Q & A
Pitch Adjustment
The pitch of high Mi and Fa of my ocarina (Ocarina in C) tends to be low no matter what I try. Is there any way to overcome this? I can't make the pitch high enough even if I completely open the tone holes and blow with high-speed wind. Do I have to give up this ocarina? I can control the pitch of the notes from low La up to high Re. This might be an amateurish idea, but will the pitch become higher if you widen the sizes of the holes? I would like to try this, but I can't because it would be a tragedy if I failed.
Is the pitch of ocarinas sold at musical interment stores good enough? They don't allow you to test the instruments. It's like gambling, isn't it? What do you say if you can't play with the right pitch after paying a lot of money. I'm paying from my small allowance...I
by Mr. M
Sometime, they adjust the pitch of high notes a little bit lower on purpose, especially when they want to play a melodious piece. It is because "Jushin-on" ("the center of gravity" note; it will be explained in a later session of Q & A) tends to exist in high notes in most cases. In another words, it is natural to use more wind to play higher notes because it is where you "sing with your heart". They deliberately adjust these notes lower so that these notes can be played at the correct pitch. In many cases, however, I assume that the pitch is low, irrelevant to this reason .
- How to adjust the pitch -
First of all, check if the instrument itself can play up to highest tones. (the potential of the sound hole)
If the sound hole does not have that potential, give it up and put it on a shelf as an ornament.
If you think it can play higher tones, you can make the pitch higher by widening the holes little by little just as you say.
You can shave the inner side of the holes if the hole becomes too big to be closed with your fingers or thumbs, or if you don't want to widen them from aesthetic reasons. (This is called under cut.)
- If you shave too much -
Purchase an inexpensive nail polish and the remover. You can choose any color you want. You apply the nail polish little by little where you shaved too much. You can use the remover to get rid of the polish if you applied it too much. Doesn't it sound easy?
I have seen some good ocarinas in some musical instrument stores. Please continuously look for what you want.
A proposal!
Don't buy any ocarinas at a store where they don't have you play. (Gambling is not the worst case - there might be a case of a fraud.) And don't return to that store again.