Moving On – 4-hole and 6-hole Ocarinas

After Book 1, move on to Book 2, Carols or Songs of Praise and play some really great rounds and songs in harmony.

Traditional musical notation, lyrics, ocarina charts and guitar chords appear on every page to give confidence and ensure progress. CD tracks are available for each book in OcShop. These are especially useful as you progress through the series to play more complex musical arrangements.

Mastering the top four holes of the Ocarina, as you play from Book 1 – Starting Off, is a great spring-board to success. In Book 2 – Moving On, you learn how to play extra notes by half-covering holes, and by tilting the ocarina, a technique known as ‘nose-shading’. Book 2 also shows how to play other extra notes by opening thumb holes on the 6-hole Ocarina. These are helpful for Book 3 and recommended for Book 4, where the 6-hole Ocarina enables you to play tricky chromatic melodies over the full extended range of 16 notes.

Some children play a 6-hole Ocarina and all the tunes in Books 1, 2, 3 & 4 by the age of 9 or 10. Others progress more steadily, piece-by-piece and book-by-book. Both approaches are normal and commendable. The Play your Ocarina Complete Guide gives opportunity to dip into tunes from any of Books 1 to 4 at any time; with four CDs it is a very complete resource indeed.

I gave the children Songs of Praise books and they just played them! We’ve played in assembly, in the shopping centre, for the old folks. It’s great. I’m really glad we discovered the Oc!   Primary School Headteacher, Keighley