All About Bass Ocarinas

by Howard Fosdick © FolkFluteWorld.com

The low, soothing sounds of the bass ocarina attract many of us. It has a special voice all its own.

But a good bass isn't easy to find. If you want a submarine or sweet-potato oc, prices range from $150 USD on up. Most cost $200 or even more.

Are there alternatives? We'll describe options that give you that same spooky low bass voice at a more reasonable price.

Here are the four alternatives we'll cover:

After we cover what's available for purchase, we'll offer tips on how playing the bass differs from other ocarinas. We'll tell you everything you need to know about the bass oc.

Ceramic Submarine

Let's start with a baseline.

Here are four beautiful transverse basses from Songbird Ocarina and STL Ocarina. These are two premier American ocarina vendors. You can trust that any oc you buy from them will be in tune and of quality finish.

The Muse is least expensive of those pictured at about $150 USD, while the other three clock in around $200. They're all lovely to look at, and give you that great ceramic sound. If you've got the cash, go for it.

But the point of this article is: aren't there less expensive alternatives? Personally I resist spending more than $100 for any single instrument. I like to spread my cash across several different folk flutes. Let's take a look...

Plastic Submarine

At the time of writing, there's only a single plastic sweet potato available, and it's a doozy. It's the sleek blue bass over at STL Ocarina.

Here's how it looks, in both Zelda and plain variants.

This is an 11 hole oc. It plays from 12 whole notes, from B3 to F5 (with all chromatics in between, of course).

Plastic's big advantage over ceramic is its weight. Clay basses can get pretty heavy. This plastic alternative weighs in at only 11 ounces. So you won't get tired of holding it.

(And if you do happen to drop it, it won't shatter like its ceramic competitors.)

The perennial question with any plastic oc is: does it sound as good as ceramic? Can you tell the difference between the two?

I'll let you be the judge. This product video over at Youtube not only gives you a sound sample, it compares the sound to a quality ceramic alternative.

For my money, this oc is a viable alternative to ceramic submarines. It's a screaming bargain at only about $60 USD.

I like this oc so much I've written a complete review of it you can read here.

Ceramic Seedpods

Another alternative is clay pendants. You can get high quality ceramic for well under $100. Some are as low as $50.

Here are a few examples from Songbird and STL. All go for well under $100, with the last two retailing for only about half that:

These ocarinas are 6 hole seedpods. They play a range of 10 whole notes, from C4 to E5 (plus all sharps and flats in between). That's a couple whole notes less than the submarine "ocs" we discussed above.

These ocs use pendant fingering, so you have to know that. But if you don't, it isn't difficult to learn. Schoolkids are introduced to music in the UK with pendants.

This fingering chart shows it isn't hard:

On rare occasion you might encounter a 4 hole bass seedpod. These have the same 4 top holes as the 6 hole oc, but lack its two thumb holes beneath.

The 4 hole bass fingers just like its 6 hole cousin, as shown in the chart above. But it lacks thumb holes, so it does not play the rightmost notes in the chart that include thumb holes. Their range is thus 8 whole notes instead of the 10 whole notes of the standard 6 hole bass.

The bottom line with a seedpod bass is that you get that nice deep ceramic sound at a very reasonable price. These are a great alternative to the more expensive ceramic submarines.

Ceramic Xun

Here's a final alternative that may not have occurred to you: the Chinese xun.

The xun -- pronounced "shoon" -- is a 7,000 year old Chinese instrument. It's still played there, both for its meaningful cultural heritage, and its beautiful sound.

Chinese keys are different from western keys, so if you buy a xun, you want it to be in the key of F. That's equivalent to the C major bass in the western scale.

So a xun in F is in the same key as the bass ocarina.

But there are some differences. First, xun don't finger like western folk flutes. Like pendants, they have their own unique fingering system that you have to memorize.

Second, it REALLY matters which kind of xun you buy. Look at the photo, and you'll notice three different types of blow holes.

The left-most xun has a symmetrical round blow hole. That's hardest to learn.

The middle xun has a recessed blow hole. That's much easier to play. But all designs are different and they vary a lot.

The right-hand xun has a fipple... just like an ocarina! In fact, it is an ocarina. So this is as easy to blow as any ocarina. (But of course you still have to learn the unique xun fingering system.)

I bought the rightmost xun, made by Showeroro, at Amazon for only $15 USD. It plays in tune and is a great bargain. You can read my complete review of it here.

Many quality xun go for somewhere between $30 and $100.

Xun are quite different from many western instruments. You really need to know a few of their peculiarities before plunging in and buying one. But if they interest you, they make a nice alternative to bass ocarinas.

For complete background on the xun, read my article The Ultimate Guide to the Xun.

How to Play the Bass

How is playing the bass different from other ocarinas?

We've already mentioned one key factor: whether the bass is a submarine with linear fingering, or a seedpod with its unique fingering system. (Or whether it's a xun, with any of its uniquely odd fingering patterns.)

You'll notice that the larger air volume in the bass' large chamber takes a tad longer to alter than it does in smaller vessel flutes. This means that fast fingering sometimes gets "swallowed" or becomes indistinct when you play some bass ocs. The bass doesn't articulate quickly fingered notes as distinctly because it takes a little time for the vessel to react to changes in air pressure.

For this reason, many consider the bass more suitable for slow dramatic songs, rather than quick-fingered jigs or fast-paced Irish tunes.

You'll also notice that the lowest notes on some bass ocs sound soft or almost muffled. They aren't always the prettiest notes. You can compensate for this with a nice vibrato. A soft low note with vibrato sounds more appealing than one without.

Playing the highest notes on a bass oc -- those with most or all finger holes open -- requires that you learn to balance the instrument. If you're learning with a ceramic oc, you might want to use a wrist strap to ensure that if you drop the instrument while learning, you don't break the piece. Eventually you'll develop a technique for the highest notes and won't require an assist.

Weight can be a factor with the bass. Your hands might get tired if you hold one for an extended session. The much lighter plastic bass offers one solution. The other is simply practice. After you gain experience with a heavy ceramic bass, you'll find that it no longer tires your hands or arms.

Conclusion

If you think you have to pay $200 for a quality bass ocarina, think again. I hope you've found our discussion of some of the alternatives useful.

You'll enjoy the deep sorrowful sound of the bass oc, and find that playing it differs only in small ways from playing other sizes of ocarina.