Ocarina 16 holes Alto in C

The 16-hole ocarina is a wind instrument distinguished by its pure, ethereal sound. It's usually made of ceramic and can play music ranging from slow, wailing melodies to highly ornamented tunes. Most of these instruments are small, easy to slip into a pocket or bag, and play wherever you like.

16-hole ocarinas belong to a family of instruments known as vessel flutes, instruments that produce sound by means of a hollow chamber. There are many different types of recorder, and the terms «ocarina» and «recorder» are often used interchangeably.

The 16-hole transverse ocarina comes from Budrio, a small town in northern Italy. At the time, the only ship's flutes were ceramic goose-shaped toys designed to imitate bird sounds. The term «Ocarina» comes from these instruments and means «little goose» in a local Italian dialect.

Donati turned it into a serious musical instrument by creating an ergonomic shape and a 10-hole fingering system tuned to a Western scale. His fingering system is the basis for most of today's 16-hole ocarinas. It is a linear system (opening sequential holes makes sequential notes sound) and can play chromatically over an octave and a fourth.

These modern percussion instruments generally retain the same design, but have evolved with the addition of «sub-holes» by Asian manufacturers, which extend the instrument's range of sounds to lower notes. 

16-hole multi-chamber ocarinas

Most wind instruments can be overblown. This involves blowing harder to create higher notes. Each diatonic note has its own hole, and the total range that a single chamber can reach is limited by physics to just over an octave.

To extend the range, 16-hole multi-chamber ocarinas were created. Additional, smaller chambers are added to the right hand, which are tuned to play higher notes. Multi-chambered 16-hole ocarinas can have up to 4 chambers, giving a range of just over 3 octaves.

Multi-chamber 16-hole ocarinas offer other advantages than just range. They often sound better, as spreading the total range over several chambers allows manufacturers to control it better. They also offer ergonomic advantages. Since they don't require a hole for the right thumb, the thumb can exclusively support the instrument.

Other points

As mentioned above, the 16-hole ocarina is a ship's flute, but in practice the terms «ship's flute» and «ocarina» are used interchangeably. 

There are 16-hole ocarinas with pendants

16-hole suspended ocarinas were developed in the UK in the 1960s. They are small instruments that play an octave using 4 finger holes and a binary fingering system. As they have fewer holes, they can be made very small and worn as pendants.

It's easy to always have one with you, as they're small and perfect for spontaneous musical performances, as well as for passing the time. Technically, they're more limited and can't be tuned as precisely as 16-hole transverse ocarinas, but for these things it doesn't matter.

Sculptural whistles

Carved whistles are musical novelties produced in a variety of sculptural forms, including those depicting birds and other animals. They are often highly decorated with colored glazes, but produce only one or two notes and are generally not tuned. They are not serious musical instruments.

16-hole ceramic instrument

The 16-hole ocarina has a long history in the music market. We present this 16-hole ocarina, whose body has been crafted from high-quality raw materials, as in the case of the ceramic used and worked by hand.

In addition, this material is exposed to high temperatures in an industrial furnace to acquire greater strength, while with the external polishing process, irregularities are eliminated. In this way, you'll enjoy a truly soft, pleasant feel. 

What's more, it's easy to handle thanks to its ergonomic, lightweight body.

This special, original instrument will win you over with its shape, color and sound. Its small size makes it easy to carry around. 

Choose this 16-hole Ocarina!

The 16-hole ocarina produces a melodious sound that will seduce and soothe you.