Ocarina Lessons
Nassau Bay Music Lesson’s unique collection of instrumental instructors is one of our greatest treasures, and Cynthia Butler’s rare mastery of the ocarina renders you an exclusive opportunity to attend the only ocarina lessons in Clear Lake Texas! Cynthia graduated from Baylor University with a bachelors of music education with a vocal emphasis, and has been teaching in the public school system and privately for over ten years. She has been performing with her dazzling collection of handmade ocarinas live with Canopy for years, and even artfully crafts many intricately ornamented instruments herself from local clays and glazes.
From the dawn of time, as long as mankind has enjoyed music, the ocarina has existed. Exhibited in various forms, in nearly every ancient culture, this small enclosed vessel flute has delighted musicians with its pure tone and compact portability. The Italian origin of “ocarina” is a Bolognese dialect word for “little goose.”, and an earlier European form of the instrument, the gemshorn, was fashioned from animal horns of the goat-like chamois. In ancient Meso-American, and Asian cultures it was constructed primarily of clay or ceramic, although elsewhere on the planet ocarinas have been composed of a variety of materials like plastic, wood, glass, metal, bone, hide, and animal horns. Small in size, and inexpensive to purchase, this tiny rounded flute is particularly suited to small hands and an indelicate touch, and is therefore unusually appropriate as an introductory wind instrument for children. The melodic flexibility of the ocarina allows for diatonic and chromatic scales, as well as harmony, and can be adapted to practically every style of music. Most notable among the recent trend in ocarina fashionability is its use in the Zelda video game series, where the player is invited to performs such tunes as Zelda’s Lullaby, Saria’s Song, Epona’s Song, Sun’s Song, Song of Time, Song of Storms, Minuet of Forest (Forest Temple), Bolero of Fire (Fire Temple), Serenade of Water (Water Temple), Nocturne of Shadow (Shadow Temple), Requiem of Spirit (Spirit Temple), and the Prelude of Light (Temple of Time) in game.