OcarinaWind® 12 Hole Ocarina Exquisite Craft of Blue Ice-crack Alto C,Tenor C Ocarina, Gift Idea

In my ever continuing pursuit to expand my ocarina collection, and having had excellent experiences with OcarinaWind before, I decided to purchase their newest ocarinas (this one and its sibling found here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00T0HQANA/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_0# ). The least that can be said about these ocarinas is WOW. Both of these ocarinas are exceptionally well crafted. I seriously cannot believe they are only $30. Allow me to break down the details of this ocarina (the blue/teal) a little further.The basics:Shipping: Arrived a day early even after being delayed by inclement weather! The item was in perfect condition with a lovely beaded neckstrap, a padded velcro pouch, and instructions and songs. It as well! The ocarina was tucked away in its pouch that was in a small box (that says "fragile"), which was protected by air packages inside another box. Safe and sound!The pouch: I have a few of OcarinaWinds pouches and I have to say they are quite nice. They are nicely padded with a velcro sealed opening. It even has a belt loop on the back if you want to attack it to your belt!The neck strap: A nicely made beaded neck strap that is adjustable in length. It fits around my big head with no problem.And now the good stuff:Finish: Beautiful!! I just love the teal ice crackle finish and the clear glaze over it. It's extremely pretty and has a nice feel too it: smooth and easily lets your fingers glide right across the ocarina. Solid and well done with no chips, kinks, blobs, or bubbles. The one I received is actually more of light teal color than the more blue shaded one provided in the image above. I actually like the teal color better. It kinda has a watery look to it with the crackle finish. Very pretty to look at!Design/Feel: I'm really digging the design of the ocarina. I believe it is the same design as its sibling but just a different color. The first thing I said when I pulled its sibling out of the pouch was: "Wow this is solid!!" The teal ocarina follows just the same! Its about 7 inches (which my large hands appreciate), solid craftsmanship, and quite hefty (10 ounces at least, which I appreciate). To me, nothing feels worse when playing an ocarina than the sound and feel of a thin flimsy ocarina. A solid construction obviously lends in creating a beautiful tone, and this is definitely one of the more finely crafted ocarinas I own. The wind channel is curved as well which will ease the strain on your wrist and make playing much more enjoyable. The hole spacing is average as well. My large fingers fit across them nicely and do not rub together (which can make playing smaller ocarinas difficult if you have bigger hands).Sound/tone: Absolutely superb!!! It also outplays several of my $60+ ocarinas that I own. Once again I cannot believe this is priced at $30. It does not sound airy at all (except for the high F, but with practice it too sounds perfect), and the sound itself is very cheerful, warm, and open. I was impressed that the high C, D, and E weren't airy on either ocarinas as these tend to be slightly airy on lower costing ocarinas. I personally favor the lower notes on ocarinas and these (or the other notes) do not disappoint; they are very clear and pleasant. One thing that I was thoroughly impressed with is that the subholes (A and B) flow perfectly in tune with the C+ notes on these ocarinas. Sometimes the sound of the subholes is "disconnected", so to speak, from the rest of the notes, in terms of flow, on quite a few ocarinas. A major plus for me.Tuning: After having tested the ocarina with several different tuners and compared it to my other ocarinas (a few of which I know are perfectly tuned), I have to that that this one is practically perfect! Every note is clean, crisp, and right on the money according to my ears and the tuners, and there are no uneven breath requirements while going up the scale that could cause obscuring of the tone.Each note is easy in tune while still preserving the tone and quality of sound. Quite the fine tuned instrument!Overall I could not be happier with this ocarina or its sibling. I'm actually torn between the two and the rest of my ocarinas as of which is my favorite (coming from someone who owns several makers such as Stein-Focalink, Songbird, Hind, Noble, and a few other lesser known). As I've said before, the design, sound, and tuning are all superb and I still cannot believe how inexpensive this ocarina is. Don't let its price fool you as it will give any other well made ocarina a run for its money. So if you are looking for an exquisitely well made ocarina that is affordable I believe this, or its sibling, is what you are looking for.

No, really, listen. This instrument is enchanting. Melodic doesn’t come close. It’s truly breathtaking.This is my second Ocarina, the first being a more expensive (and overpriced in my opinion) plastic STL Ocarina, which this one beats hands down. Not only is this not made of plastic but unlike my STL ocarina, this one has no trouble hitting the high notes- and I don’t even have to do the acute bend! The breath control is so much easier on this lovely piece and the instrument itself is simply gorgeous.I was delighted to open my box to an Ocarina that has a slightly lighter tone than the one the picture shows, the blue is more of a robin egg or light teal that my horrible camera doesn’t give the justice it deserves.My only real disappointment was in the songbook- which I think is a bit unfair of me. My problem was all my own fault, I’d gotten excited seeing that there was twenty songs included and for some reason assumed they’d be in sheet music style. The twenty songs are there but are in Ocarina tabs- which is perfect for anyone who is just starting out or if this is their first instrument. With this lovely little songbook even someone who has never seen a piece of sheet music in their life would be able to play a little ditty on their ocarina with no problem since the tabs show you exactly which holes need to be covered for the desired note. As someone who is just learning sheet music and hungry for any I can get my hands on the tabs did make me a little sad, but this feature truly just makes the product even better for those who’ve never played before so I can’t blame them.The Ocarina also comes with a pretty little cord to attach and a nicely padded protective bag.I must say the cord scares me a little, the piece that you tie to the ocarina just seems so thin I’m afraid to trust it (especially with my knotting skills). That being said I’ve decided not to rely on it overly much. I’ve attached it with a little prayer that if my hands let the ocarina slip from them the strap will hold and save this precious little instrument from shattering on the ground. Other than in hopefully-never-to-be drops I’ll not be using the strap as a necklace. I’ll wear it as I play in case I do drop it, but I’m not going to be wearing the ocarina around in that fashion. For the record, the strap is adjustable and it fits over even my big head.If you decide not to trust the strap (or the knot you tie for that matter (: ) but still wish to carry the ocarina around on your person the handy dandy pouch does have what appears to be a securely sewed band on the back of it that you can loop a belt through. I can’t verify whether or not the stitches hold well but I can say they appear to be sewed in well enough.Now, onto the instrument itself! The holes are placed a good distance apart. I have long fingers and this ocarina fits them comfortably, but this doesn’t mean you need a large reach to find the holes. The sub holes are easy to reach and with the glossy finish your fingers can glide to them without much difficulty.I’ll admit I was a bit apprehensive when I first looked at the ocarina on Amazon and saw that the strap hole actually went through the neck of the ocarina. Wouldn’t air go through it and mess with the notes? Turns out the answers no! The place the hole is drilled through has no access to the chamber the air you blow enters. This is a much prettier design then the little weird bumpy thing attached to the neck of my STL ocarina for its strap.The Ocarina sounds in tune to me, although I am no expert and have no way to check for sure. I did compare it to my STL (which they pride themselves as being completely in tune) and it matched it note for note without the breathiness the STL has on the higher pitches- which I will say is probably partially me for having amateur breath control but also once again raises this beautiful ocarina up again for its super easy breath control.And can I just mention how wonderful the customer service of this company is? They not only emailed me to make sure I’d received the ocarina alright but also sent another email later to make sure I loved the instrument. The answer is yes. I adore this little instrument.I am absolutely no expert on the ocarina or any instrument for that matter, just a sixteen year old who’d decided to try out the instrument I’d first discovered in my child hood video game. I’ve only started playing a couple months ago- but that just goes to show this instrument is truly for everyone with a wish to play. Anyone can learn it. If your finding you want a little more instruction then the song book has to offer do yourself a favor and check out David Eric Ramos’ you tube channel- he has a wonderful set of tutorials on how to play the ocarina and teaches you sheet music along the way. From what I can tell this is the perfect piece to start with, easy breath control, on pitch notes, holes placed perfectly, and twenty songs (seven of which are from Legend of Zelda if your purpose in ocarina searching has something to do with a certain fairy boy) in ocarina tabs to help you hit the ground running.If your just starting out and looking for a good ocarina to throw your first attempts at there’s no need to look any farther. You’ve found it- and you don't even have to ask Navi.

Received early. I’m new to ocarina so I’m not sure if it’s just me or all ocarina require a larger blow into it to make a clear sound on higher notes. Came with an ocarina notes book. Beautiful turquoise. Loved it so far.

Geschenk. Mein Sohn ist sehr zufrieden. Spielt normalerweise Querflöte!

This is my first ocarina and I researched them quite a lot before buying. This is a beautiful instrument and mine was identical to the picture although the shade of blue slightly lighter. It sounds lovely and surprisingly all the notes are in tune if the holes are covered properly. I found it relatively easy to learn however my musical knowledge is gr7 standard on flute so this will probably be harder if you have no musical experience. Despite this you don't need to be able to read music to learn to play this instrument. Comes as described with a nice padded case, a strap and a mini songbook. Very happy!

La ocarina viene con una funda fina de color negro para transportarla, aunque recomiendo comprar una rígida que aguante los golpes, también con un colgante para colgársela al cuello, que es de una calidad bastante baja (recomiendo también comprar otro mejor).El sonido es muy bueno, superior a la típica ocarina azul del Zelda, al menos yo noto la diferencia entre esta, otra que compré y la del Zelda. Las otras dos son similares y el sonido también, mientras que la azul parece que no llegue a dar bien los tonos.Esteticamente también es una preciosidad de ocarina. Perfecta para regalos.

Absolutely LOVE this product. Very good quality and comes with a starter book to help you figure out the notes.