These "Ocs" Rock: Unique Flutes

© FolkFluteWorld.com

This website covers a huge variety of folk flutes.

Yet this post describes a few you've probably never heard of. They're made by Mountain Ocarinas, a small family firm founded by inventive musical genius Karl Ahrens.

Ahrens played saxophone back in his school days. Like many of us, he fell away from the instrument as he got older.

Saxes are fantastic fun, but they're not a good fit for the lone musician. They're loud, big, heavy, and delicate. They're made for ensembles and set play, not the solo wanderer.

Ahrens tried recorders, tin whistles, and a few other substitutes, but none of them seemed to fit his desires.

In the end, he decided to design his own instruments. His goal was to create small flutes that are lightweight, portable, indestructible, and very easy to learn and play.

They also had to be fully musically capable. Above all, they must voice beautifully.

He determined to manufacture these flutes himself. Thus Mountain Ocarinas was born with the new century. Many call the company MO for short.

The Flutes

Mr Ahrens invented the three flutes you see in this photo.

All are vessel flutes, flutes that resonate sound waves within an enclosed chamber. They're not open ended pipes like recorders or concert flutes.

Since they have a fipple, a mouthpiece that automatically directs your breath to hit a sharp edge to produce sound waves, they are also what we call ocarinas. (We call the "ocs" for short.)

This fipple design makes them much easier to play than flutes where you must precisely direct your breath to the splitting edge yourself, like concert flutes.

The two ocs on the left and bottom were Mr Ahrens' first products. They've been in production, off and on, for two decades.

The rightmost flute is called the Coda EDC or Everyday Carry flute. It first became available for purchase a few years ago. Ahrens spent many years developing it and owns multiple patents on its unique design.

This article focuses on the first two flutes. The Coda -- a radically innovate design -- deserves its own in-depth post. We'll link to it at the end of this article.

How They Sound

The ultimate test for any flute is how it sounds. So let's listen to a couple samples:

It's a polycarbonate (quality plastic) flute keyed to C major. It's lowest note is the same as a soprano recorder, C5.

The second song is Black Magic Woman played by Ubizmo on his "poly" G instrument. This is the bottom flute in the photo. It's smallest of the three. It's keyed to G major with a fundamental note of G5.

Right away, you'll notice that while these instruments are technically ocarinas, they don't sound like any ocs you've ever heard.

Most ocs have a round, enclosed, mellow tone. You can instantly tell they're vessel flutes by their voices.

MO's flutes sound brighter... more direct and bold. Definitely different from how most ocarinas sound.

In a blind test, would you identify them as ocarinas? Probably not. Most of us would just say they're some unknown kind of flute.

High-pitched ocarinas usually sound louder than lower pitched ones. Played at proper breath pressure, the G oc sounds louder than the C. But unlike some G soprano ocs, the MO G doesn't come across as shrill or piercing. It's got a confident but pleasant high voice.

With its greater projection, the G is the oc better suited to outdoor play. That's especially true in natural settings where dense vegetation dampens sound. It also carries well over other instruments in ensembles.

For a long sessions indoors, the softer-voiced C sometimes makes a better companion.

The Basics

Mountain Ocarinas has manufactured these two ocs in several different materials over the years. Among them are polycarbonate plastic, warmstone, cocobolo wood, corian, and aluminum. Most have been made in poly.

The poly flutes usually cost around $40 USD. Other materials cost more, with varying prices.

Both these flutes extend straight out from your mouth when you play them. Shaped like many TV remotes, they are called inline ocarinas.

Like most ocs, they are not tunable. They're single piece construction.

The larger instrument, in the key of C major, measures about 5 1/2" long and nearly 1 1/2" wide. In poly, it weighs about 2.2 ounces.

It has 7 top holes and two thumbs holes beneath, for a range from C5 to E6.

That's 10 whole notes, plus all intervening sharps and flats. (If you're pretty skilled, you might be able get an extra low note or two -- B# or B -- below the low C by blowing very softly.)

The smaller instrument, keyed to G major, measures about 4 1/2" long and 1 1/2" inches wide at its widest point. It's less than an inch thick. It weighs in at 1.4 ounces in poly.

With 8 top holes and two thumb holes beneath, it ranges from F#5 to B6. That's a range of 10 whole notes, plus low F# beneath them. (Again, a skilled player might even be able to sound an F below the F#.)

The lowest note of the C major oc is the same as that of the soprano recorder. The G instrument's base note is four notes higher. Since the G ocarina has the one extra finger hole for the left pinky finger, it plays down to a note below G.

Playing

You finger these inline ocs identically to how you play any standard transverse ocarina. So if you can play a "submarine" or "sweet potato" style ocarina, you already know how to play the MO ocs.

If you're new to playing music, you'll find these flutes to be the ideal starting point. To play up the scale, you just lift your fingers off the holes, one after the other. It's simple!

Here's a fingering chart for both instruments that illustrates their easy fingering:

These ocs differ from how you finger other ocarinas in one small way. The use of the two thumb holes beneath the instrument are reversed versus that you find for most ocarinas. As you play up the scale, you lift your right thumb first, then your left thumb. This is the opposite of the typical transverse oc. You'll get used to this peculiarity in a session or two.

Most ocarinas require you to blow harder to play high notes in tune. That makes sense, since you're blowing into a enclosed chamber in which you've created leaks by keeping lots of fingering holes open.

This "rising breath" requirement is true of the MO ocs, too. But the difference in breath pressure between the highest and lowest notes is lesser than many ocarinas.

It's easy to attain the high notes on the MO flutes. These high notes sound as pretty as any others. They are not excessively airy.

That contrasts to many other ocarinas, where the highest notes are either hard to play, or they sound unpleasantly windy.

You'll find it's easy to play a nice vibrato with the MO ocs. They're high pitched with small enclosed chambers. That makes them highly responsive to the minute variations in air pressure that a sweet vibrato requires.

If you've never developed a good vibrato, here's your chance. These ocs are great vehicles for training yourself.

Benefits

These two little flutes fulfill all Karl Ahrens' goals.

They're wearable and highly portable. They weigh but a couple ounces and are small enough to fit into your pants or jacket pockets. That light weight also means you can play extended sessions and your hands and arms won't tire.

The MO flutes have gently rounded curves. No chance to snag clothing. The inline design fits pockets much better than traditional transverse or submarine ocarinas. Those always have that inconvenient mouthpiece sticking out. That's both fragile and uncomfortable inside a pocket.

These two flutes are nearly indestructible. If you drop one, it will bounce -- not break. You can drop it, get it wet, carry it without a protective case, and stuff it in your pocket. You can't do all that with other portable flutes like tin whistles or wood recorders.

Portability requires durability. That's where these flutes shine.

I take one of these ocs when I go to the beach or go camping. It's music on the go without the worries you have with an expensive, delicate instrument like my sax or concert flute.

They're maintenance free. No reeds to buy, no joints to grease, no key springs to manage.

Probably their biggest attraction is that these ocs are so easy to play. No difficult embouchure to learn, like the concert flute. If you're new to playing an instrument, this is an ideal place to start. If you already play a woodwind, you will be able to play these simple ocs the moment you pick one up.

Fingering is linear and intuitive. I really appreciate this simplicity when I improv. I can focus on the tune I'm developing, not on the peculiarities of the instrument I'm playing.

And lastly: it's easy to elicit a lovely tone from these flutes. We sometimes forget that even simple flutes can produce beautiful music. Play in a stairwell or basement for some natural resonance, and you can make these little flutes sound ethereal.

You don't have to be a professional to get the sound you heard in our two sound samples (though you might need some nice recording equipment to duplicate those!).

Drawbacks

These two MO flutes have a couple drawbacks.

First, like all ocarinas, they are not tunable. In this they are like most tin whistles and other "personal" instruments. For a solo play or use in small ensembles, this no problem. It contrasts with what are termed concert instruments, that are required to tune with an orchestra.

Second, like most ocarinas, these two flutes support a limited range. This spans 10 whole notes, plus all sharps and flats in between.

That's enough for any song you'd like to play. However, you may have to transpose a few songs to a key that fits the range of the instrument.

To overcome this limitation, Mr Ahrens spent many years developing a flute with a full two octave range. Several patents later, he came up with it.

It's called the Coda EDC flute. The Coda combines all the benefits of the two flutes we've described here with a full two-octave range. I'll link to my article on the Coda EDC at the end of this one so you can continue by reading that next, if you want.

Packaging and Availability

Mountain Ocarinas is a small, family-run business. They manufacture their various ocs off and on, and in several different materials.

Check these websites to see what is presently available:

• Mountain Ocarinas website
• The Coda EDC website
• Amazon

If the specific flute you want is unavailable, you can sometimes find MO ocs in the used markets:

• Etsy
• Ebay
• Reverb

Packaging can vary. Verify what you'll get before you buy.

To my knowledge, MO flutes always come with a fingering chart, instructional booklet, and MO stickers. They include a lanyard or necklace as well. (Both ocs have discreet holes near the top so you can wear them around your neck. Given their light weight, this works well.)

At various times, buying an MO oc gave you a free online course in how to play it. Other times, you received a free book of sheet music. Be sure to check what extra might come with the instrument you buy.

Free Resources

You won't have to buy anything beyond your oc. All the resources you need to learn and play are freely available on the web.

• For free sheet music, click here.
• For Youtube lessons and tips, click here.
• For lessons and books, click here.
• For online community and website links, click here.
• You can find even more free resources by clicking here.
• Youtube reviews of these two MO flutes by Andy Cormier, by Kissing88, and by David Erick Ramos.
• Youtube interview with Karl Ahrens.

Final Words

One reason for this post is that I enjoy these flutes so much, yet the fluting world at large seems unaware of them. That's probably because they're made by a small family business.

With the introduction of the Coda EDC flute and its full two octave range, many fans of these two original products have moved on to that flute. I enjoy my Coda, too.

But I still play my original MO ocs as well. I like their simplicity and the amazing sound these keyless flutes produce.

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