The ocarina is one of the most ancient musical instruments in the world. Ocarinas generally have a mellower tone than a recorder and are easily accessible for beginners. Saint Louis Ocarina (STL) makes an affordable six hole ocarina for beginners (PL4, pictured on the left, click on the image to follow the link) that has consistent quality and a pleasant sound.
The most common approach to learning ocarina is by reading tablature. Tablature basically consists of pictures of the instrument with the holes colored in indicating when and which fingers should cover the hole. Tablature is NOT inferior to learning to read staff notation. Most musicians throughout the world, in fact, read tablature and/or play by ear. |
Play AlongThese videos were created so that beginners can play along with an accompaniment while following the tablature (like Rock Band).
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Teaching MethodsIt is not difficult to teach children to play the ocarina from tablature. Here or some basic and practical ideas.
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PerformancesThe ocarina really is a serious instrument, played by folk, popular, and classical musicians. Check out these examples.
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