Ocarina range

The ocarina’s range in notes and hertz

That is the common 12-hole alto in C. Soprano and bass ocarinas sit an octave higher or lower, and multi-chambered ocarinas add more notes on top.

Written and sounding pitch

The ocarina is a transposing instrument: it sounds an octave higher than written. So the range on its part is A3–F5, while the notes you hear are A4–F6. The transposing-instrument tuner reads out the written note as you play.

Instruments with a similar range

The instruments whose normal range shares the most notes with the ocarina’s:

• Violin · G3–E7 21 notes shared
• Viola · C3–D7 21 notes shared
• Cello · C2–A6 21 notes shared
• Erhu · D4–A7 21 notes shared
• Mandolin · G3–D7 21 notes shared
• Harp · C2–A6 21 notes shared

Tune it, play it

• Ocarina tuner — tune by microphone, with the ocarina’s own target notes.
• Play an ocarina online — the same range, playable in your browser.

Songs that fit the ocarina

24 songs from our public-domain library fit inside the ocarina’s range, each written out in the notation ocarina players read:

• Hot Cross Buns
• Lightly Row
• Going Home (New World Largo)
• Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
• Ode to Joy
• Mary Had a Little Lamb
• Row, Row, Row Your Boat
• Jingle Bells
• Yankee Doodle
• Silent Night
• London Bridge
• Old MacDonald

All 24 ocarina songs ›

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• The chart behind our playable ocarina, itself checked note by note against published charts.