Make A Clay Ocarina

Ever since "Legend of Zelda : Ocarina of Time" came out, everyone associates ocarinas with Zelda and there fore, anyone interested in ocarinas is considered a die-hard Zelda fanatic!! There is alot more to Ocarinas than Zelda you know. With this Instructable, you can learn how to make wonderful masterpieces THAT SING!! And you will learn a little about the history of the Ocarina but that is besides the point...

Step 1: The Clay

Well, obviously you need clay to make a clay ocarina. It is possible to make it out of wood but that will come some other time when i have the time, money and patience... Ocarinas have been around since the stone age. Aztecs used them for ritual purposes.

Comments

[TheHeroOfTime]

can it be made from cold porcelain?

[super knex builder]

So where did the slip things go in steps 6-8?

[Dr. Who]

can you make it any size? or that same size?

[PsychedelicFish]

The size you make your ocarina will affect what key it's in, so if you make a large ocarina, it will be in a lower key than a smaller ocarina. I would suggest making a smaller ocarina though, because with wind instruments the lower the note, the softer you have to blow, making it easier to play instruments in higher keys

[lordhazzard]

it is also possible to make a pinch pot ocarina, its a lot easier, and your can really play with the design, you can also just take a completely solid block of clay, mold it into your shape, cut it in half and remove the inside. I've been making ocarinas for a while now, so if you need any help, just email or message me!

[super knex builder]

How big are the finger holes? Also, where did the edges go in steps 6-8? One last question, ccan this be made if oven-bake clay? Sorry about all the questions, just want to get it right with minimal expenses.

[Zikkurat]

I am in the middle of making an ocarina, and I am having trouble getting it to play high notes. Low notes come out nicely, but the higher you go, the more airy it sounds, until no sound comes out at all. On www.greenverdugo.com, it says to lower the mouthpiece so that it is closer to the lip of the voice box to get stronger high notes; but when I do that, the low notes become airy as well, or no notes come out at all.

[ilpug]

This is awesome. I would love to see this with some terra sig art on it!

[pseventy-seven]

Don't paint it, glaze it :P

Thanks for the tutorial. I'm going to try to make this in ceramics class and hope that the teacher doesn't think it's a bong.

[Javioca]

can it be made out of air dry clay

[santis308]

yep. I actually doubted that it could be done since air dry clay kinda sucks, but I was able to pull it off. I just had to be extremely careful, and also, keeping your hands moist might be a good idea.

[the_TRUE_LINK_OWNZ!]

yes.

[bdoggy45]

is the carrot shaped mold already hardden

[FFVIIBOY]

Does yours make noise?

[FunkNattidelic]

It does if you cut the voicing correctly,
If you follow all of the steps you should have a working instrument. =P

[FFVIIBOY]

Cool, if it takes a few days to dry then i dont have the patience for this but ill make this eventually, im not very paitent. I never actually played ocarina of time but i hav phantom hourglass and i can play the original on this website but i cant save, yesterday i spent from 8 in the morning to 9 at night playin but somethin went rong with the computer and i lost ALL that stuff i did, i was so mad i almost fainted

[mclason]

i don't think anyone cares about your phantom hourglass story. . .

[FFVIIBOY]

I dont even remember posting that Phantom Hourglass comment but yeah I used to always go on and on so things Im talking about make sense, but I dont really do that anymore, for example...

[um7kay]

get a life?

[FFVIIBOY]

why dont y- oh who am i kiddin your right

[FFVIIBOY]

i have ocarina of time now on my computer but im stuck on the boss of the forest dungeon

[Brian Wall]

im working on one now i couldnt get the voicing right

[evan_jeffries]

when you put grooves on clay to hold two pieces together its called scoring

[builderkidj]

can we make one like the zelda one?

[chompy909]

Does it have to be that exact size or can it be what ever size you want?

[kowen]

Hey I was wondering if it is possible to do this with air dry clay? Or is it to brittle?

[leon0862]

im pissed the only clay i could find around town is freakin air dry and baking and they suck where can i find the good made clay >O<

[furrie]

What size did you make the "carrot" ? or doesn't it realy matter?

[JBowmanDIY]

does the hole go all the way through into the ocarina?

[FunkNattidelic]

Yes,
It works kind of like a pan flute, the air is blown over the small hole and vibrates through the chamber. If you don't cut the hole all the way through, it won't make noise.

[Devin281]

Thanks for the chart. Really helped when i made mine. Hahaha. I play in concerts now because of this instructable very well done :)

[doughnutguy1]

I see no holes on this instrument. D: Why?

[FunkNattidelic]

Because, i hadn't put the holes in before it dried. This particular ocarina is long gone, it was crushed shortly after I created it.

[doughnutguy1]

D:

[Dumchicken]

do you mean I:( ?

[doughnutguy1]

? well, no, I am trying to convey that it sucks that that ocarina had a short little life.

[Dumchicken]

o than you mean

[FFVIIBOY]

paint it blue and show a pic of it painted on the last step

[Dumchicken]

and then put a tri force on it im a huge legend of zelda fan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111

[SteampunkManiac]

why not paint it some shimmering metallic colors? I think that would be cool.