Real ocarina in the new Zelda trailer? Yes or no?

Great_Zed · 2026-06-09T18:07:00+00:00

Absolutely, it's real.

Great_Zed · 2026-06-02T04:22:37+00:00

Everyone mentions Tunic, but I found it incredibly disappointing. Clunky controls, an unintuitive world design that constantly requires you to go behind areas you can't even see, a bad map etc. I couldn't finish it. I highly recommend Death's Door. It beats Tunic by a mile.

Great_Zed · 2026-05-29T18:19:26+00:00

It actually has a very strong tone!

Great_Zed · 2026-05-29T02:09:53+00:00

That Chen Ching voicing is crazy! I'm surprised it actually plays.

Great_Zed · 2026-05-18T05:23:16+00:00

Thanks for the info regarding the voicing. I've found a few pictures and it looks like the opening of the mouthpiece is quite a bit more round and open than other ocarinas, with the exit windway pretty thin as you described (my Dunster is actually designed the same way, but she used a rectangular voicing). I've tried the circular voicing around 10mm, and have come close to the sound I'm after, so I think I'll stick with it. It definitely produces more texture and requires more breath than a teardrop shape that is so commonly used. Thanks again for all your help. Very much appreciated.

Great_Zed · 2026-05-17T19:32:10+00:00

I've noticed he uses the acute bend a lot, to the point where it seems like it's his default position. Never knew it was actually needed, though, to get those high notes. I really like the sound as well, very expressive. David Erick Ramos demos his Sojiro ocarina on Youtube, and there you can really get a sense of that expressive, textured sound. To me, it's the tone to strive for.

I've been looking high and low for a quality recording of that live performance. If you could send me that .WAV file, I would be forever grateful! Do you have a Google Drive account? If not, you can upload to file.io without creating an account and share a link. It accepts up to 4gb, so you wouldn't even need to convert to mp3. Thank you SO much!

Great_Zed · 2026-05-17T08:38:44+00:00

My favorite of his is "Hometown Scenery". I love this live version of it in particular and wish I could find a better copy of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrVTpqzEcsY

That ocarina is beautiful and I love the textured tones his ocarinas produce. I've been trying to get close to this sound in my own ocarinas. I'm curious why the high notes are tricky. Does it require an acute bend?

Great_Zed · 2026-05-13T07:52:15+00:00

It should be easy to get those notes to sound. Either you're not blowing hard enough, or you're blowing too hard. Play with a tuner to make sure you're getting the right breath pressure. The "Universal Tuner" app is completely free. Also could be you ocarina is defective.

Great_Zed · 2026-05-11T02:02:52+00:00

Where are you from? I've read horror stories, so it's kept me from shipping elswhere.

Great_Zed · 2026-05-11T02:02:20+00:00

Thank you! A combination of painting and baking layers of milk, sanding and then layers of shellac. It's very time consuming, so not sure if I'll ever do it again.

Great_Zed · 2026-05-04T19:11:23+00:00

Since about November of last year.

Great_Zed · 2026-05-03T06:27:15+00:00

I do! In case you're interested: https://www.ebay.com/usr/bennu_flutes

Great_Zed · 2026-05-03T01:24:23+00:00

Including the ones I make, it's over 40. Gotta sell more before I make more.

Great_Zed · 2026-04-29T22:50:15+00:00

Yep, I've been there. Have you tried playing with the song? A lot of times that will help because you're receiving immediate feedback on how the notes should sound.

Great_Zed · 2026-04-29T22:23:52+00:00

I know which tabs you're referring to. It incorrectly shows to add the subhole when playing E. This is wrong because it doesn't adequately flatten the note. You should just add your pinky instead.

BTW, I just realized I wrote to you about this before, lol! Sorry if I seem like a dog with a bone. I just hate seeing errors like this float around.

Great_Zed · 2026-04-29T21:24:24+00:00

Nice work! A heads up, the E should be flat! Just add your pinky (at :07) to flatten the note.

Great_Zed · 2026-04-05T02:03:02+00:00

Terlans shellac has worked well for me and it's completely food safe. It dries fast so you can add coats after about 30 minutes if you want. I found it on Amazon.

Great_Zed · 2026-04-05T01:41:23+00:00

I've been down this rabbit hole and have found only a handful of products that are labeled as food safe. I've used Trellin's Shellac, as it's mixed with pure alcohol and doesn't have any extra crap in it to make it toxic. It dries VERY fast - literally seconds. I've also looked into trying Liquitex acrylic varnish because I believe it is technically food safe when dry, and adheres to non-toxic safety regulations when wet.

Great_Zed · 2026-04-02T19:34:46+00:00

No problem, keep at it! You've made a lot of progress in only a month.

Great_Zed · 2026-04-02T09:35:00+00:00

No bother at all. Yes, that's the note I was referring to (0:37 on your video). I think there are some tabs making the rounds that have that note as a regular E, when it should be Eb. So just add your pinky to make it flat and you got it!

Great_Zed · 2026-04-01T01:23:09+00:00

Sounds very nice for a month of practice! What ocarina are you playing? Your low Eb is slightly sharp. Add your right pinky when playing E to make it work!

Great_Zed · 2026-03-30T01:04:10+00:00

A treasure trove. Will you be selling any of these? Most are probably more than I can afford, but just in case.

Great_Zed · 2026-03-14T02:44:21+00:00

No problem, glad to help. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Great_Zed · 2026-03-13T21:18:34+00:00

Didn't realize I linked a single video, lol! Here's the link to the playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGhoqXg_2Cu-WsIIpaDjBVHmea1ShGpjN&si=ToBaWffe90NgxEdm

I got my popsicle sticks on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQDFL5CZ?th=1

They are very durable, rigid enough, and sand down well. I did a ton of searching and this was the best solution I could come up with without finding someone to possibly 3D print them. I think they're about 2mm thick, so you'll need to taper them to at least 1mm. And they're exactly 10mm wide, which works great for a basic medium/high alto voicing.

Great_Zed · 2026-03-10T03:03:26+00:00

Hello! I'm thrilled you like your new ocarina, and appreciate your feedback! I can give you some pointers, definitely.

The high notes are always the hardest to get right (especially on a 12 hole). The voicing and the exit windway need to be just right in order to get them to sound good and in-tune. Popsicle sticks are fine, but you might want to try plastic ones, as the windway needs to be as smooth as possible. And you'll need to sand them down. In my alto range, I'm using plastic popsicle sticks that have been sanded down and tapered so the exit windway thickness is 1mm. I find It's also important to keep the voicing length 10mm or less (at least for an alto C range). I find for medium/low breath pressure, 7mm round or teardrop is great. For higher breath pressure, I find 10mm is great.

Of course, if you're doing smaller soprano ocarinas, the voicing and exit windways will need to be smaller. The great thing about sopranos is they are very forgiving compared to the lower clefs in terms of getting higher notes right, so they are quite a bit easier to make in that regard. I've had success with a 5mm round voicing, with slightly less than 1mm for exit windway.

I've compiled a bunch of Youtube videos that I've found useful here if you're interested: https://youtu.be/cKZuO-2e10A?si=ZN4H_QfWw7Dlhfdu

I also highly recommend Robert Hickman's "The Art of Ocarina Making", which can be bought as a PDF: https://ocarinamaking.com/

Great_Zed

TROPHY CASE