Listen to the ocarina
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
How the ocarina makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the ocarina belongs to the flutes (edge-blown): an air jet is split on a sharp edge, setting the air column vibrating – flutes, recorders, whistles and panpipes.
More broadly it is one of the aerophones (wind instruments), where sound comes from vibrating air.
Press play above and watch the spectrum: the evenly spaced peaks are harmonics, and their relative strength is what gives the instrument its character.
From Wikipedia
The ocarina (otherwise known as a potato flute) is a wind musical instrument; it is a type of vessel flute. Variations exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body. It is traditionally made from clay or ceramic, but other materials are also used, such as plastic, wood, glass, metal, or bone. The Italian Ocarina was invented in 1853 by 17-year-old Giuseppe Donati, who also gave it the name ocarina. Donati handmade each ocarina from clay, with anything from 7 to 10 finger-holes and a spout for a mouthpiece.
Other flutes
Frequently asked questions
What does an ocarina sound like?
Listen to 5 recordings on this page. As one of the flutes, its sound comes from the way an air jet is split on a sharp edge, setting the air column vibrating.
What type of instrument is the ocarina?
It is classified as flutes (edge-blown) (Hornbostel–Sachs 421.221.422).
Sources & credits
- Ocarinasample by Ailes Grises at English Wikipedia – CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Sonido de ocarina de barro en forma de pájaro 04 by Luis Alvaz – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Sonido de ocarina de barro en forma de pájaro 03 by Luis Alvaz – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Ocarina de agua 1 by Luis Alvaz – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Ocarina de barro (impro) by Luis Alvaz – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q187780 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Ocarina – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by 0x010C – CC BY-SA 4.0