How to Record and Enhance Ocarina Music

With huzzahs to Nintendo for Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, we all still recognize the beautiful elegance of the ocarina music. If you just so happen to be a huge fan of the Legend of Zelda series, as I am, then you probably own or want to own an ocarina. This Instructable will A. help you choose an ocarina off the internet and C. explain how to use the free Audacity audio editing software. You might even learn a little history, too.

Here's what you need:

- Ocarina
- Audacity (it's free)
- Microphone
- A little bit of Skill

Optionally you can add multiple tracks to your music or use other instruments.

Just for the sake of being brief, the ocarina has been incarnated in many cultures across the world. Some cultures believed these 'clay whistles' to have mystical powers within. Ocarinas date back as far as 12,000 years old. It wasn't until Hern�n Cort�s reached the Aztec empire that ocarinas became a popular toy instrument in Europe.

Unfortunately, many generations passed and the ocarina was still a mere toy in the public's eyes, that is, until the 19th Century. Giuseppe Donati (pictured below) , an Italian brick layer in his early years, went on to upgrade the ocarina from toy to professional instrument in the comfort of his workshop (which is still producing ocarinas to this day).

Many years would pass until World War II. It was at this time that most North Americans are introduced to the ocarina as a "morale booster." This, of course, meant mass production and sales to the public via catalog.

More recently, in 1998, Nintendo released the hit classic Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, giving a new generation a fresh look at the strange "new" instrument.

Now then, this somewhat depends on how acquainted you are to playing this instrument. Below are some examples of different ocarinas; some cheap, some professional.

Also, here are a couple of good sites for aspiring musicians:

Songbird Ocarina
Clayzeness Whistleworks

For those new to this software, Audacity is an audio editing program (which is free, by the way). Here's the link to their site:

Audacity Freeware

Now you know how to record and enhance home-recorded ocarina music with Audacity. Below, feel free to keep my example recording of some Legend of Zelda tunes on a Songbird Ocarina of Time replica.