Primary Music FAQs

Some children start to play the ocarina as young as 3 or 4. The age depends on the reading-readiness of the child. A beginner aged ten will obviously be able to progress further sooner. You can start to play the ocarina at any age, even as an adult!

If your ocarina has more than 4 holes on the top, or if the holes are all the same size, then you will not be able to use Play your Ocarina books. All Ocarina Workshop ocarinas are precision-designed and tuned to play a full octave of notes following the methods shown in Play your Ocarina books. Other ocarinas are not tuned in the same way and are sometimes not tuned at all. Where there is no method, just blow and hope!!

The ocarina plays at the same pitch as the descant recorder and sounds well alongside recorders in groups. Ocarinas are much easier instruments to play, with fewer holes and a more immediate range of notes. Reading from Oc-pix™ and Oc-box™ music, and handling just four holes, make the ocarina a more accessible instrument for any beginner. Its round shape means that it tends not to squeak, even if played over-enthusiastically, reducing the suffering of player, parents and audience in the early stages!

Many players start with the 6-hole ocarina and just keep thumb-holes covered for their first 30 tunes in Books 1 and 2. We recommend 4-hole ocarinas for younger children and for whole class music lessons, where thumb-holes are not needed.

The plastic Oc® has a great sound. Older children and adults may prefer the more mellow tone and sophisticated feel of the ceramic Alto. Both are great instruments and even the Card-oc® produces a terrific sound! Listen to the sound files and videos on this site to make up your own mind.

Drop any musical instrument from a height and it will be damaged! These ocarinas are made and glazed to last. Wear your ocarina round your neck when playing, and store it safely in its box at other times so that it will last for years.

Yes! Most of the tunes in the other books are completely ‘4-hole friendly’. Where the occasional 6-hole note appears, an alternative ‘4-hole’ fingering is usually given. The best method is to play each note as published, using a 6-hole ocarina when necessary, but don’t let that stop you from having a go at everything on your 4-hole Oc® .

Many children play all the tunes in the Play Your Ocarina books simply by following the charts; they then go on to read music easily. This is because reading the charts gives them confidence and the music above the charts becomes a familiar friend. Use ‘1-2-3 Ocarina’ alongside Play Your Ocarina – Book 1 to teach the names of the first 10 ocarina-notes and learning to recognise them on the musical stave – and read rhythms too. This method works with everyone – whether a child in Year 1 or an adult having to teach music for the first time!

No! The books are copyright and contain copyright material. Each time you buy a book, Ocarina Workshop pays a royalty on your behalf to the songwriters. Sales of Play your Ocarina books also funds new publishing so you will have even more music to play in the future. Your group will benefit from using original materials rather than loose sheets. Please keep legal by taking advantage of bulk buy prices and free delivery to fully equip your group with music books.

No. There are many cheaply imported ‘ethnic’ ocarinas that cannot be played safely or even in tune. All Ocarina Workshop ocarinas have been tested and certified as safe and Play your Ocarina teaching resources guarantee their effectiveness in the classroom.

Most primary school children prefer the simplicity of the 4-hole Oc® . The first 40 tunes in Play your Ocarina books are just played on the top four holes. A 4-hole ocarina is sufficient for Book 1 and Book 2, and for many of the tunes in Carols and Songs of Praise. If your children are older, are very musical, or want to progress to Book 3 and Book 4, then the thumb-holes of the 6-hole ocarina are useful for the extra notes.

Ideally children should have their own ocarina for lessons. If an ocarina is to be shared between children, you should sterilise it between uses by using a dilute solution of any sterilising liquid suitable for cleaning babies’ feeding bottles. Keep the string away from the solution and make sure the ocarina is thoroughly dried.

A class set of ocarinas and a CD-Rom work perfectly well by themselves. Books are useful if you want to send children off to practice individually, in small groups, or at home. Books are also very portable for carrying in to assembly, or to other venues where you may like to perform without having to take technology with you. Playing from Book 1 is also an important skill to learn, as reading familiar music from this book will prepare a class to progress on to other music books. So whilst the CD-Rom is meant to work without books, keep a class set of Book 1 handy for special occasions, and to add variety to your lessons.

The CD-Rom is perfectly designed for on-screen display, with animated ocarina and colourful music. However, the 428 scrolling screens would not work as printouts. Fortunately, all the music appears in highly readable form in Play your Ocarina Book 1 so printing is not necessary.

There is no annual fee or Site Licence for the CD-Rom. Each CD-Rom is supplied for installation on one computer only and paid for just once. We therefore offer discounted prices for buying two or more, and five or more, for anyone who needs to install on more than one computer. A single CD-Rom can be installed a second time, for legitimate reasons, when a computer has to be replaced or reconfigured. Re-installing does trigger email warnings, so please buy enough CD-Rom for one each per computer.

Yes they can! The music is suitable for solo playing on any instrument. When played together, transposing instruments such as clarinet, trumpet or saxophone require specially written parts in order to play in tune with backing CDs and other instruments. Flutes, violins and other non transposing instruments can all play the music straight off the page in tune with Mini, Alto and Bass ocarinas, and with the Oc® .

Yes, if you are willing to experiment and write harmony parts, or play by ear. Try playing the tune on a D ocarina, and improvise harmonies with a G ocarina. The sound of two differently pitched ocarinas playing together can be wonderful. Ocarina charts are suitable for both D and G ocarinas, so groups of G ocarinas can play well together at their own pitch using the books. Masquerade Ocarinas play arrangements for D and G ocarinas. Videos of these can be seen on this site, and on YouTube.

To hear a virtuoso group listen to Michael Copley and the Chuckerbutty Ocarina Quartet on their CD ‘The ocarina is No Trombone’. ‘The Sweet Potato Tooters’ CD is also great fun. See the Music and CDs section in OcShop for details.

Twenty two! 11 on the left and the same 11 repeated on the right. Each set of 4-holes are positioned three on top, and one underneath. This means that the full octave of notes, including semitones, can be played using only one hand.

With huge amounts of time, patience and skill! John Langley positions a wall down the centre of the single-chambered instrument to create two separate ocarinas. Each side is fine-tuned to itself and its partner.

Yes. It is best to choose two Duets an octave apart so the four sounds are varied in pitch – Soprano and Tenor (G) or Alto and Bass (C). We have yet to hear of an octet for four, but have enjoyed playing quartets for two!