21-22 – GE – Week of 11/1 – 11/5
Instrument of the Week
The Woodwind Family
The Ocarina
The ocarina is a wind musical instrument—a type of vessel flute.[1] Variations exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body. It is traditionally made from clay or ceramic, but other materials are also used—such as plastic, wood, glass, metal, or bone.
The ocarina belongs to a very old family of instruments, believed to date back over 12,000 years.[2] Ocarina-type instruments have been of particular importance in Chinese and Mesoamerican cultures. For the Chinese, the instrument played an important role in their long history of song and dance. The ocarina has similar features to the Xun (塤), another important Chinese instrument (but is different in that the ocarina uses an internal duct, whereas the Xun is blown across the outer edge).[3] In Japan, the traditional ocarina is known as the tsuchibue (kanji: 土笛; literally “earthen flute”), whereas “ocarina” comes from the Italian for “little goose”. Different expeditions to Mesoamerica, including the one conducted by Cortés, resulted in the introduction of the ocarina to the courts of Europe. Both the Mayans and Aztecs produced versions of the ocarina, but it was the Aztecs who brought to Europe the song and dance that accompanied the ocarina. The ocarina went on to become popular in European communities as a toy instrument.[1]
Ocarina, c. 1900, Museu de la Música de Barcelona
One of the oldest ocarinas found in Europe is from Runik, Kosovo. The Runik ocarina is a Neolithic flute-like wind instrument, and is the earliest prehistoric musical instrument ever recorded in Kosovo.[4] The modern European ocarina dates back to the 19th century, when Giuseppe Donati from Budrio, a town near Bologna, Italy, transformed the ocarina from a toy, which played only a few notes, into a more comprehensive instrument (known as the first “classical” ocarina). The word ocarina in the Bolognese dialect of the Emiliano-Romagnolo language means “little goose.” The earlier form was known in Europe as a gemshorn, which was made from animal horns of the chamois (Dutch: gems).[5]
In 1964, John Taylor, an English mathematician, developed a fingering system that allowed an ocarina to play a full chromatic octave using only four holes.[1] This is now known as the English fingering system, and is used extensively for pendant ocarinas. It is also used in several multi-chamber ocarinas, especially in ones that are designed to play more than one note at a time.
The ocarina features prominently in both NES and Nintendo 64 games, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time,The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask and Earthbound Beginnings. The games have been credited for increasing the popularity of ocarinas and the sale of them.[6] In the 1953 Finnish children’s book Tirlittan, the title character also plays an ocarina.[7]
The Hobbit – Misty Mountains Cold on STL Ocarina
Believer – Imagine Dragons – Ocarina Cover || David Erick Ramos
Musical Fact Of The Week
Question
Which rock band is the most popular ever?
Answer
The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and the Eagles sold the most albums, as measured by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Here comes the sun with lyrics The Beatles
The Beatles Hello, Goodbye ( Lyrics )
KIDZ BOP Kids – Get The Party Started (Dance Along) [KIDZ BOP All-Time Greatest Hits]