.

As discussed earlier, ocarinas can be made of as many as six different materials. 

The most common materials nowadays to make ocarinas are either plastic, ceramic, or porcelain. These materials play a huge role in the tonal quality of the ocarina and also its price. 

The cheapest of these three is plastic ocarina. This type of ocarina is also very lightweight, hence the beginners may opt for it. However, these fail to produce professional-level sound. 

The porcelain ocarinas are considered the best, as they produce very clear and loud sounds. But, these ocarinas are a little too expensive.

Any wind instrument has limited scope for creating finger holes or keys. This also limits the pitch range of the instruments. The brightness of sound depends on the pitch of the instrument. The pitch is determined by the holes on the ocarina. Though the pitch range will be more with more holes, it will get more complex to play as well.

Since the body of the ocarina is a valve for air to pass, the size of the ocarina plays a huge role in the tonal quality of the instrument as well. The pitch varies with the size as well. 

People with bigger hands will feel more comfortable playing a bigger ocarina, and similarly, those with smaller hands will need smaller ocarinas. Also, lung capacity matters a lot while playing bigger ocarinas. So, one must keep in mind all these points and choose their instrument carefully.  

We now have a clearer idea about the types of different ocarinas to understand which type suits us better. Now, let us look at the five best ocarinas for beginners.