 The "voicing," also known as "the window," "sound hole," or even the "whistle hole," is is the most important part of the sound producing system of an ocarina. The voicing is the heart of the ocarina. Without it, an ocarina is just a hollow piece of clay with holes.
The voicing consists of an opening which has part of its edge beveled into a thin wedge. This beveled edge (or "lip") is where a thin stream or sheet of air (which is blown through the mouthpiece), hits.
Voicings come in various shapes including square, rectangular, round or oval, and even triangular. |
How It Works(Click on pictures for a larger view)
|
 |
When the air stream is blown cross the voicing opening, air is pulled out of the interior of the ocarina along with the air in the stream. This causes a slight vacuum inside the ocarina. |
|
 | The air steam is sucked (or pushed by higher pressure on the outside) into the interior of the ocarina. |
|
 |
With all the air inside the ocarina, the pressure increases, and the air stream "flips" (is pushed) to the outside. This sequence is repeated many times per second. |
|
 | The more times this sequence (or cycle) is repeated per second, the higher the note will be. Middle C has this cycle 263 times per second, and the A above middle C has 440 cycles per second. |
|
|
|
