| Ocarina |
Website Links For Ocarina |
Information AboutOcarina |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT OCARINA | |
| fipple flutes | |
| early musical instruments | |
|
HISTORY Ancient History The ocarina is a very old family of instruments, believed to date back some 12,000 Years .1 Ocarina-type instruments have been of particular importance in Chinese and Mesoamerica n cultures. For the Chinese, the instrument played an important role in their long history of song and dance. The ocarina has similar features to the Xun , another important Chinese instrument. 2 Different expeditions to Mesoamerica, including the one conducted by Cortés , resulted in the introduction of the ocarina to the courts of Europe. Both the Mayans and Aztecs had produced versions of the ocarina, but it was the Aztecs who brought the song and dance that accompanied the ocarina to Europe. The ocarina went on to become popular in European communities as a toy instrument.34 Budrio, Italy Its common use in the Western Countries dates to the 19th century in Budrio , a town near Bologna , Italy , where Giuseppe Donati transformed the ocarina from a toy, which only played a few notes, into a more comprehensive instrument (known as the first "classical" ocarinas). The word ''ocarina'' is derived from Italian meaning "little Goose ." The earlier form was known in Europe as a Gemshorn ; which was made from animal Horns . Budrio continues its tradition in the form of the Fabio Menaglio ocarina workshops, which produce a full range of professional instruments. Also, Budrio is home of a well-known classical ocarina group, "Gruppo Ocarinistico Budriese" (since 1865). Recent History In 1900 Sears, Roebuck And Company began selling ocarinas through their mail-order catalog. It soon developed its American name, the "Sweet Potato", because of its round shape and sweet sound. During World War II , American soldiers were issued plastic ocarinas by the U.S. Army as a morale booster.5 MUSICAL PERFORMANCE Tone production/Acoustics How an ocarina works: 1. Air enters through windway 2. Air strikes edge, causing a sound 3. Air vibrates throughout inside of an ocarina 4. Covering and uncovering holes lowers and raises the pitch The ocarina, like other vessel flutes, has the unusual quality of not relying on the pipe length to produce a particular tone. Instead the tone is dependent on the ratio of the total surface area of opened holes to the total cubic volume enclosed by the instrument. This means that, unlike a Flute or Recorder , sound is created by resonance of the entire cavity and the placement of the holes on an ocarina is largely irrelevant — their size is the most important factor. However, instruments that have toneholes close to the voicing/embouchure should be avoided, because this weakens tonal production. Since an ocarina is a Helmholtz Resonator , the frequency of the tone played is: Where ''v'' is the speed of sound, ''A'' is the total uncovered area and ''V'' is the enclosed volume. The Resonator in the ocarina can create Overtone s, but because of the common "egg" shape, these overtones are many octaves above the keynote scale.''Fundamentals of Musical Acoustics''. Arthur H. Benade pp.473–476 In similar Helmholtz resonator instruments with a narrow cone shape, like the Gemshorn or Tonette , some partial overtones are available. The technique of Overblowing to get a range of higher pitched notes is not possible with the ocarina because of its vessel shape, so the range of pitches available is limited to a 12th. Some Ocarina makers increase the range by designing double- or triple-chambered ocarinas tuned 1 octave apart. Different notes are produced by covering the holes, and by opening and closing more or less of the total hole area. The tone is then produced through the sound hole/embouchure. The tone can also be varied by changing the strength with which one blows through the instrument (pitch bending). Musical notation/Tabulature Written music for the ocarina typically makes use of a special form of Tablature similar to the ocarina's finger hole pattern with blackened holes representing which holes should be covered. The tablature represents the holes on the top of the ocarina, and, where necessary, the holes on the underside. This enables easy playing, particularly for beginners. The most popular tabulature systems are 1) The John Taylor 4 hole system (Invented in the year of the Dragon,1964, by British Mathematician John Taylor) and 2) The 10 hole sweet potato system (credited to inventor Giuseppe Donati of Budrio Italy). Depending on the artist, some may write a number or figure over the picture to depict how many beats to hold the note.6 TYPES OF OCARINA Since the 19th century, multi-chambered ocarinas have been made to create Polyphonic pieces. Ocarinas with keys have been produced by several makers, mostly experimentally, beginning in the late 19th century. Keys may be added with the intention of either expanding the instrument's range, or to enable the fingers to reach holes that are widely spaced. APPEARANCE IN WORKS
OCARINAS IN POPULAR CULTURE
GALLERY |
|
|