Some people say they have their own personal musical note. When they hear it they shiver or feel a strange sensation, as if the note had been made especially for them...their note. Music is the universal language. Perhaps it's also the "beyond-the-Universe language as well, and we experience it in more ways than we're usually aware.
Music nurtures us and appeases our own inner disharmony. It's a friend to commiserate with and equally one to share in our rejoicing. It brings us the rhythm of the ages and the rhyme of the future. It is healing and soothing, connecting with our pain, stroking it's underbelly and lulling it to sleep. It is magic!
What better way is there to have that magic at our beckoned call than to carry a music maker around with us?
Ocarinas are small, oval flutes that are carried on a cord, often around the neck. They have been used in one form or another since the earliest of times, and have been made from clay, bone, gourds and wood. Today there are also plastic varieties. Usually, an ocarina has 4-6 fingering holes (although some have up to 12). The size of the finger holes and the size of the inner chamber, as well as the thickness of the flute, affect the sound that is produced. Ocarinas can be simply made from inexpensive materials or elaborately designed from the best of materials. An Ocarina represents what is termed a "vessel flute", meaning that it is primarily an "enclosed sound" flute featuring only one sound-escape hole other than the finger holes.
It is believed that the Aztecs took the ocarina to Europe where it became popular. Credited with being the first producer of them, Giuseppe Donati took special care to state that his flutes were completely handmade. He even signed them in gold. Ocarinas were also a favorite with World War I soldiers since they were so lightweight and handy to carry around. The ocarina is an instrument that calls many nations "home". Most cultural heritages have one in their history, or something very similar to it.
It is relatively inexpensive to make one, especially, with the craft clay that is so easily available today. Make several and keep perfecting your technique with each one. When you get the technique perfected to your satisfaction, reproduce a few more of them and give as gifts. They are truly a "one of a kind" gift since you can adjust the size, shape and final decorative qualities of each one you make.
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