ocarina


Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Wikipedia.

ocarina

(ŏkərē`nə), musical wind instrument with eight finger holes and two thumb holes, rather egg-shaped, and made of metal, terra-cotta or plastic. Unlike other wind instuments, it produces pure tones that lack overtones. It was invented in the late 19th cent. in Italy and is popular with amateurs for its relative simplicity and low cost. It is occasionally called a "sweet potato" because of its shape.

Ocarina

 

a wind instrument having a whistle-like structure; a type of flute.

The body (earthenware or porcelain) of the ocarina is oval or cigar-shaped and forms a nozzle that has a mouthpiece and whistle opening. The instrument has between seven and ten finger holes, which are used to alter pitch. It plays a diatonic scale. Ocarinas have been made in the most diverse sizes and varieties (ranging from a soprano to a bass). Some are equipped with a tuning plunger and valves. The ocarina is widespread among all peoples. Any of the ceramic whistles usually made in the form of a bird or fish are considered ocarina instruments.

ocarina

an egg-shaped wind instrument with a protruding mouthpiece and six to eight finger holes, producing an almost pure tone
Mentioned in ?
References in periodicals archive ?
Dennis Yeh, Director of the St Louis School of Music and founder of STL Ocarina.
Marvel At The Power Of Music
And yet it barely begins to cover the status of Shigeru Miyamoto's 1998 adventure The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Zelda takes 3DS to new dimension
San Jose, California-based Ocarina is privately held and was founded in 2007.
Dell agrees to buy storage technology company
3), ocarinas and old Chinese Xuns; seven in the Budrio ocarina (fig.
Sounds of clay: Onofrio Chieco's whistles: Melanie Zefferino reports on the history and significance of clay whistles
And though the December strike of Ocarina in December is his sole winner this term he has had around a dozen horses finish in the frame.
Horse Racing: Race rookie Ewart tipped to be star of tomorrow
The small "Tooters" are of the ocarina style and are made from some small decorative gourds.
Musical instruments from gourds
The ocarina proves to be an unusual delight, Motian is a delight as usual; overall, this is a very satisfying release that sounds new and familiar at the same time.
More jazz than not
TRAINER James Ewart looks good for a double at Carlisle this afternoon with Numero Un de Solzen and Ocarina.
Horse Racing: EW TWO CAN BE A WINNER!
Some donors have dropped off rare and somewhat odd instruments, including an ocarina, a melodica and a theremin, Ralph said.
Instruments given to the tune of ..
As a secondary theme, it also alludes to the musical instrument on which Stalin allegedly played Niebuhr a tune when he charged him during his internment to act as a party "idea-container," and to a concerto for ocarina that his nephew later composes for his composition examination at the musical academy.
Hermann Kant. Okarina
The ocarina is described as a whistle you can play songs on.
Clay Whistles
Withers joined Dell via the acquisition of Ocarina Networks, a leading storage technology vendor, where he was Vice President of Global Sales and Business Development.
Nebula Appoints Dell Executive Dave Withers as Senior Vice President of Global Field Operations

Encyclopedia browser ?
Full browser ?