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Brief History of the OcarinaThe ocarina is a wind instrument, a type of flute which has existed since ancient times and is one of the oldest of instruments in existence today. The ocarina could be very simply described as a vessel (jar or container) with holes in it. You blow into one hole, and musical notes magically come out the other hole(s). As such the ocarina is sometimes referred to as a "vessel" or "chamber" flute. In technical terms it is sometimes called a "Helmholtz resonator" due to the way that it makes its sound. The ocarina is different from other open-ended flutes like the:
Some believe that versions of the ocarina date back over 10,000 years to ancient Asian and South American cultures. Many of the ancient ocarinas were made in decorative shapes including birds, turtles, and other animals. The use of the ocarina in Western culture is more recent, perhaps dating to the 19th century. The actual word "ocarina" is an Italian word that means "little goose" which most likely is in reference to the shape of ocarinas when the word was coined. ![]() You can see where "little goose" comes from... In Western ocarina tradition, the modern ocarina is generally attributed to Guiseppe Donati who made a 10-holed ceramic ocarina. Donati was a baker and a musician. Ocarinas come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They come with a varying number of holes. They are made out of a surprising variety of materials like:
![]() Ocarinas are very popular in a number of Asian countries. They have
had varied popularity in the United States in modern times. At times
they have been quite popular in the entertainment industry. Bing Crosby
even had a song "The Little Ocarina Song" in "The Road to Bali." In
more recent times the ocarina has gained attention as being an integral
part of one of the most popular video games of all time, "Zelda, The
Ocarina of Time." In the video game, when the main character Link plays
his ocarina, magical things happen.
Next lesson: How Ocarinas Work
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