The types of ocarina

What are the types of ocarina?

Ocarinas differ in how you hold them, how many holes they have and how many chambers. The ranges are for an ocarina in C of the usual size, as makers published them when we checked on 27 October 2026. The 10-hole row is Pure Ocarinas' example and the 4-hole row is our chart. The other ranges link to the maker's page:

What is a transverse ocarina?

A transverse ocarina is held sideways, like a flute but rounded. It is a 19th-century Italian instrument with anywhere from nine to twelve holes, and the fingering is almost the same whatever the count.

Every 10, 11 or 12-hole transverse has eight finger holes and two thumb holes. A 10-hole has just those. The 12-hole adds two small sub-holes, which you play by rolling a finger forward to cover two holes at once.

The two sub-holes extend the range down by three semitones: a 12-hole C plays A4 to F6, and our alto C is the same. Pure Ocarinas adds that sub-hole notes can be quiet and unstable.

The 12-hole is, Pure Ocarinas says, the most commonly available transverse, and the one our 12-hole chart is written for.

Pure Ocarinas makes a case for the 10-hole: it finds 12-holes have "quiet low notes and loud high notes". It also sells 10 and 11-hole ocarinas (checked 14 November 2026), so read that as one maker's view.

What is a pendant ocarina?

A pendant ocarina is small enough to wear on a cord. It has four finger holes, or those four and two thumb holes. Pendants were developed in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, and our history of the ocarina tells who is credited with the fingering.

A 6-hole plays C5 to E6 in C and a 4-hole plays one octave. Some of the sharps and flats on both need a half-covered hole.

Makers disagree about how good pendants are. STL Ocarina says its 6-hole soprano is "a breeze to play, especially for beginners" (checked 14 November 2026).

Pure Ocarinas, which sells no pendants, says the limited number of holes "does not allow pendant ocarinas to be tuned as accurately as transverse ocarinas". It adds that many "are often produced as novelty items and not properly tuned", and that a pendant "is no easier to play well than any other kind of ocarina".

Neither maker is neutral, so test a pendant before you rely on one. Our guide to testing a new ocarina before you return it covers how.

What is an inline ocarina?

An inline ocarina has a transverse's fingering with ten, eleven or twelve holes. Its mouthpiece is at one end, so you hold it out in front of you, like a recorder.

Pure Ocarinas says the straight hands "may put less stress on your wrists" and "may be better if you have arthritis, RSI or other disabilities". It also says inlines are "much less standardised and are made by fewer makers". In its experience as a maker, they are more prone to screeching at high pressure.

When we checked on 14 November 2026, STL Ocarina sold two inlines. One was the Adegan Crystal Ocarina, a 12-hole at $55. The other was the Harmony Ocarina "Ivy", a two-chamber harmony model at $49.99. Songbird Ocarina listed none.

What is a double or triple ocarina?

A multichamber ocarina is a single transverse with one or more small ocarinas joined on. Each has its own mouthpiece and finger holes, to reach higher notes.

To play a note, you pick the chamber that has it and blow into its mouthpiece. Usually only one sounds at a time.

Doubles and triples are named by their number of chambers, not holes, because the fingering varies between makers. Learn it from your maker's chart, and see Pure Ocarinas' multichamber page for the tunings.

Doubles and triples reach further than any single ocarina: A4 to C7 for a double C and A4 to G7 for a triple. More range also makes a larger, heavier instrument.

The first chamber plays like a single-chamber ocarina, so Pure Ocarinas says it is fine to ignore the higher chambers at first. It says a multichamber is "not that much harder" to learn than a single chamber. For someone new to music it still recommends a single chamber, "as they have fewer notes".

What sizes do ocarinas come in?

Ocarinas come in soprano, alto and bass sizes, an octave apart and all played with the same fingerings. The smaller the ocarina, the higher it plays. Here is a 12-hole in C, as STL Ocarina listed its sizes when we checked on 27 October 2026:

Pure Ocarinas describes the two ends. "Bass ocarinas are dark and sombre in tone", while "Sopranos, on the other hand, are piercing and always take the lead in a mix."

Two rarer sizes sit outside these three. Ocarina groups use the contrabass, which plays an octave under the bass. The sopranino, smaller than a soprano, is hard to find.

The middle size has two names. The 12-hole that plays A4 to F6 is "Alto C" at Songbird Ocarina and "Tenor C" at STL Ocarina (checked 14 November 2026).

Other keys work the same way. A 12-hole G that plays E4 to C6 is a tenor G at Songbird and STL, and an alto G at Pure Ocarinas (all checked 14 November 2026). Check the range, not the name.

What does "alto C" mean on an ocarina?

"Alto C" is a size and a key. Alto is the middle size. C is the scale the ocarina plays with no cross-fingered notes.

A C ocarina plays a C major scale and a G ocarina a G major scale, with the same fingerings. Pure Ocarinas says you pick a key "to gain access to a different range of notes", not to play in that key. An ocarina is chromatic, so it can play sharps and flats.

A 12-hole in G plays E4 to C6 or E5 to C7, depending on its size (STL's figures when we checked on 26 October 2026). An alto C plays A4 to F6. Our fingering charts are written for C and work on any key.

Is a plastic, ceramic or wooden ocarina better?

Material matters less for sound than you might expect. Pure Ocarinas finds that it changes an ocarina's sound far less than it changes a guitar's, because the body only contains the vibrating air.

Material matters more for how the ocarina lives with you. Pure Ocarinas says ceramic, mostly earthenware, is probably the most common and "won't break from day to day playing", but "will break if you drop" it. Plastic ones, it says, "can survive being dropped", though condensation is "the big disadvantage" and far fewer models exist.

Wikipedia also lists glass, metal and bone. When we checked on 14 November 2026, STL Ocarina sold a wooden 12-hole at $55 and a metal one at $90. Our guide to cleaning an ocarina covers each material.

Which type of ocarina should I get?

Our suggestion is a 12-hole alto C if you want the widest choice of songs and tabs. A plastic one is the cheapest way to find out whether you like it. The rest depends on what you want. Where the advice is Pure Ocarinas', the line says so:

• If you play Zelda songs or most songs on our song pages, the 12-hole alto C, which our 12-hole chart is written for. Our guide to Zelda replicas sorts the real instruments from the toys.
• If you want one to carry or wear, a pendant, and test it, for the reasons in the pendant section.
• If you have arthritis or wrist pain, an inline may help, according to Pure Ocarinas, though few makers build them.
• If you want more range later, start on a 12-hole alto C: its fingering carries over to a double.
• For a child, Pure Ocarinas says the child's fingers must be large enough to cover the holes, and that "A smaller, higher pitched ocarina may be needed."

Our buying guide goes through what makes an ocarina playable and which to pick for your situation.

What does each type cost?

Prices as STL Ocarina and Songbird Ocarina listed them in US dollars on 14 November 2026. They change, so treat them as a guide to the order of cost:

How do you find out which ocarina you have?

Count the holes first. The types table on this page tells them apart. The key and size are harder to tell by eye, but our free tuner can find them by ear.

Choose Test my whole ocarina, say how many holes it has, and play the note it asks for, with the main holes covered. From that one note it names the ocarina, a 12-hole in C for example. If the key isn't one we list, it tells you the key it heard and tests it in that key.