Hey there! If you’re reading this article, chances are, you’re a Zelda fan. Chances are, but I know not all are. I’ve asked people in the Ocarina Network Facebook group how they first found out about the instrument, and heard stories from others who said they saw it in a Peruvian shop or were given one as a gift or souvenir as a child. As for me, I first heard and saw the instrument being featured in the Pokemon 2000 movie, and Lugia’s Song stayed in my mind since.
I’ve always been a fan of instruments and have dabbled in quite a few over the years, starting with the keyboard and recorder in elementary school, the clarinet in middle school, viola and bass drum (drum line) in high school, and then buying and trying out the harmonica, ocarina, violin, and bass drum after school. I was a late beginner at all of them simply because I didn’t practice any of them seriously or regularly. I took music all through school, but my classmates didn’t care, so we never went beyond beginner songs and felt insecure in calling myself a ‘musician’ since I couldn’t sight read or improvise.
This blog, Chromatic Dreamers, was created because I had a childhood band dream I wanted to bring to life, and I decided guitar would take me there. I not only practiced daily, but as I studied the fretboard and saw how similar chord shapes were, music theory started to click in my head. I’m a logical learner, so once music started to make sense to me on a deeper level, my progress improved greatly…however, guitar is still a very technical instrument. You could know exactly what you want or need to play, but not have the dexterity or speed to do so. Either way, I worked hard so I could learn some anime songs, found other rookie musicians to start a band with, and we got to perform at a couple conventions and the biggest Japanese festival in Canada. I started blogging in the midst of it, sharing resources and advise for other beginner musicians, but focusing more on anime songs and Japanese music theory since there weren’t many resources when I started.
After completing that dream, I was truly saved and started focused on my faith more seriously. While I wasn’t expecting to play music much moving forward, a couple churches really wanted me to serve them with my talent. I was able to continue playing guitar at the first which loved CCM (Contemporary Christian Music), but since the second church only played hymns and guitar felt out of place, I dusted off the ocarina I bought over a decade prior, learned to read sheet music more fluently, and started playing that weekly for them. I have documented my first few weeks learning to play the instrument on this blog, and it includes videos of my first few performances.
Earlier this year, around May 2026, I was interested in investing in better, higher quality ocarinas since the first one I had was a plastic Focalink, and I’ve only tried some clay ones off Amazon since. While I got lucky in that the Amazon ones were actually good quality and could play in tune, I really wanted to see if better made artisan ocarinas would make that much of a difference. While I have browzed the big sites like Stein and STL Ocarina, people in the Ocarina Network Facebook group would regularly be showing off unique models and beautiful designs that I didn’t recall seeing on those sites. Thus, I asked the group if they have a list of sellers, or happened to know if anyone was in my city/province (Toronto, Ontario), and the answer was ‘no’ to both. Thus, I took it upon myself to create an all inclusive list of active ocarina sellers so you can easily see what’s out there, and know where they’re located and find their links if you wanted to order from them.
About a month ago, The Ocarina Network made posts alerting everyone about the Zelda Ocarina of Time remake that would be coming out soon. My cousin/roommate is also really hyped about it and has been sending me reels. I noticed there were new Zelda ocarina replicas on Amazon as well. Thus, I’m pretty sure the game will spark or re-spark people’s interest in this instrument.
While there are a lot of beginner lessons and places to find tabs, I haven’t found a resource to help people navigate this world, so let me be your guide as someone who started to dive in just a year earlier~
1. Know Your “Why”
Everyone has a different reason for why they choose to buy an instrument. Since this is a guide for any and all beginners, I won’t know your why, but you do! Do you want an ocarina mainly to cosplay and take photos with? Maybe you like the sound of the instrument and would like to have a small collection of songs to impress your friends and family? Or perhaps you want to take this instrument seriously and perform or record tracks!
This is important to know because unlike other instruments that cost hundreds or thousands of dollars and thus only serious people tend to buy them, ocarinas are relatively cheap, and are often bought as souvenirs, gifts, and collector’s items. It’s not uncommon for someone to have 5+ ocarinas they never play, and in turn, it’s not uncommon for people to make ocarinas that aren’t really meant to be played. Because of the shape of the ocarina, they will almost always make a sound, but they aren’t guaranteed to be tuned well.
Additionally, thanks to Zelda making the instrument quite popular, the ocarina is often seen as merch, a toy, or a child’s instrument, as opposed to a respected and serious instrument. So, similar to the recorder, kazoo, and kiddie drum sets, they are mass produced, as opposed to being made individually and intricately for the serious performing musician. If you want a decent ocarina, you’re not going to find them at your local music store as they aren’t made by big and trusted brands like Yamaha, Fender, or Casio (fyi, Yamaha used to make them, but not anymore due to low demand/niche market).
This is why I ask your ‘why’. If you just want an ocarina mostly for the looks and don’t care too much about how it sounds, then you can buy one off Amazon or eBay and have fun playing around with it. But, if you would like to take the ocarina even a little more seriously than that, you will have to work a little harder to get your hands on a quality one as they are usually sold directly by manufacturers and independent artisans online, and some may show up at local fairs, conventions, and flea markets. You can also dig through online forums, groups, and bidding sites for discontinued or rare models made by the great makers of the past.
If you live in Europe (Italy, Germany, France), East Asia (Korea, Japan, Taiwan), or South America (Brazil, Peru, Argentina) where the ocarina is more commonly known, you may have the benefit of visiting a well known manufacturer/maker and hearing or testing them out yourself. For the rest of us (I live in Canada), you’ll have to take a gamble online. You won’t get to feel or try them before putting money down to order them, but as I said, at least ocarinas are still relatively cheap, so it can be fun to explore and buy a few models to see which ones you like the most.
On top of what kind of ocarina you would buy, knowing your why will determine the kind of route you’ll take moving forward, such as if you’ll use tabs or sheet music to learn from, how often you’ll practice each day, and if you’ll need buy a double or triple chamber ocarina in the future. If some of those words don’t register in your head, don’t worry! This article will cover all these terms so you can sound like you know what you’re talking about 😉
2. Types of Ocarinas
Now, onto the types of ocarinas. Unlike instruments such as piano or clarinet where models are pretty standardized and they are tuned the same, there are actually a lot of ocarinas, and this could be quite confusing to someone who is quite new to music. And it could also make it hard to shop for since ocarinas are rarely found in local music stores so you can’t really browse around and ask someone what would be best for you.
From What I’ve Seen, There Are 5 Categories That Every Ocarina Can Fall Into:
- Voice Type (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass)
- Holes (4-hole, 6-hole, 10-hole, 12-hole, etc.)
- Chambers (Single Chamber, Double Chamber, Triple Chamber)
- Key/Scale (C Major, F Major, G Major, etc.)
- Material (Plastic, Ceramic/Clay, Wood, Metal)
VOICE TYPE: If you don’t know what Soprano or Tenor mean, you do know what it sounds like. Think about a choir. The highest of highest singers, naturally dominated by females, are the Sopranos. The next level which is more comfortable for the average population is Alto. Below that, which tends to have the average male voice is Tenor, and the lowest of lowest that can make the ground shake is Bass (thus, Bass Guitar). Soprano can often be a little too high and squeaky for most ears, and bass is often used as a supporting instrument in a group/ensemble (again, think Bass Guitar), thus why alto is a comfortable middle ground.
On the ocarina, they will have this information printed near the mouth hole. “S” for Soprano, “A” for Alto, and “B” for Bass. Tenors for the most part don’t exist on the instrument, but if they ever did, they would naturally be “T”. Last thing to note is that the smaller the instrument, the higher the voice and vice versa. So if you buy a soprano ocarina, expect a smaller instrument, and if you buy bass, expect a bigger instrument. Altos are a good size for the average hand, which is also why they are a good place to start. If you’d like to learn more this classification system, I highly recommend watching this video by David Erick Ramos. Below are samples from Ocarina Musikhouse/Johann Rotter so you can see the size difference based on the voice type.
HOLES: Every ocarina has holes, and how many holes will determine how many notes are accessible by the instrument. For example, a very small ‘pendant’ ocarina may only have 6 holes, and thus, 17 notes are available (10 natural notes, and 7 sharps/flats). Whereas the typical 12-hole ocarina has 21 notes available (13 natural notes, and 8 sharps/flats). As you continue to add more holes (often accompanied by more chambers, as we’ll get to next), you’ll have more notes at your disposal.
But how many notes do you need? That will depend on the songs you want to play. If you are mostly interested in simple children songs like Twinkle Twinkle, a pendant would do. If you would like to cover a wide amount of vocal songs (covering what a person would sing, like for hymns), then a 12-hole ocarina would have you covered. But if you would like to play instrumental pieces that have more range and variety, that’s when you’ll need to consider something even bigger-
CHAMBERS: Pendant and 10/12-hole ocarinas have 1 chamber. By chamber, we’re talking about the space within the ocarina collecting the air and making the music. You can certainly play higher music with a soprano ocarina, or lower music with a bass ocarina, but you can’t do both on the same instrument. If you would like to, that’s when you’ll look into a double or triple ocarina. You can think of it as having 2 or 3 ocarinas with a different voice or range being fused together as each chamber has it’s own mouth hole.
While this can seem like a lot to learn for a beginner, if you truly desire to play more complex instrumental or concerto pieces and will need more holes anyways, it may be worth saving and buying one from the getgo. The fingering does change between single and double ocarinas, so you will have to relearn regardless. Many ocarina players can play on all types of chambers, but from observation, it’s clear people tend to stick to the one that allows them to place the music they like the most, and for more advanced ocarinists, that tends to be the double or triple ocarina.
KEY/SCALE: In general, and especially if you’re new to music, it is best to just go with the “C major scale”. I don’t want to go too much into specifics as this is a whole music lesson in itself (but if you are interested, definitely check out my easy peasy article on how scales work), but I’ll at least let you know why this is the safest choice.
The C scale (C Major scale) has no sharps or flats. When you look at a piano, and only press the white buttons in order, you are naturally playing in the C major scale. It is very easy to learn and thus why it is the default scale. When an ocarina is made in the C major scale, that means it is tuned in that scale, and all the normal notes will be in that scale (C – D – E – F – G – A – B – C). When you’re looking at articles, diagrams and videos, especially as a beginner, they will be teaching you with the assumption that you are playing a C ocarina.
However, if you decided to buy a G ocarina, now all the normal notes of your ocarina are in that scale (G – A – B – C – D – E – F# – G). When you learn the tabs of a song and then try to play with the song, you will be playing much higher or lower than the song, and that can be very confusing. Even though the tab chart says you’re playing “C”, and you are pressing the right buttons, you are actually playing “G”.
These ocarinas do have amazing purposes though. They are great when playing harmonies, can be used to transpose (change key) of a song without having to relearn how to play it, or just because it sounds nicer in that key, but as a beginner, if you don’t know any music theory, you will only be confusing yourself buying an “F” ocarina and trying to learn from materials created for “C”, so please, at least at the start, just buy a “C” ocarina. Soprano, alto, bass, anything is fine as long as it’s in the key/scale of C.
MATERIAL: While not as important as the above, it will still affect your sound and playing experience. Plastic is always a nice safe choice for beginners as they are lighter and unbreakable. They also tend to naturally have a bit more of a grip. The only real downsides is that they tend to sound a little squeakier, similar to a recorder. They also tend to build up moisture more easily, so you would have to shake them out and clear the airway quite often.
Ocarinas were traditionally made with Clay/Ceramic, and thus is the standard and most common material out there, but they can be heavier than plastic and also more slippery based on their coating. This makes them easier to drop, and since it’s clay, they are also more prone to breaking or cracking, so always wear a necklace with them.
Wood and metal are also available, but they are more rare and tend to be more expensive, so I won’t get into that here as this is a **beginners guide**. If you are curious though, check out the video below to hear the subtle but noticeable differences between them.
So, What Should I Start With?
Unless you plan to become a virtuoso and are willing to invest in a double/triple ocarina off the bat, I think it is best and safest to start with the “12-hole Alto C Ocarina”. Not only does it have a good range of notes and is a good comfortable size, but you will find the most amount of lessons, resources, and tabs for this specific model. If you don’t plan to play a whole lot of songs, and/or would like something more casual and portable (one that you could even wear as a daily necklace!), then a “6-hole Pendant Ocarina” may be more up your alley. Even with half the holes, you will still have a decent number of songs and tabs to choose from, along with a decent number of video lessons and websites to learn from.
3. Buying Your First Ocarina
So now that you have an idea of how far you want to take the ocarina and the kind of ocarina you’ll need to play what you like, let’s go shopping! As mentioned earlier, ocarinas are rarely ever sold in your local music shop, and most cities don’t have a manufacturer or artisan nearby, so chances are, you will be buying yours online.
For most of us, the first place we would like to check out is Amazon or eBay as we know the site is legitimate and we can complain and get a refund if there was ever an issue. Not everyone wants to take the risk of giving their credit card details on some random site, more so nowadays when AI could be creating completely fake shops…. But there’s a reason most ocarina players greatly warn against it.
For the most part, whatever is sold on these big sites (Amazon, eBay) are often mass produced by who knows who, so there is no quality control and no testers to assure the instrument can play well. Secondly, they usually appeal more to people who are interested in Zelda ocarina replicas for their collection or cosplays. So even though they advertise it with a songbook, and even though the rating is 4.2+ or higher, you need to read the reviews to see if they actually sound and play well. If most of the lowest complaints say that it’s out of tune, airy, or a ‘sad excuse for an instrument’, then it’s best to try another ad. [Here’s a video of someone learning the ocarina in an hour, but was sadly gifted one of these poorly made ocarinas. Since the instrument was out of tune, required a lot of air, and it came with an incorrect fingering chart and song tabs, she got frustrated and wasted time trying to find better resources].
If you really must buy from Amazon, the only trusted ocarina model commonly sold there by the manufacturer themselves is the “Night by Nobel“. It is plastic, making it a great starter instrument. And while a bit pricier than the other ones online, many do love the sound of this one even as much as a clay ocarina, and hey, it will likely last you forever!
If you are open to checking out dedicated ocarina shops, the most well known sites that the majority of us have gotten our first ocarinas are Songbird, STL Ocarina, and Stein/Focalink. Note that Songbird and STL Ocarina sell a wide variety of branded and non-branded ocarinas, while Stein only sells their own brand.
And if you’re open to checking out independent ocarina makers and sellers from around the world, check out my other article with a list of ocarina sellers and manufacterers! My list includes photos so you can see what kind of ocarinas they make, along with their country and links, saving you a lot of time! My list only includes active sellers so you don’t have to face disappointment when you see a model you love, just to find out the maker is retired or their website has been down for a decade. Below are just a sample of the beautiful and unique ocarinas I have stumbled across on my search.
Also note that the majority of brands who take pride in their ocarinas will have a logo on it. Note that letters such as “AC” or “SF”, are NOT the logo, but rather the voice type and scale (Alto C, Soprano F). If an ocarina doesn’t have a logo on it, there is a high chance it is mass produced and possibly sold under many names. That’s not to say those could never be trusted, but don’t expect the same quality or consistency as a branded model or one made by a local independent artisan.
Regardless of the where you buy your instrument, there is still a possibility it may sound off or airy. This could be on your end (ie. not covering holes well, not enough air pressure) or there may be something wrong with the ocarina itself (ie. bad quality, damaged during shipping). Gina Luciani has made a great video that can help you diagnose if the sound issue is on your side or due to a faulty ocarina.
4. Choosing Your Music (Tabs vs Sheets)
Okay, so your ocarina is in hand or on the way, now comes one of the biggest decisions of your life. Unless you’re already someone who can play by ear, chances are, you’re going to need some visual aid to learn how to play like the rest of us. And in general, you have two options: Tabs or Sheet Music.
TABS are visual guides that tell you what buttons on your instrument to press. These allow someone with absolutely no music knowledge to be able to learn songs because they just have to copy the buttons that are pressed in order. Because tabs have to be made for each instrument independently, the library of free and available tabs on any instrument is limited, and more so on the ocarina since it is quite niche.
SHEET MUSIC are music scores that display the note on a music staff. Sheet music is universal, thus each person has to know how to play each note on their own instrument. This means users will have to learn how to read sheet music before they can utilize them; however, once they learn, all songs that were ever created is accessible to them (assuming it is within the range of your instrument).
So Which Is Better?
I wouldn’t say there is a better choice, but I would say it greatly depends on your taste in music (ie. theme songs vs classical) and how far you would like to take the instrument (ie. learning a couple songs to impress your friends vs performing sets).
Tabs are great if you just want to jump right into learning popular songs. You can find a decent collection of elementary songs, anime and cartoon theme songs, movie scores, pop songs, and hymns/Christian songs, but you may not find much outside of that. If you’re someone like me who tends to like the lesser known tracks from an artist, or songs from not as popular animes, you will not enjoy the selection at all.
But do note that while tabs may help you learn songs right off the bat, it will slow you down in the long run. You see, with sheet music, while it has a bit of a learning curve, once you get a hold of it, you’re set for life. If you practice enough, you’ll be able to sight read pretty well, and you won’t even have to practice a piece to play it well on the spot because sheet music has all the information you could possibly need like the key and timing of each note. Tabs, on the other hand, only tells you what buttons to press, but you won’t know when or how long to hold each note, thus you will always have to take your time to learn and figure that out alongside the song, and you’ll have to go through the same process for every tab. You will also likely have to memorize the tab to play it well on demand.
Additionally, tabs in general may have some notes that are wrong or off, or they may even omit notes, which can be confusing. Just like guitar tabs, people are eager to share, and we genuinely thank them for that, but they may be a rookie just like you. Their ears may not be trained or their music/instrument knowledge is lacking to make out the nuances of a song. Tab makers may also play the song in the wrong key as it’s easier to play, which could be annoying or embarrassing when you try to play along with the actual song. Due to these kinds of errors and changes, you as a beginner may also be confused if you don’t know if you or the tab is the problem (I’ve experienced this when learning guitar). Sheets, on the other hand, tend to be official scores from the creator themselves (ie Hymns, Movie Soundtracks), or are made by advanced musicians who have the software and music theory knowledge to put them together in detail, and thus, they tend to be more accurate and true to the original by default.
I could go into other reasons why sheets are definitely more beneficial, such as a deeper understanding of music that you would help you learn to play by ear or transpose more easily, but this is a **beginner’s guide**. I’m not against tabs, in fact, I relied on tabs and chord charts while I was a guitarist, but I also never had plans of becoming a big or famous guitarist anyways. I just wanted to learn enough songs to play on stage and cross my band dream off my bucket list. That’s why I’m not against that approach at all, lest a be a hypocrite. I desired to take the ocarina further though, and since I was focused on hymns and didn’t like the tab library available, I really had no choice but to learn to read sheet music this time around.
And on that note, I will say one important thing for those of you who decide to take the sheet music route….please learn to actually read music. I say that because when I was growing up, while I knew what notes were on the music staff, I couldn’t sight read proficiently as I always had more than enough time to just practice it bit by bit and memorize it. If it was more complex like an anime song on piano, I would write out all the notes and then practice and memorize it bar by bar, and it would take me weeks just to learn half of it. It’s been so freeing to be able to play a piece within a few minutes of getting the sheet. It’s also really nice not having to rely on my memory so much as I’m bound to forget a song if I don’t practice it regularly, and then I’ll have to invest time into memorizing it again. But when you can read sheets, you’ll always feel more confident and ready!
5. How The Ocarina Works
Now, I’m not going to teach you how to play the ocarina on this website as there are much better detailed guides with visuals and audio samples that you can refer to such Gina Luciani and David Erick Ramos on YouTube, Pure Ocarina if you prefer written articles, and Cris Gale’s Hal Leonard Method Book if you like something physical. However, I do want to help you understand how the instrument works so you can wrap your head around the dynamics and feel more ready to jump right in!
The ocarina is classified as a ‘vessel flute’ instrument. Similar to other flute instruments (recorder clarinet, flute), air travels through the instrument and based on the holes you press, a different note or pitch will sound. The more holes you press, the lower the sound because you increase the length of the vibrating air. The less holes you press, the higher the sound because you shorten the length of the vibrating air. Not the greatest analogy, but will no doubt help you remember: consider how taller, bigger men tend to have lower voices as air has more distance to travel, and how shorter women or babies have higher voices as air has less distance to travel. So in turn, when you’re playing the ocarina, when you cover more holes, air has to travel farther to escape and thus produces a lower pitch. As you lift each finger, you will play a higher pitch as air can escape sooner.
The next important thing to note is that ocarinas require decent breath pressure to be played properly. If you have siblings, roommates, or neighbours, just know you can’t play this instrument quietly, so you better gain some courage. If you play too soft, your notes will sound flat (lower than it should be), and songs won’t sound right. But that doesn’t mean you should play with all your strength either, as too much air pressure would make your notes sound sharp (higher than it should be).
Additionally, ocarinas have what they call a ‘breath curve’. This means the lowest notes require the least amount of air and pressure, but as you go up the scale, you will need to increase how much you blow for each note to be in pitch. It will take some time and adjustment to find the sweet spot for each note, but that’s also why it’s best to practice with a tuner until you get a hang of it. You can download one for free on your phone.
Speaking of tuners, I highly recommend every beginner use one. Not only would it help you find the sweet spot sooner, but it could also help you determine early on if something is wrong with your instrument. As mentioned earlier, if you took a chance with a cheap one from Amazon, though they’re not all bad speaking from experience, you may get one that is out of tune and not in key. And in that case, no amount of air pressure or good playing could make it sound good, and you will only be exhausting your lungs trying to play on pitch. A big reason why people discourage buying knock offs is that it could discourage you from playing if you think you are the reason why you don’t sound good, when it really was just a poorly made instrument.
And last note! Do expect your highest notes to sound squeaky, sharp, or off pitch when you start. Because these require the most amount of air pressure, they take a lot more practice to sound right. And even if you can play the right pitch, it may not always be the most pleasing to the ear as they are so loud. While I have gotten a hold on these notes, I prefer to play songs that don’t go higher than Eb, and I have even opted to transposing (changing the key) the song lower so I could play in a range that is more pleasing and comfortable to my own ear.
6. Proper Care & Maintenance
Unlike other instruments where you can take it apart and give it a good wipe, or change the strings every now and then, the ocarina really doesn’t require any maintenance, assuming you take care of it well. Since most ocarinas are made of clay, they are porous by nature. When you play, moisture is building up inside, so it is important to let it air out and dry properly before putting it back in a case or bag. If possible, just leave it out so you can grab and play it whenever!
As much as possible, definitely avoid eating right before you play, and try not to drink sugary sodas while you play as this could affect the sound quality overtime as it builds up inside. I will admit that I drink juice all day, even when I play, and haven’t noticed many issues. I also asked Sam S Lee of the Ocarina Community (kissing88 on YouTube, he has some Q&A videos and performances on this channel) if they brush their teeth beforehand and such like harmonica players are told to do, and him as a pop drinker said he doesn’t and hasn’t noticed an issue too, but regardless, I’m letting you know what ‘proper’ maintenance should look like. Even if it doesn’t sound different now, it may be more noticeable in a year or two.
Ocarinas don’t need to be washed for the most part. At most, wipe the mouth piece between uses, and use a piece of paper or a feather to clear the airway out as needed. As mentioned earlier regarding plastic ocarinas, be prepared to shake it out and dry the airway more often as spit is more likely to accumulate and actually affect the sound.
If you feel something is actually stuck inside your ocarina or it is starting to sound a bit different, you can run warm water through it for a few seconds, or dip it in some soapy water for a more thorough clean, but don’t leave it there for more than say, 10-15 seconds. Remember, clay and wood is porous, and you risk damaging and warping the natural material if you let it soak for too long, and that will affect the sound quality definitely. Also make sure you leave it out overnight or at least a full day so it can dry properly.
And if you really seem to be having audible issues and a wash didn’t solve the problem, perhaps it’s time for a new ocarina! Unlike other musicians who may pay $500-$3000 for an instrument, we are lucky enough that the average ocarina is less than $100, and still less than $300 for higher end and multichambered ocarinas. While I don’t support being flippant with an instrument and wasting money, ocarinas are ceramic and prone to breaking regardless, so it’s actually better you don’t get super attached to one!
Biggest Question: How Long Until I Play Well?
This question has levels to it, and I’m sure most people in the community will agree that it is a relatively easy instrument to start playing simple tunes with, even with zero musical experience; however, making it sound beautiful and feeling confident enough to perform is another story and that can take months or years.
Initially, I was going to say someone with no musical experience could learn something like Hot Cross Buns within an hour or two. Learning to hold the ocarina and breathing properly may take a bit of an adjustment, but it really is within means. To my surprise, in Tom Vanopphem’s video below, he says that when he holds workshops for kids, they are able to play the full C scale and Twinkle Twinkle within an hour, so that’s really encouraging! But that’s not all there is to an ocarina. As he goes on to say, the ocarina is very sensitive, so even maintaining pitch can be difficult for many players.
For people like me who sang in choir and/or learned wind instruments before, we already know how to separate our notes with our breathing, and our lungs have been trained to hold more air and play notes longer, thus the transition is quite intuitive. However, for someone who hasn’t done either, it could take weeks or months of practice to consistently play a note in pitch and to hold a note for more than 6 seconds. Knowing when to take breaths so you can continue playing the song without noticeable gaps is also a learned skill.
Continuing on, just holding the ocarina may require some strength and time to adjust. If you started off with a heavier clay ocarina, you may find your hands getting tired, and your right thumb feeling sore after a few minutes as most of the weight is being balanced on that one finger. Additionally, if you’ve never played instruments and haven’t done other things like full keyboard typing or video games, you may need to spend more time building finger independence and dexterity and speed. And I don’t know if other ocarina players experienced this, but I found my right pinky locking quite a bit when I had to move it from it’s resting spot to play the low C, and that took a couple months to overcome.
And all of the things mentioned above are just the basics. Like guitar, there’s a lot of other techniques and embellishments you could learn to really spice up your sound, such as vibrato, tapping, cutting, sliding, and trills. These are techniques that you will need to learn independently before you can learn to utilize them within a song. And from there, you may want to experiment with composing your own tracks or personalizing songs you already love. Check out the short video below so you can understand audibly what I’m referring to:
So, how long it takes to sound ‘good’ on the ocarina depends on what your definition of good is. If you want to learn to play a slower Zelda song well, you could do that within a week. If you want to feel confident reading and playing a variety of hymns, you could do that within 3-6 months. But if you want to be someone who plays in ensembles and really be considered one of the best ocarina players around, then you’ll need at least 2 years. And of course, these numbers are with the assumption you are playing almost daily for at least 30 minutes or longer. But that is still less time than the average instrument.
Biggest Setbacks: What Will Slow Down Your Progress Or Make You Sound Like A Noob Even A Year In?
I got this suggestion from my Reddit Thread, and I really appreciate the feedback as this is an important topic. As with any instrument, there are people who claim they have been playing for 5 years but still sound like a rookie, and there are those who have been practicing for 2 months and could be on stage. Why such a difference?
I will say, regardless of instrument, what makes people excited to hear you play vs barely being able to bare it is simply, how musical it sounds. We all know what a good song sounds like, at least, I hope we do. Usually, good music would have a beat or rhythm that is consistent, something you can bob your head to, or tap your feet to, or dance to! Also, the singer’s notes suits and compliments the chords behind them. The music is also well produced, nice and clean. And on the other end, bad music would be off beat, totally random, and throws off your groove. The singer is off key or just talking instead of singing, and the instruments aren’t in sync with each other, and it’s just a mess!
If you still don’t fully comprehend what I mean, check out the videos below, one with singers/performers and one with bands. What usually makes these musicians so sad and cringey is not that they performed badly, it’s that they thought they sounded so good that they actually went to audition on one of the biggest shows of America, or they recorded their rehearsal to share with the world online.
But I share these here for you to test yourself. If you can watch these videos without hearing the issues, then you need a lot more musical training. That’s not an insult, but advise full of love. I don’t want you to embarrass yourself. My blog is dedicated for beginners like myself, so trust me, I want you to do and sound well, and to even feel confident playing alongside other more experienced musicians. I’m lucky enough that my schools had decent music education and extra curriculars for me to grow, but I know not everyone had that privilege and/or may need a bit more help with the genre. It’s never too late to learn though! And on something like the ocarina, I really do believe anyone can play it really well if they are dedicated and serious enough to practice good technique and pitch from the beginning.
There are two basic tips that applies to all musicians across all instruments, and despite how often it is said, people neglect it and then wonder why they don’t sound good. And those two tips are PLAY WITH A METRONOME (Time/Beat Keeper), and PLAY WITH A TUNER (Key/Pitch Confirmation). These tips are even more vital if you don’t have musical training or teachers to keep you in check and correct you as you learn. I know they aren’t the most fun to play with, I know, I know!!! Trust me, I know. But until you develop a good musical ear that can tell when a note is off or sharp, and until you develop a good internal sense of rhythm where you could keep the beat even when the music turns off, you can’t trust yourself.
I was going to say, ‘I wished everyone had the opportunity to play Rhythm Heaven’ as that game would humble a lot of people, but guess what? I found a free online emulator for you to try! At the start of every game, they have a rhythm test where all you have to do is keep a steady beat for a while, and it will tell you how if you are on the beat, early, or late. Every mini game after that will also help you practice a variety of beats, along with rhythms like 8th beats, off-beats, and genre specific beats like shuffle, swing, jazz and bossa nova.
As for ear training, honestly, as much as possible, just play a long with the actual song. Since I initially picked up the ocarina to learn to play hymns with my church’s congregation, I would find a church singing that same hymn on YouTube and play alongside it. So not only am I practicing playing in time, but I’m also training my ears and lungs to always match the correct pitch.
When you’re playing alone, you don’t have a reference point, and that could be extremely detrimental if your ears aren’t trained. Even if you think you’re in tune, and perhaps you are in key with yourself, you may actually be playing flat or sharp notes the whole time. And if you keep practicing these bad habits, not only are you wasting time with bad technique, but you’ll have to waste time relearning proper habits later. And always remember, just because you can’t hear what you’re doing wrong, doesn’t mean other’s can’t. You may not notice that your note is wavering in and out of pitch, but other’s will, and it’s those small things that will make someone think you’re new or not very good at your instrument.
One other thing I will mention here as it does affect a small portion of the population is there is a thing called Tone Deafness. While most people are able to tell if a pitch matches, or what note is higher or lower than the other, some people genuinely struggle to do so because they are Tone Deaf. I think everyone, even those who think they have no problem should do a free test from The Music Lab (Yale) or Tone Deaf Test just to be sure, as people with this genuinely have no idea until someone else tells them.
Example, when I was in high school, I was in a musical for ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ as a Ronnette, and the lead Ronnette just happened to be tone deaf. (If you’re wondering about auditions, we had so little people that everyone got a role. I wasn’t part of drama club, but my friends were, and they begged me to join so they could put the production on). Despite months and months of vocal training and practice with 2 musical teachers, and despite hearing the songs hundreds of times, she just wasn’t able to hit the right notes consistently. And as is the case with most tone deaf people, they personally think they’re killing it! If you don’t believe me, you need to watch more American Idol auditions. As much as I think their family and friends who supported them are evil, perhaps they’re tone deaf too and genuinely think they sound good. Anyways, back to drama club, the teachers, not being able to help her, just asked us other Ronnettes to sing louder than her so she isn’t as noticeable.
Now, singing is one thing as it’s a lot harder to self correct when your voice is so close to your ears and you can’t really hear the rest of the music. As for the ocarina though, you aren’t singing, you’re just blowing air, so even if you can’t sing in pitch, you can definitely play in pitch. If you at least remember how soft or hard you need to blow to hit the note accurately on a tuner, you can still play this instrument beautifully in pitch.
So outside of playing in beat and on pitch, what else would slow you down or keep you sounding like a noob? The next big thing is not practicing regularly enough. If you only pick up the ocarina for 15 minutes every other week, you’re likely going to spend those few minutes reviewing or relearning something you previously learned. On top of that, your fingers don’t have the opportunity to develop muscle memory which allows you to play faster, and things like breathwork don’t have an opportunity to improve either. Just like exercise, you need to workout at least a few times a week if you actually want to see any progress.
Challenging yourself regularly is also important. If you really only want to play Hot Cross Buns and Twinkle Twinkle, then power to you (I’m not being sarcastic <3), but chances are, there are other songs you really like but may feel they are out of reach or intimidating. The thing is though, any song really is possible if you keep growing and pushing yourself a little more every week.
In the guitar world, a lot of guitarists like to just noodle and improvise in their free time, and while that isn’t a bad thing at all, they’re not challenging themselves in anyway. Often, they’re just using a minor pentatonic scale pattern and playing around, and the fact that they can play it quickly and intuitively means they’ve been playing around with that pattern likely hundreds of times before. And while it can look impressive to someone who hasn’t played guitar before, you’d be surprised to know a lot of these noodlers can’t cover a song, and they may not know any chords nor can strum in time. Playing someone else’s songs requires you to learn chords, scales, strumming patterns, and techniques that you may have never come up with yourself, or you may try to avoid because it’s difficult for you, thus pushing yourself to learn a bunch of songs in its entirety will mean natural growth.
And the last reason I’ll give here on why people don’t grow is because they never had a plan or a goal set out for them. Back to the exercise example, if you only go to the gym when you feel like it, try a bunch of random machines for a minute each, lift a few 2lbs dumbbells 8 times, and then head back home…what have you really done? Sure, you could technically call it ‘working out’ and you were there for half an hour, but because you were disorganized and didn’t stick with any exercise long enough to actually work your muscles, there still won’t be much progress. It would have been much more beneficial to only go on 3-5 machines for 5 minutes each than to jump around on many for a minute. (Btw, I’m not a gym coach or fitness fanatic by any means, so don’t take this as actual workout advise lol).
As for a more musical example of this, I’ll have to go back to the guitar for a bit. Guitar is so versatile. Not only can it play a variety of genres (rock, jazz, pop, country, metal, latin, etc), but there are a variety of playing styles (rhythm, lead, classical, fingerstyle), and unique techniques (tapping, sliding, harmonics, etc). Someone without a plan can be so scattered that they try learning a bit of everything. They want to practice blues improv one day, then rock soloing the next, then jass chords, then fingerstyle. But the thing is, every one of those things require deep and dedicated practice to really master them. There’s a reason any guitar great was only great at their genre. There’s just too much to learn on the guitar to master everything it has to offer. You really just have to pick one or two genres or styles and learn all you can about it if you actually want to sound like a decent guitarist. Thus, when I made my band, as much as lead and solos were cool, I decided to hone in on mastering chords and strumming as that was more in reach to help me achieve my dream.
Thankfully, the ocarina doesn’t have nearly as many possibilities as the guitar does. You can only play single notes (for the most part) and only so many notes are accessible to you. That means it’s quite easy to get a good grasp on the instrument and play a variety of songs, but it’s still good to have a goal and a plan. Is there a certain song you would like to play one day? Maybe you would like to learn to improvise on it? Or create your own original pieces on it? Maybe you want to be able to sight read all songs and play on the spot? Maybe you want to learn all the Irish jigs so you can play at the local pub? Maybe you want to learn all the popular video game soundtracks so you can play them at the next convention. Any goal is fine, but it will help keep you focused, motivated, and pushing forward instead of becoming stagnant playing the same easy things over and over again.
Some Personal Tips To Help You Get Ahead:
One tip I’ll share for those who are a bit more serious about this instrument, is to learn songs in their entirety. It’s easy and tempting to half heartedly learn a song (you can somewhat play through it, making a few errors or missing notes, playing fast for easy parts and slowing down when hard), or to only learn to play the cool riff or the fun chorus, but this method of practicing can hinder you greatly. It’s usually the hard parts you skip or allow mistakes on that would greatly improve your technique if you kept practicing until you could play it well. Changing speeds based on the difficulty of a section prevents from developing good rhythm and playing in time consistently. Even if the other parts are boring, such as playing the same note 8 times in a row, that’s an opportunity to practice tonguing or dynamics. And while cool jumpy riffs can be fun, holding notes are an opportunity to practice vibrato and add expression. And personally, I have a lot more fun practicing a bunch of songs from beginning to end, instead of only knowing the riff at the beginning or waiting until the chorus to jump in.
Another tip I’ll share is that, if a song you really want to learn is a bit too difficult for you right now, it is definitely more worth it for you to take a step back and learn a bunch of easier and intermediate songs, as opposed to working for weeks or months just to get that one song down. When I picked up guitar, I was so excited to learn “Cliffs of Dover” by Eric Johnson as I really loved it on Guitar Hero, but boy….I did not have the finger dexterity, the speed, nor knew how to tap and bend yet. Even for other anime songs, they may have a bunch of new and complex chords, but my chord transitions were slow and I didn’t even have a basic F barre chord down yet. Who knows how long it would have taken me to learn those songs if I jumped right in. Regardless, by focusing on songs within my skill level but with one or two new or difficult elements, as I conquered each of those songs, by the time I wanted to try that harder song again, it really wasn’t that hard or out of reach. And best of all, I have all these other songs that I can have fun jamming too when I need a break or encouragement.
One thing I highly recommend doing (though I know most people will never do it) is to record yourself. When you’re playing the ocarina, not only is the sound overpowering your ears, but you’re so focused on playing the next note that you don’t always have the mental capacity to process if your current or past notes were accurate or beautiful. If you don’t have a teacher or musical friend to give you honest feedback, how else could you possibly know if you actually sounded good or not? Well, thank God for cameras and audio recorders! When you feel even a little decent at a song, record yourself. Then play it back and judge yourself as if you were hearing someone else play it. Were you in pitch? Did you hold your notes as long as they needed to be played? Did your high notes sound screechy? Were you a bit off beat or late at some points? Was your tempo steady or did you speed up at some parts? Can you add more dynamics or embellishments to make it sound more interesting? Consider these things, work on them, and you’ll see just how different your next recording sounds!
And lastly, ensure you’re having fun! Play songs you love and not just what people request or what you think would impress others. Many talented child musicians abandoned their instrument because they were forced to play it and didn’t even enjoy it. If you like easy songs, don’t let anyone shame you for it either. At the end of the day, learning any instrument takes a whole lot of time, and we do mean hundreds and hundreds of hours to be proficient, so you need to keep yourself motivated and encouraged if you’re going to keep to it long-term. Watch other players to stay inspired. If a song is too difficult, take breaks and/or play songs you’ve already mastered to stay encouraged. Find another musician to play with so you have something to look forward to and they could keep you accountable. Just don’t give up! If you practice good techniques and work on it regularly, you will get to where you want to be sooner or later <3
From your fellow beginner, Nostalgia~
Other Resources & Useful Links
OCARINA SHOPS:
My List Of All Active Sellers
STL Ocarina
Songbird Ocarina
Stein/Focalink
WEBSITES (Lessons & Tabs):
The Ocarina Network (The Biggest and Oldest Forum for Ocarina Players)
Pure Ocarinas (A Seller who also has Comprehensive Lessons and Advise for All Levels)
OcarinaTabs (Tabs for Children and Traditional songs on the 4-, 6-, and 12- hole Ocarinas)
6Hole Ocarina (Tabs for Children and Traditional songs on the 6-hole Ocarina)
OCWALK (Tabs for Anime, Movie and Video Game Music. Also has video references)
Hymnary (Official Sheet Music for almost Every Hymn in Existence)
OcarinaGospel (Korean/Chinese/Japanese Christian Sheet Music for Ocarina)
RiffSpot (Has 6-hole and 12-hole Tabs. Mostly Traditional, Hymns, Children, and Folk Songs)
YOUTUBE CHANNELS:
David Erick Ramos (Beginner Lessons, Song Tutorials, Performances, and Educational Videos)
Gina Luciani (Beginner Lessons and Song Tutorials. Note That She Plays Other Wind Instruments)
Andy Cormier (Mostly Educational, Q&A, And Advice Videos For Ocarina Players)
SongBird Ocarina (Basic Tutorials and Ocarina Demos From A Variety Of Players)
STL Ocarina (Basic Tutorials and Many Ocarina Performances)
OCWALK (Tutorials and Tabs for mostly Anime and Video Game Songs)
Global Ocarina Community (Streams And Fests, includes Performances, Q&As and Tips)
RiffSpot (Tabs and Sheets for 6-hole and 12-hole Ocarinas. Traditional, Hymns, Children, and Folk Songs)
AwesomeOcarina (A variety of tabs for Pop, traditional, Television, Movie, and Video Game Songs)
NaomasaSASAKI (A variety of Ocarina Sheet Music for Japanese and Anime Songs)
FACEBOOK GROUPS:
The Ocarina Network
Global Ocarina Community
PHONE APPS:
OcarinaQuest (Think SimplePiano/Yousician for Ocarinas. I got to be a tester for this app, but it is paid. )
Chromatic Tuner and Tone Maker (Currently the Best Rated Free Basic Tuner Available)
SHEET MUSIC TUTORIALS :
MusicNotes (A written lesson on everything you need to know to get started)
PureOcarina (Written lessons with ocarina diagrams and examples to practice with)
Brad Harrison’s Crashcourse Video (Breaks it down and tells you everything in 24 minutes)
OcarinaTrainer (Test your reading comprehension on your ocarina!)