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If your ocarina starts sounding bad, do this immediately

Crud 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!
Is That Crud In Your Windway?

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
Were Supposed To Be Carefree!

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.

While peering within your own soul to see if you could be an unwitting accessory to obstruction of windway, don't forget to glance downward as well. In other words, is there a toddler on the loose in your home? Never underestimate his powers! In half the time it takes you to pour a cup of coffee, your little Mister can coat an ocarina inside and out with enough apple juice and liquefied cracker residue to taint the tidiest of windways.

Don't Feel Bad.
It Could Happen To Anyone.

A practitioner of tough love might point out that you have simply stood by with arms folded   —doing absolutely nothing at all to stop it— while crud was slowly, relentlessly adhering to the surfaces of your windway. I, however, would never use guilt as a motivator. It just wouldn't occur to me to rub your nose in your own woefully irresponsible behavior. That's just not my style.

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
To Have A Clear Windway?

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
How To Polish Your Windway

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
The Same Ocarina?

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
With My Commando Survival Knife?

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


  Listen...
 The Black Nag
 Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye
 Cumberland Crew (w/accompaniment)
 Lovely Joan
 Bridget Cruise (w/accompaniment)
 Shady Grove
 Mist Covered Mountains (w/accompaniment)
 A Bunch of Thyme
 An Boithrin Bui
 Barbara Allen
 Brochan Lom
 By the Rising of the Moon
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