How do you read 12 hole ocarina music?

Answer 1

12 hole ocarina music is just the same as any other music. You read the dots, and play the notes. Of course you will need to know the proper finger positions for each note, and know the name of each note.

First things first, to hold your ocarina, have your left palm facing you, your four fingers on the holes on the top, and your left thumb over the hole on the left side on the bottom of the ocarina. Then, place your right hand over the other side, covering the top holes with your fingers, and your thumb covering the other bottom hole.

For the purpose of this answer, I will be referring to the fingers and holes

L1 L2 L3 L4

___________

,--- o o o o ---....

| ---.

|__ __o o o o___---`

\_/ R1 R2 R3 R4

T1 T2

o o

Now, I will list the primary note names as well as their finger positions:

B - All fingers down (including the tiny little holes above L3 and R3)

C - Everything but the tiny little holes

D - Everything but R4 and the tiny little holes

E - Everything but R3, R4, and the tiny little holes

F - Everything but R2, R3, R4, and the tiny little holes.

G - T1, T2, L1, L2, L3, L4

A - T1, T2, L1, L2, L4

B - T1, T2, L1, L4

C - T1, T2, L4

D - T2, L4

If you want any of the sharps and/or flats of these notes, just experiment.

You now know the main notes on an ocarina, and are completely free to practise to your heart's content.