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If your ocarina starts sounding bad, do this immediatelyCrud in your windway will make your ocarina sound bad. It will zap the beautiful voice from your ocarina. Crud contamination can happen rapidly... or slowly over time. Rapidly - you're having a delicious veggie grinder for lunch. You suddenly have a strong urge to play Danny Boy on your ocarina. You do. A small piece of that grinder winds up in your windway. Game over. Gradually - in any of a thousand ways, crud unnoticably builds up in your windway... gradually ... over the course of the month until... you've got enough crud there that your ocarina just doesn't sound as good as it used to. Game over. In this lesson we will review basic care for your ocarina's windway. Proper cleaning/polishing of your windway can fix your ocarina's sound... immediately. Essential Definitions ![]() Windway : the narrow passage that you blow into when you play your ocarina. Crud : a coating or incrustation of grime or refuse. Nurture Or Nagger? Some consider me to be a kind, supportive, nurturing person. I'm afraid that the seriousness of today's topic requires me to abandon nurturing in favor of nagging. I Say, Old Chap! Did you know that a clear, smooth windway is vital to good tone? Don't be so quick to nod your head in agreement. Some of you may have read this on the tips sheet included with your ocarina, but I still encounter an alarming number of neglected windways. In fact, I have even "fixed" a few older ocarinas over the phone merely by explaining basic windway maintenance. But...But I Thought Ocarinas You are right, of course. Ocarinas are delightfully carefree. However, their windways are not immune to a gradual build up of minute bits of junk, lint, and who-knows-what-else, especially if you habitually shove your unprotected ocarina into whatever lint-filled pocket happens to be handy. Don't Feel Bad. As far as I am concerned, recognizing that we have a problem is the first step toward positive change, so let's bypass all the shame and blame shifting, and try to lick this thing together. Okay? What Must I Do All you have to do to keep your ocarina in tip-top playing condition is to polish your windway every once in a while. This is actually much easier to do than it is to describe in words. Simply put, all you have to do is fold white paper and polish the windway with it. Below is a highly detailed description. A Detailed Account Of Step One : Rip white paper into strips that are about two inches (about 5 cm) wide. White card stock, which you can buy at your local office supply store, works great for this. Each two inch wide strip will yield several "windway polishers." Step Two: The two-inch-wide paper strips now have two long sides and two short sides. Starting at one of the short sides, make a quarter inch fold toward the opposite short side (perpendicular to the long side). Fold the paper upon itself a couple more times until the polisher is about the same thickness as the tightest section of the windway. Tear off the excess paper. Your windway polisher should now be about two inches (5 cm) long, a quarter inch (6.35 mm) wide or a bit wider, and thick enough so that there is a little friction when you push it through the tightest section of the windway. Of course, if you have made too many folds, the polisher won't pass through the windway at all. Step Three: Insert the polisher into the windway, i.e., the opening that you blow into when you play your ocarina. Repeatedly slide the polisher in and out of the windway, gently polishing the inner windway surfaces. In order to polish evenly, turn the polisher over and polish a bit more. Step Four: When you are done, be sure to blow any remaining paper fragments or dust out of the windway. If you cover the fipple window with a finger, you can blow forcefully through the windway without shattering that vase your relatives gave you. (Remove the finger only if the vase clashes too desperately with room decor.) What If All Fourteen Of Us Share If for any reason you need to disinfect your windway (please see reference to toddlers above), place a drop or two of isopropyl alcohol in the windway for several seconds. Then dry the windway with one polisher, and polish the windway with a second one. Be sure to remove all the alcohol from the windway before you play your ocarina. Why Can't I Clean It Because I said so, that's why! Also, folded paper gently polishes the windway without scratching it, changing precise dimensions, or damaging the fipple edge. In fact, such gentle polishing can subtly improve the quality of your windway over time. Conversely, you should NEVER stick anything else into your ocarina's windway that could scratch or damage it or the fipple edge. If you do, we will find out, and someone will be sent to deal with you. (All right, maybe I do practice a little tough love.) The Case For A Case I have a suggestion for those of you who routinely thrust your defenseless ocarina into hostile, lint-teeming, key-infested environments (a.k.a. pockets). Please buy or make a case that will protect your ocarina from abuse that could result in abrasions, contusions, and even shameful windway Lintosis. Help! I Can't Breathe. Choose a case that allows some air circulation so that your ocarina will dry out properly after use. Airtight plastic bags do not make good ocarina cases. These days, office supply stores often carry cell phone cases that fit your ocarina, look nice, and clip onto a belt. To both of you out there who actually polish your windway, I apologize for my stern tone. The rest of you will thank me some day for caring enough to speak the truth that others dared not utter. Next lesson: The best place to find music for your ocarina
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