An introduction to the ocarina's fingering system
This assumes you understand octave registers and how they are named. If not, please read 'Octaves and scale formation'.
The transverse ocarina uses a simple linear fingering system similar to the tin whistle and Boehm flute. Opening the holes sequentially produces the notes of a major scale of the instrument's key.
Single chambered ocarinas have eight main holes on top of the instrument and two thumb holes—one hole for every finger and both thumbs, which are labelled in the diagram below. These eight finger holes and two thumb holes are universal across all single chambered ocarinas, regardless of if you have a 10, 11, or 12 hole ocarina.
There are also 3 other kinds of holes which can be found on ocarinas:
- The voicing, which is always present. This is where sound is produced, and it should never be covered while playing.
- Subholes. Ocarinas may include one, two, or rarely three subholes, one of which is shown below. They are additional holes positioned next to one of the eight main finger holes, and allow you to play lower notes.
- Split holes; a split hole is a single hole which has been split into two smaller holes to make an accidental (sharp or flat) easier to play. split holes should not be confused with subholes as they do not change the range of the instrument.
Under normal circumstances, you can treat a split hole as a single hole, covering both of the holes with the pad of the pinky finger. Within naming conventions, split holes also count as a single hole. While an 11 hole ocarina with a split hole technically has '12 holes' in the sense of having 12 holes to be covered by the fingers, it is still an 11 hole ocarina in naming and practice.
The natural notes
The 10 main finger holes, not including the subhole(s) if applicable, can be considered 'home base'. Whenever they are covered and the right pressure used, the ocarina will sound the note of its key—C if you have a C ocarina.
The diagrams below depict equivalent fingerings for a 10 hole ocarina with a split pinky hole, and a 12 hole ocarina. Black means that the hole is covered, and white means it is uncovered.
The circles positioned next to the diagram represent the two thumb holes.
The right hand
Beginning at the fingering given above, you can play a major scale by lifting your fingers from right to left. The fingerings are as follows:
- First, lifting the right pinky sounds the second note of the scale.
- Lifting the ring finger sounds the third.
- Lifting the middle finger sounds the fourth scale note.
- Finally, lifting the index finger sounds the fifth.
The examples given here show a C ocarina, but the same fingerings apply to ocarinas in any key; just substitute the notes of that key, such as G A B C D E F♯ G for a G ocarina. Also note that low C on the staff technically refers to C4 or middle C. Ocarinas typically consider this 'low C', regardless of their octave.
The left hand
The left hand fingerings follow the same pattern of lifting the fingers from right to left, but the first finger to lift is the ring finger, not the pinky! The pinky finger stays down to support the instrument.
The second octave
There are two different fingering systems in existence for the second octave: Asian and Italian. The Asian system is the most common, and the high notes are played as follows:
- The second octave begins by lifting the left thumb to play D.
- The right thumb is lifted or rolled off to play E.
- Finally, the left pinky is lifted last to sound the highest note.
The Italian fingering is almost identical, and just reverses the ordering of two notes. Instead of playing the E on the right thumb (assuming a C instrument), you play it on the pinky.
The Italian system allows one more note to be played without moving the right thumb and thus removing the instrument's primary support point. The downside of this system is that it makes the pinky hole a lot bigger. It is impractical for lower pitched ocarinas, and can be a problem for people with small hands.
Subhole notes
Many ocarinas have subholes that extend the range downwards. For instace, a 12 hole alto C ocarina can play B and A below the C. They are played by sliding the finger forwards, covering two holes with the pad of one finger.
The fingerings for a 12 hole alto C ocarina are shown below.
The subholes can be positioned for different fingers. In the Taiwanese system one subhole is positioned on each hand for the middle fingers. If the second subhole instead appears in the position of the right index finger, the ocarina has 'Japanese' subholes.
The numbers in the diagram indicate which order they are covered in when descending the diatonic scale.
The 11 hole ocarina is a variation that eliminates the second subhole, and the single subhole can be placed on either finger, but putting it on the left hand can have ergonomic advantage.
Subholes are mostly used when lower notes are being played, and putting the subhole on the left middle finger divides the work between hands.
The chromatic notes
In most cases, the ocarina's chromatic notes do not have holes of their own. They are played by 'cross fingering', covering the holes out of sequence.
The following shows some example cross fingerings, but do note that the best tuned fingerings vary from one ocarina to another, and especially between ocarinas in different octaves. I recommend instead using the fingerings given in the fingering chart for your ocarina.
Split holes as shown are common on 10 hole ocarinas, as the only way to play the sharp otherwise is to partially vent a hole. If an ocarina has subholes, they also allow the low accidental to be played.
Split holes are often seen on the higher chambers of multichambered ocarinas for the same reason as a 10 hole ocarina, none of the possible fingerings sound the right pitch.
Alternate fingerings
Because the pitch of an ocarina depends mostly on the total area of open finger holes, you can frequently play notes using alternate fingerings. These are sometimes given in the fingering chart for your instrument, but often you have to work them out by experimentation.
Alternative fingerings can be used for a number of reasons, including to simplify the fingerings in a fast passage or play microtones, notes who's pitch is between the 'standard' ones.
They may not be tuned as well as the standard fingerings, requiring irregular changes in breath pressure, but if they allow you to play something smoothly that doesn't matter. When playing fast rhythmic errors are often more obvious than the pitches of individual notes.
Finally, if you're a beginner feel free to ignore alternate fingerings, you'll know what you need them.
