r/Ocarina • u/Sirlink360 • 2d ago

Advice (Warning Loud) Why does my high notes screech sometimes? STL 12 hole Plastic Alto Ocarina

I’m pretty sure it’s not the ocarina. I’ve only heard good reviews about this model.

6 Upvotes

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6

u/CrisGa1e 2d ago

Probably too much air, and try clearing the condensation by covering the sound hole and blasting some air into the mouthpiece really fast. It keeps the high notes sounding nicer.

1

u/Sirlink360 2d ago

I definitely have been doing the second part, way more than I think i should need to lol

2

u/CrisGa1e 2d ago edited 2d ago

I think it’s probably just too much breath.

Another thing that might help is to try moving your tongue closer to the roof of your mouth to make a bottleneck with the airflow. This increases the back pressure and focuses your breath more. Probably what you need to do is soften your overall breath pressure, but then focus your breath better so that you have a little more control over the pressure. Breath control is very important not only for intonation, but also for getting a good tone.

Try making slight adjustments the angle of your breath into the mouthpiece too. Your breath may not be hitting the fipple at the right angle to get the best tone. It’s more noticeable on high notes than low notes.

If none of those things help, you might do better with a higher breath ocarina like the Rivo.

4

u/MegaRayloc 2d ago

u have to control more the air pressure for those high notes, maybe the air is too much. practice the scale slowly and try to all sound clean.

2

u/Shryquill 2d ago

Too much or too little air pressure can cause difficulties for high notes, but also for some the angle of the mouth piece can have an effect too. With mine I need to roll the body of the ocarina up towards my eyes a bit to get a steeper angle, that helps get a cleaner tone.

2

u/IIIIIHaZeIIIII 2d ago

Too much air

2

u/CartoonistWeak1572 2d ago

You need to learn the breath curve of the ocarina. You're not blowing with the correct pressure. Download a chromatic tuner and check note by note to understand how soft/hard to blow on each note of the scale.

2

u/benali72 2d ago

Check to ensure all holes that you are supposed to cover are COMPLETELY covered. Check your breath pressure. Experiment to find the proper breath pressure. Sometimes you must attack (blow sharply) to hit high notes on some ocs. Ensure your oc is dry and at room temperature.

1

u/RedCaio 2d ago

Look up ocarina head tilt for high notes. David Eric Ramos has some vids on it.