Joy of Wood Thrush 12 Hole Alto C Sweet Potato Ocarina Pottery Ocarina with a Protective Bag and Songbooks (Gradient Blue)

I don't know enough about playing music to write a proper review for this but I like the way it sounds. The tone sounds somewhat heartwarming to me in general. It was actually a video review here on Amazon that made me decide to try the ocarina because of how good it sounded in the video. Alto C is a nice range and it is the most common ocarina major. I'd like to try an F major, which I believe would a tenor, for a smoother deep tone, but I also want Alto D for Irish music, so maybe Alto C is a good balance to play a wide variety of music with. I bought this ocarina back in October but I've been too busy to spend more time playing it, but it seems fairly easy after a while. I don't have a background in music but I was able to get Happy Birthday down in a day, although I needed the fingering chart to remember the notes. What I'd like to learn for this ocarina is European folk music, like the music played on medieval and ancient flutes. The funny thing is how many other people have also jumped over to Ievan Polkka with their ocarinas, so that's one Finnish folk song I know can be played well. I don't know if I'll ever get good enough to play something like Korpiklaani's music but the ocarina should be great to have when hiking and camping, good campfire instrument. I mainly bought the ocarina as something to bring into the outdoors as a hobby, so I don't have any plans to join a metal band with it or anything big like that. Based on my time of using it though, I really enjoyed the way it sounds and simplicity of the instrument. It feels just right for size and weight, and then the color is a plus. My pictures don't show the cord because I didn't bother figuring out how to tie it on but I'm thinking of using a thick blue lace or hide. Forgot to mention one last thing from my original review, I do have a few notes that play airy at lower volume, those where the right thumb is uncovered. Does anyone else have this? The ocarina seems to play best at a medium air pressure, like half of full blown. Maximum air flow doesn't produce noise because [explanation of acoustic and wind physics here] but you can still get very loud with it.

Overall: I paid $19.99 for this and it's absolutely the best ceramic ocarina I've found for under $100.00. As is normal for ocarinas, the pitch and tone both vary with the volume. This one needs to be a bit louder than I would expect to play in tune with other instruments, but that's fairly easy to get used to doing and if it's your first ocarina, you probably won't notice the difference anyway. It's reasonably in tune *with itself* at any volume. I personally think the tone is best at the volume that's about a quarter step flat, but that only matters if you're playing with others and it definitely still sounds good at the higher volume for the correct pitch. The low A, Bb, and B are tricky to play in tune and the high F and E tend to be airy, but this is pretty normal and this one isn't nearly as bad as a lot of others, so while it's something to be aware of, I wouldn't consider it a serious issue.

Other than that, it's extremely good for it's price. Comes with a nice case and such. Very easy to use, and not too heavy. Definitely one of the best "cheap" ocarinas out there.

I bought this for my daughter who wanted to try the instrument. She has played the tin whistle and harmonica so she transitioned to using this instrument fairly quickly! She says it is perfect; good weight, well constructed, she likes where the finger holes are placed (and she has small hands). The sound is soft and clear- She was able to produce a beautiful sound right after unwrapping it! She appreciates the lovely case and the packaging was good. She plays by ear quite a bit but it did come with a starter song instruction book as well. Awesome purchase and it made her happy on her Birthday! If you are thinking of getting an Ocarina this is a good one to consider (unless you need it to be unbreakable for a younger child, I would probably have gotten a plastic one but my daughter is older).

The pros: It looks like the Zelda ocarina; the glaze is slightly translucent so it actually looks better than a lot of those really ultramarine looking ones. The sound is or less like a soprano recorder, fairly crisp and clear. That may or may not be a pro for some people as C5-C6 is pretty high. It also feels nice to the touch and also comes with a lightly padded case. The cons: I think there might be a quality control issue with these things as mine had a slightly sharp C5 and a very flat B6. Could be that the way they’re manufactured is somewhat imprecise? From the other reviews this probably isn’t the case for all of them, but keep in mind that with cheap products that have high ratings it’s quality control that suffers. Also because it’s a soprano, it’s pretty high pitched, C4 is middle C for reference. In terms of playability... You can still maneuver to hit in between notes (to compensate for sharps or flats) if you partially cover the sound holes, and if you are lucky and get a more precise one then this probably won’t even be an issue for you. Is it worth buying? I think for most people scoping this out on amazon, yes. Even if you get a kinda sorta dud, it’s still playable enough. It’s more intuitive than the 4 hole ones, sounds decent for the price, and looks quite beautiful (which let’s be real is what most Zelda fans are here for) Bottom line: it’s cheap, there are quality control issues, it sounds like a soprano recorder, but as long as you’re cool with that you can totally kick some sweet zelda tunes.

Ich hatte mir bereits vorher eine Ocarina bestellt und die gleich zurück schicken müssen weil sie schrecklich klang.. die hier ist ihr Geld wert. Sie klingt schön und ist gut verarbeitet. Die höheren Töne sind etwas unsauber aber als Einsteiger reicht das für den Preis vollkommen aus um mit Spaß bei der Sache ein Gefühl für das Instrument zu bekommen.

I love this instrument. Easy to learn, and sounds really nice. Comes with a nice carrying case and a nice little "how-to" and songbook.

J'ai acheté des occarinas plus chers, celui-ci est de loin le meilleur que j'ai jamais eu. Bravo!