History of the Ocarina

Vessel Flutes, One of the World’s Oldest Woodwinds

Jan 23, 2009 Marcy Paulson

Ocarinas can be traced back thousands of years. Examples of these ceramic flutes have been discovered in the shapes of birds, turtles, and other animals.

Karl Ahrens is a modern maker of a very ancient instrument. In this article, he guides musicians through the evolution of the vessel flute from a randomly tuned whistle to the concert instruments makers craft today.

“Clay Ocarinas, or vessel flutes, are ancient instruments," Karl remarks. "They date back thousands of years in places like Mexico, South and Central America, China, and other parts of Asia .” Ocarinas are among the world’s oldest flutes because they were traditionally fashioned with the same low-fired clay ancient people used to form their pots, jars, and other useful ceramic vessels.

The Sweet Potato Ocarina

“A lot of the ocarinas in the world are what we call in the United States, the Sweet Potato design,” Karl remarks. This design dates back to 19th century Italy where the first concert ocarinas were crafted.

Thousands of years before Europeans explored the new world, Mayans and Aztecs fashioned ocarinas in Meso-America. When western explorers arrived, they took an interest in the native people’s clay flutes. Ocarinas carried across the sea from the exotic Aztec empire were marveled over in the courts of Europe. Soon, ocarinas were being replicated as popular toys for Europe’s common people.

Giuseppe Donati, a baker and musician from Budrio, Italy, fashioned his own design of the instrument. For the first time, the ocarina was capable of an entire scale rather than a few random notes.

Donati’s sweet potato ocarinas have ten holes. They are traditionally molded from clay with an egg-shaped body and are played to the side like a concert flute. The neck-like windway and mouthpiece lends the instrument the appearance of a goose, which is exactly how they came to be called in 19th century Italy. The word ocarina, literally translated “little goose,” has since been applied to most types of vessel flutes.

A recent surge of interest in sweet potato ocarinas has come about as a result of Nintendo’s video game, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The popular game, released in 1998, is based on the hero Link’s ability to play a magical ocarina.

Ocarinas Today

Ocarinas have been played for thousands of years, and just like Giuseppe Donati, ocarina makers today continue to experiment with the optimal form for this instrument.

Though the sweet potato design is popular, there is no standard shape or even set number of tone holes for an ocarina. Many ocarinas, like the sweet potato, are played horizontally like a transverse flute. Others, known as inline ocarinas, are played like a recorder or tin whistle. The tone holes of these instruments are vertically in line with the mouthpiece.

“For me,” Karl says, “ergonomically, I much prefer the inline design. There’s no tension to the neck or from holding your wrists at a strange angle.”

Some modern musicians may be prejudiced against these instruments due to their experience with brightly painted toy ocarinas that are better suited for decorating than for music making. Still, even some more expensive ocarinas might not be what a serious musician is looking for. As Karl puts it, “Many ocarinas I found didn’t have a wide enough tonal range for the songs I wanted to play. Some didn’t have a fingering pattern that flowed easily enough to promote virtuoso playing. And some of the nicest ocarinas I had were just too quiet, too subdued. They didn’t respond well to energetic, passionate playing. When I tried to join in with other musicians, those ocarinas couldn’t project enough for me to participate in a satisfying way. I wanted a little bit more range, a better fingering pattern, and more sound.”

Today, this ancient instrument’s freedom of form and design allow Karl to apply his own creativity and craftsmanship. After years of experimentation, he brings to the musical arena an instrument based on the ancient vessel flutes but with a markedly new design—a design which combines improvements in tonal volume, durability, and ergonomics.

Now that readers are familiar with the origins of the ocarina, they may be interested to check out an explanation of how an ocarina works, a review of Karl Ahrens’ Mountain Ocarinas, and a profile of his story as an ocarina maker.

The copyright of the article History of the Ocarina in Musical Instruments is owned by Marcy Paulson. Permission to republish History of the Ocarina in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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