Ocarinas

To start things off, I thought I'd show you an instrument you may not have heard of before.

The picture you see on the left is my collection of ocarinas, small ceramic flutes with a hauntingly rich sound. Perhaps you've heard of them from Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time? If so, you might be surprised to know that the game didn't invent the instrument; ocarinas have been around for thousands of years. The transverse (or 'sweet potato') ocarina, which is the style seen here and in Zelda, was invented in the 1800s by a man from Italy named Giuseppe Donati.

Ocarinas come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and tunings. The blue and the black ones I have are both alto Cs (meaning that they have an alto range and are tuned to the key of C), and the smaller red and white one on the right is a soprano F. Each has a range of about an octave and a half.

It's funny how many people consider the ocarina to be a simple toy rather than a musical instrument. Often times, people who own ocarinas are accused of being 'Zelda nerds,' even if their motives for buying an ocarina did not include Zelda. I assume that this all is a result of the misconception that Nintendo invented ocarinas. If only they knew how popular ocarinas are in Asia... They even teach young children the ocarina in some schools there!

The ocarina is a very appealing instrument for me because it is such a convenient instrument to play. They require extremely little maintenance, are easy to play, and are very portable (I can carry the soprano around in my pocket). They are fun to play, and they really sound good, better than a recorder in my opinion.

To wrap up this entry, I'll show you some videos of the ocarina. The first one is a video of my own, in which I play the Russian folksong Katyusha. Not too good, but enjoy it anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmEJdVxhgfM

It just wouldn't be right to leave it at that, though. I've got to show you some good playing, too! The ocarinist in this video is Osawa Satoshi, a professional. He plays Monti's Czardas, using several ocarinas, including a triple ocarina (which has 3 seperate chambers and airways). A brilliant performance; enjoy this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wilmHR3DiQo