ocarina;
Just like anyone else, I first learned of the ocarina from the Legend of Zelda series. I couldn't afford one until I was older. I decided that I needed to try to play a musical instrument again, but didn't want one too expensive, too hard, or one that required expensive lessons. I had quite a bit of musical experience (with three years of an alto recorder as a kid, half a year of violin, and half a year of flute). Ocarinas only need a method book, some practice, and some obsessing! All I had to do was reteach myself to read music (which wasn't hard), and practice. (Unfortunately, I never stuck with it - but I am proud of my Ocarina collection.)
So I started with a Songbird Ocarina, an extended range Sweet Potato. It's a 6-hole. This was in August of 2008.
I was disappointed with how easy it was to play and decided to upgrade and get a Focalink 12-hole "C" only a few days later. It's not too hard to teach yourself, thankfully.
My Focalink ocarina was custom painted for me, as his normal designs are red & purple, not blue.
Once again, a few weeks later, I bought a method book from STLOcarina. Wanting to make my collection a bit larger, I bought a 9-hole and a 10-hole while doing so. I barely touch them, but they're definitely pretty!
On ebay, Songbird Ocarina was selling their first Ocarina of Time replica. It's a 12-hole "A" tone (a bit lower than the normal C). I bidded on the first one, only to be outbidded. Then, offered a second chance, I quickly bought the second (and last one) for 120.00. Considering the first one went for 420.00, I think I did well. It's adorable, well made, and has okay sound quality - not nearly as nice as a Focalink, but yeah. It's definitely more of a collector's thing.
etcetera;
All creations are (c) their creators.
All edited images, coding and content are (c) Iris 2008-10.