Music Is A Mystery

[bloodyrosemccoy]

The problem with a musical instrument with a range of about an octave and a half is making the songs fit on it. Normally this isn't a huge issue, since songs mostly tend to stay within that range, but it can be a bit awkward when you're trying to play, say, Frank Mills's "Music Box Dancer" and your ocarina only goes up to F over tenor C.

So I had to move the darn thing to from C-Major to F-Major. Fortunately, figuring out how to do that is one of the few lessons that stuck after seven years' worth of piano and bass lessons. But then, the bass lessons never got near tenor C anyway, so I suppose you can't fault me there.

Anyway, THE POINT IS I'm still playing the ocarina, and it still works as an effective cat-summoner. Perhaps next I'll combine two of my passions and get one of these. Figure out a way to add pens or dolls into the mix, and I will be set forever.

Comments

[gwalla.livejournal.com]

So I guess this means you won't be playing "A Whiter Shade of Pale" on it.

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

It would probably sound rather silly on an ocarina, anyway.

But ask my sister about her quest to learn Free Bird on the flute!

[gwalla.livejournal.com]

At least a flute has range! You can't really overblow an ocarina though.

On the plus side, you can do all sorts of microtonal trickery on an ocarina by half-holing (the wonders of Helmholtz resonators). So you could probably play ragas.