Ocarina
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The Ocarina is a small type of flute, developed in Italy in the 19th century. When you blow into the ocarina, all the air inside vibrates, causing the sound to be produced. The larger the instrument, the deeper the note. The ocarina is a popular child's instrument in the United States and Europe, and is sometimes called a "sweet potato."
| Family |
| Woodwinds |
| Pitch range |
| Some notes. |
| Material |
| Usually porcelain or terracotta (unglazed clay pottery). |
| Size |
| Variable. |
| Origins |
| Although an Italian named Giuseppe Donati is commonly considered to have invented the ocarina in the 1860s in Paris, other vessel flutes, with one or more fingerholes, have been used worldwide since antiquity. Types of ocarina are still popular in parts of South America and Eastern Europe. |
| Classification |
| Aerophone: an instrument that produces its sound by the vibration of a column of air. |
| And also... |
| The ocarina takes its name from the Italian word meaning "little goose," because of its unusual body shape, which resembles an elongated goose's egg. |
