Ocarina musings…

Around 5pm last afternoon, I took delivery of my very first 12-hole plastic ocarina. I had never played a 12 before, nor heard the tone of a superlative plastic one. This only happened because one day, I knocked over my purple clay TNG pendant.

The trouble with the TNG is that I compensated for breath control by partially covering holes and breathing every pattern the same way. This was not the right way to learn or make music, IMHO. So this new bugger is a step in the right direction.

Very quickly, I dug up a chart online and started filtering it thru my normal moves -my natural way of fingering. But what was really important was that I could now travel -go on the road with my instrument. Maybe not now but at some point when things open up a bit.

Trump’s tariffs struck today. And a meeting with Russia is scheduled around a week from now -so could there be an end to war and something palatable declared for Jerusalem? Will the 70th week begin in September?

Was thinking I’d take my KORG kOS synth on the road with me as a sounding board for melodies. It has note display, IIRC so I can jot that down and put an ocarina slant over it. Won’t need to lug a keyboard and this iPad Space for spare clothes.

And I was thinking I’d give my master-grade DiZi to my niece. Must be systematic when composing music as it is a science as well as an artform -a canvas for emotions that grind against one another such that they stir the mind / will of the rational man.

I need more notebooks and perhaps will use a colored multi pen to avoid confusion of the parts. I also need to practice methodically, scales namely, and arpeggios.

And I was thinking that God takes care of us when we do His will. That He had a hand in smashing my clay TNG pendant, just at the right time. Today, we used hunger craving pangs to rein in the Liew witches who are now regrouping but their support is low and unhelpful. LiLian, perhaps it’s time to end the fight and go home.

Read my post on learning ocarina, on Medium for FREE here.

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I discovered how to increase breath pressure on the ocarina the right way. It is not by exhaling harder into the instrument, but to change your breath's pitch. In essence blow it while making a high or low feeling with your diaphragm -like singing. I find this a little stressful due to my stroke.