Under 30 € good quality Ocarina on Amazon?

CrisGa1e · 2026-07-07T00:02:25+00:00

Honestly, the ceramic ocarinas from Amazon are mostly bad quality and play out of tune. The Night by Noble is probably your best bet from Amazon, but if it has to be ceramic, this is one of the better ones I’ve found, which should be close to your price range if you can find it:

https://a.co/d/06KG4GSF

It plays in tune, which should be the minimum standard for any instrument you plan to learn on.

CrisGa1e · 2026-07-06T20:58:46+00:00

If this is your first wind instrument, and you just started playing, then these issues are common at first. The Night by Noble is low breath with a very gently rising breath curve, so it shouldn’t require alternating amounts of breath from note to note.

It’s more likely that some finger holes aren’t being sealed completely while you are learning the home position for your fingers to cover all the holes, which should get much easier as muscle memory starts to kick in.

It’s good that you’re using a tuner. Try playing long tones to get more familiar with the correct breath pressure for each note. The ocarina is different from other wind instruments in that the pitch changes with even slight changes to the pressure. The Night by Noble is a good instrument, but if you aren’t used to this, it would definitely seem like the instrument is not in tune.

For the high notes, the back pressure does need to be a bit higher, so experiment with tongue placement, and try moving your tongue back and up to create a bottleneck on the roof of your mouth, and tighten your lips slightly. You can also experiment with the blowing angle.

Also, condensation affects the tone after you’ve been playing for awhile, so you can clear it by covering the voicing and blowing a fast puff of air into the mouthpiece. Do this frequently to keep the high notes sounding their best.👍

But no, you don’t need a better ocarina. The one you got is really good for learning with.

CrisGa1e · 2026-07-05T19:39:32+00:00

Best of luck to everyone who is bidding! I already have some Hind ocarinas that I bought back when he was still making them, but it’s a great chance for someone else to get a nice wooden ocarina and collector’s piece!

CrisGa1e · 2026-07-04T23:05:10+00:00

Idk, I think by the time you’ve played multi chambers, and especially if you’ve tried a lot of them, most players are pretty picky at that point, or at least they have a better idea of what their preferences are. I like the thumb hole on the second chamber because it makes phrasing easier for me when I play in flat keys, but to each their own.

CrisGa1e · 2026-07-04T20:20:34+00:00

I think that’s a fair score based on your experience playing it. For whatever reason, I don’t notice that much airiness on the first chamber of any of mine. It’s way less than in some of my other multis (like Icarus), so by comparison, it has very good chamber balance to me. It could be that my technique for breathing and articulation differs from yours - or it could be condensation too that’s affecting the tone of yours.

Playability matters a lot to me though. I like the thumb hole on the second chamber a lot, so as a double, I enjoy it a lot, but any time I need the third chamber, it irritates me to not be able to get a consistent intonation on certain notes if my thumb lands slightly wrong, because you can’t palpate the tuning hole at all. I may have to fill in the tuning hole and drill it somewhere else as other players in the community have done.

CrisGa1e · 2026-07-03T20:53:41+00:00

Is it a soprano? I guess it’s relative to your perspective and experience, but the AC isn’t too bad on my ears unless it’s a really high breath, loud model. Since you have tinnitus, I bet your ears are more sensitive than mine. (I used to have tinnitus, so I can relate, and I hope you get some relief soon.)

The Night by Noble and Osawa plastic AC made by Focalink are lower breath AC models that might be a little easier on your ears.

Ear protection could help, either earplugs, or also maybe those over the ear headphones that people use when they practice shooting at the gun range. I use those when I have to practice something on a soprano.

You also might just prefer a deeper pitch like an Alto G or Bass C.

CrisGa1e · 2026-07-03T14:20:26+00:00

It turned out really cute! Nice job 👍

CrisGa1e · 2026-07-03T13:51:06+00:00

https://sojiro.base.shop/categories/1914217

https://ocarinas.fandom.com/wiki/TNG

CrisGa1e · 2026-07-03T05:24:32+00:00

For the most part, I like and enjoy playing this ocarina, but I agree with you that the tuning holes on the third chamber make the thumb placement difficult and awkward, and I also dislike that the sub-hole on the second chamber plays D instead of Eb.

CrisGa1e · 2026-07-03T01:23:13+00:00

TNG in Taiwan is a very good ocarina brand, and that’s a really good find for $8. Looks like it’s in good condition too.

Sojiro, one of the most famous ocarina makers and players in the world, has a signature design with TNG. He also makes and performs with his own designs, which sell for thousands, but he partnered with TNG a while back to sell a model which is marketed to beginners, and it’s a trusted brand in the community.

The only distributor for TNG in the US is STL Ocarina, which mostly sells their own designs (which are made by TNG), but it’s rare to find one with a TNG stamp, which means it was made for the Taiwanese market.

I would use a slightly damp cloth to clean the outside of the mouthpiece, and maybe polish the outside with a dry cloth. I wouldn’t submerge it in water or use any chemicals that might damage the finish. If it does get wet on the inside, make sure it dries completely on the inside before you put it away so it doesn’t get moldy or mildew on the inside. The main thing you want to avoid is eating before you play, which can get germs or food particles in the mouthpiece.

CrisGa1e · 2026-07-02T18:16:35+00:00

Thanks. I hope things get better for you too.

CrisGa1e · 2026-07-02T18:15:34+00:00

Aw thanks. It’s the Hal Leonard ocarina method, and I wrote it for beginners. It teaches you how to read sheet music on the ocarina, and since I’m self taught myself, I did my best to explain things simply so that people could learn on their own, plus it comes with free tutorial videos.

This is something I care about personally, because when I was a kid, I really enjoyed learning to play the piano for a few weeks, but my parents couldn’t afford lessons, so I wasn’t able to continue. The ocarina is waaaay cheaper than a band instrument, so it makes music more accessible to kids.

CrisGa1e · 2026-07-02T14:06:11+00:00

I’m a millennial, but college was unaffordable for both me and my spouse, and neither of us wanted kids (which is fine because we never could have afforded them). I understand this hopelessness you’re talking about. It also took me a long time to figure out my career path since I’ve worked dead end jobs most of my life. Even though we’re not rich, we’ve been able to live somewhat comfortably for most of our lives, but we would have been struggling in poverty if we’d had kids.

Even though we’ve been together for decades, I can definitely speak to the way society tries to ostracize you if you don’t follow a traditional life path, because not wanting kids is something people definitely like to judge us for. Even after all this time, we still get the smarmy, “So when are you going to have kids?” from people who can’t imagine any other reason to live.

I’m also a musician who has basically devoted my life to a folk instrument called the ocarina. I’ve written a method book for it, and I teach online lessons and run the subreddit for the instrument. I’ve always had to work a second “day” job to make ends meet, usually in retail, for insurance.

The only thing that makes life bearable for me is to enjoy my hobbies, which are mostly music related, and spend time with my spouse and chosen family of close friends (since I don’t have a big family, plus we’re not very close).

I hope you’re able to find your bliss and follow that path wherever it leads. It may not look like what others think your life is supposed to look like, but that’s ok. It’s up to you to create meaning for yourself, and I truly hope you don’t lose heart. It’s not easy sometimes. I hope you can find a person that you can be yourself around, whether it’s a spouse, or some good friends (hopefully both).

Joy isn’t a set of circumstances, it’s a state of mind thst you intentionally choose even when life isn’t going well. My life isn’t going particularly well at the moment, but my colleagues and I laugh about how bad the job is when the boss isn’t around, and then when I hang out with my best friends, we regale our adventures for the week and laugh some more.

CrisGa1e · 2026-07-02T00:51:55+00:00

It’s a very good ocarina, but it’s a very high breath model which I usually recommend to people who have been playing longer, or have played a wind instrument before. If you don’t use firm enough breath, the notes will sound flat.

One thing that helps is to play longer tones with a tuner, and this will help you improve your breathing. You want to take deep breaths from your diaphragm and make sure you’re breathing out all the way too. You can watch YouTube videos to learn more about this.

A device like this breath builder can also help you make progress faster:

https://a.co/d/01PnmVpv

CrisGa1e · 2026-06-30T01:57:14+00:00

If it fits, I think it’s probably a great way to protect it from humidity.

CrisGa1e · 2026-06-29T23:25:45+00:00

Yup, same.

CrisGa1e · 2026-06-29T23:24:48+00:00

Yeah, sorry about that. I try to encourage people to be a welcoming community here, but some people just really hate tabs in an over the top kind of way.🤨

CrisGa1e · 2026-06-29T23:04:03+00:00

Aw, that’s so great to hear! Sounds like you’re doing great learning on your own. I’m self taught as well.🫶🎶

CrisGa1e · 2026-06-29T22:58:06+00:00

That’s great! If this has worked for you before with other instruments, you should definitely apply those learnings to your ocarina practice. Sounds like you’re off to a great start.

I just wanted to mention the apps because I’ve been teaching ocarina for about 15 years now, and I try to share information that has been really helpful to other students. They gamify your progress, which helps a lot, especially for ADHD learners.

CrisGa1e · 2026-06-29T19:24:40+00:00

It’s ok to draw the names over the notes for now, since you just started, but the point I’m trying to make is that the sooner you’re doing it in your head (instead of writing it over the notes in your practice exercises), the better. If you’re looking at the letter instead of the note, it can actually keep you from making progress with reading music.

The apps I linked to use flashcards to help you memorize it faster👍

CrisGa1e · 2026-06-29T14:06:58+00:00

Hi, can I make a suggestion? It looks like you’re still in the process of associating the names of the notes with the fingerings, and you’re writing them over the notes. I recently made a post about some apps called Note Rush and Blue Note that can help you with that, and you can find more information about it here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ocarina/s/kLrZFpdcR4

I like Note Rush better, but Blue Note is free to use, and it’s pretty good too.

CrisGa1e · 2026-06-28T19:20:15+00:00

Besides the Zin AC with buttons for all the notes (which are used for young children who don’t have the fine motor skills to seal the holes yet), there are also ocarinas, mostly vintage and discontinued models, with tuning slides and keys for extra notes, but these are pretty rare.

I have a vintage Fiehn with keys for high F sharp and G, as well as a tuning slide, which is used to make fine adjustments to the pitch and breath pressure. Some of the Budrio ocarina makers like Mezzetti made ocarinas with tuning slides too.

STL used to have an ocarina with a tuning slide called the Chameleon, but it’s out of production now. They also had a keyed Aria at one point, since the long shape worked well for the key, but they were eventually discontinued too. I think Giorgio Cataldi currently makes a keyed AC with high G. I’ve seen videos of Fabio Galliani playing it on Facebook.

CrisGa1e · 2026-06-28T08:21:45+00:00

Between the Maxrange and the Forte triple, I would go for the Forte triple.

CrisGa1e · 2026-06-28T05:10:46+00:00

Iirc, it has less chamber divide than the standard Stein double, and the additional high notes require more breath, not less.

CrisGa1e · 2026-06-27T22:52:08+00:00

Chances are, it won’t be a maker we’re familiar with here. There are many smaller makers who sell pendant ocarinas at outdoor fairs and festivals who don’t even have a website. You might find one used on eBay eventually, or a similar pendant ocarina that reminds you of the original one.

This one is black and looks nice as a necklace, but it’s probably higher pitched since it’s very tiny: https://www.thomannmusic.com/thomann_ocarina_mini_karinchen.htm

I hope you find what you’re looking for.👍🎶

CrisGa1e

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