When making a clay whistle or ocarina, the maker uses a stick or knife to make the air way in the mouthpiece that the player will blow through. Some makers use filed down popsicle sticks and some even use pointed metal nail files.
Many years ago, I went to a workshop taught by Susan Rawcliffe. She used strips of metal of varying widths to make the air ways in her ocarinas. She called these "slot sticks." I have used her idea ever since then. Because they are specially made (I had mine cut at a sheet metal shop) you can have them made in any width you desire. I have a set ranging from 1/8 inch to 1 inch wide, and they are about 1/32 inch thick. This thickness is fine for ocarinas with small voicings, but for larger voicings (3/8 inch wide and up) the slot stick needs to be thicker. Instead of buying more sticks of thicker metal, I did a cheap and easy alteration - I put masking tape on them.
(Click on pictures for a larger view) |
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Cut off excess tape with sharp scissors. |
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 | That's it! I usually put 2-3 layers of tape on a 1/2 wide stick. You can add more or less depending on how you want your ocarina to sound. Generally, the thicker the stick, the airier the ocarina will be. I usually use 2 - 4 layers, depending on the thickness of the tape. |
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