Ocarina and David's Ocarina
In 1997 David inherited a clay ocarina shaped vaguely like a pear. This instrument fitted neatly between the palms with the 8 holes placed on the top. While learning this instrument and experimenting with it, David one evening mused that he would be curious to know what a timber ocarina might sound like. The idea was born to try and make one.
Roughly tracing out the outlines of the prototype on cardboard, we began. I used tongue and groove flooring timber recently ripped out of a soon-to be-demolished house in West End, Brisbane. I have no idea what sort of timber it is, other than that it is some Australian hardwood variety.
I decided to start by constructing two identical halves. I cut sections of flooring with a jigsaw and then stacked them and glued them until I had created two half shells. I left the inside rough and took a rasp to the outside to roughly shape each half. The tonic and key of the instrument is determined by the size of the chamber created. From this standpoint it was complete guesswork as to which key it would eventually be "tuned".
The "fipple", or sound device, is similar to that of a recorder. A thin but wide shaft must be created which will direct the blown air onto a tapered "reed" set into the body of the ocarina at a precise angle. I cut my "reed" and then began to experiment by setting it in place while I blue-tacked and sticky-taped the two halves together. Eventually, through trial and error, I found the correct position and the ocarina began to blow a true note. Trouble was, it was a very flat "G#" according to my guitar tuner. I had to take the instrument apart and scour some thickness off the inside (creating a larger sound chamber and effectively lowering the pitch) several times before the ocarina would blow a true "G". I was pleased, as this is a common key for many modern songs.
I then glued the two halves together with the fipple set permanently in the correct position. The pitches of ocarinas are determined by the circumference and number of sound holes, but NOT the placement of the holes. Our prototype had 8 holes of increasing size placed in a particular pattern so I set out to mimic this pattern on mine. I gripped the ocarina in the most comfortable position of my natural hand placement and pencilled around my fingers to determine where I would put the holes. Next, I began drilling the holes using the clay prototype as a guide for "gauge" of drill bit to use. I used a guitar tuner to fine-tune the holes as I drilled them and small rat-tail files to work the holes to the proper size.
The "fipple", or sound device, is similar to that of a recorder. A thin but wide shaft must be created which will direct the blown air onto a tapered "reed" set into the body of the ocarina at a precise angle. I cut my "reed" and then began to experiment by setting it in place while I blue-tacked and sticky-taped the two halves together. Eventually, through trial and error, I found the correct position and the ocarina began to blow a true note. Trouble was, it was a very flat "G#" according to my guitar tuner. I had to take the instrument apart and scour some thickness off the inside (creating a larger sound chamber and effectively lowering the pitch) several times before the ocarina would blow a true "G". I was pleased, as this is a common key for many modern songs.
I then glued the two halves together with the fipple set permanently in the correct position. The pitches of ocarinas are determined by the circumference and number of sound holes, but NOT the placement of the holes. Our prototype had 8 holes of increasing size placed in a particular pattern so I set out to mimic this pattern on mine. I gripped the ocarina in the most comfortable position of my natural hand placement and pencilled around my fingers to determine where I would put the holes. Next, I began drilling the holes using the clay prototype as a guide for "gauge" of drill bit to use. I used a guitar tuner to fine-tune the holes as I drilled them and small rat-tail files to work the holes to the proper size.
Upon completion, I painted three coats of clear, satin-finish, turps-based paint on the ocarina and rubbed it back with rubbing compound at the finish. It sounds beautiful, like a large South-American wooden flute. It has an octave and a whole step range and with alternative fingerings every conceivable pitch in that range can be achieved.
