Welcome to Eidolove's Ocarina Fundamentals! Whether you own a 12-hole or 6-hole Eidolove Ocarina, correct holding technique is the first and most crucial step to playing beautiful tones. An improper grip can lead to air leaks, hand fatigue, and even affect your pitch accuracy.
This guide will walk you through how to hold an Ocarina correctly, ensuring your playing is both stable and comfortable.
I. 🖐️ Grasp the Basics: Relaxation and Balance
Before diving into specific finger placement, remember these two fundamental principles:
Relaxation: Your hands and arms should be relaxed. Excessive tension leads to stiff fingers, affecting both speed and precision of fingering.
Balance: The Ocarina should find a point of balance between your hands, rather than relying solely on the strength of one side.
II. 🔑 Holding the 12-Hole Transverse Ocarina (Standard Grip)
For the most common 12-Hole Transverse Ocarina (e.g., Eidolove's AC Key Ocarina), follow these steps:
Left Hand on Top, Right Hand on Bottom: The Ocarina's Mouthpiece should face you.
Left Hand: Your thumb covers the bottom-left hole on the back of the Ocarina. Your index, middle, and ring fingers cover the left-side three holes on the front of the Ocarina. The pinky is usually free or used for auxiliary high notes.
Right Hand: Your thumb covers the bottom-right hole on the back. Your index, middle, and ring fingers cover the right-side three holes on the front.
Key Support Points: The Two Thumbs
Your two thumbs are the primary support points for the Ocarina. They should firmly and completely cover the back holes, providing stable support.
When other fingers lift, your thumbs must continue to provide support to prevent the Ocarina from dropping.
Fingertip Pad Sealing:
Use the fleshy pads of your fingertips (not the tips) to fully cover the finger holes. Ensure there are no air leaks.
When playing, even if only one finger is lifted, all other covered holes must remain perfectly sealed.
Ocarina Angle:
Hold the Ocarina level with your lips, avoiding excessive head tilting. A slight upward tilt of the Ocarina can help with condensation drainage.
The Core:Thumbs provide stable support, and fingertip pads ensure perfect sealing—these are the two main cores of correctly holding a 12 Hole Ocarina.
III. 💡 Holding 6-Hole Ocarinas and Other Models
Basic Principles Remain: The emphasis is still on stability and sealing.
Thumb's Role: For 6-hole Ocarinas, there is usually only one thumb hole (or none), so more reliance is placed on other fingers and the web of the hand for support.
Pendant Style: Smaller pendant Ocarinas are usually held between the index finger and thumb, with other fingers covering the holes.
IV. ⚠️ Common Holding Mistakes and Corrections
Excessive Wrist Bending: Keep your wrists naturally relaxed, avoid over-bending, which leads to fatigue.
Covering with Fingertips: Using only fingertips can easily lead to air leaks; please use the pads of your fingers.
Excessive Force: Gripping too tightly affects finger flexibility and hand circulation. Maintain a relaxed grip.
With practice, you'll find that the correct holding technique quickly becomes second nature. Once you master stability and sealing, your Eidolove Ocarina will produce the beautiful sounds it's meant to!
