Step-by-Step Guide to Reading Ocarina Tabs

Ocarina tabs are a visual representation of the ocarina’s holes and how they should be covered to produce different notes. Instead of using musical notes on a staff like traditional sheet music, tabs show a graphic of the ocarina’s holes and indicate which ones need to be closed (covered) or open (uncovered) to play a specific note.

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Basic Components of Ocarina Tabs

Before diving into how to read ocarina tabs, let’s break down the basic components:

• Hole Diagram:

  • Most ocarina tabs show a graphic of the ocarina with its finger holes. The holes that are filled in represent holes you need to cover, while unfilled holes indicate ones you should leave uncovered.

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• Lines:

  • Some tabs use lines to show the flow of music, indicating the progression from one note to another.

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• Articulation Marks:

  • Symbols like slurs, staccatos, or other articulations can sometimes be found to show how notes should be played (smoothly, detached, etc.).

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Step 1: Identify the Holes on Your Ocarina

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Ocarinas typically have 12 holes, however there are variations with other number of holes and chambers.

Here we will focus on how to apply tabs of 12 holes .

Once you will understand this example all others are simple enough to learn.

Just make sure you're familiar with the layout of the holes on your specific ocarina model.

For a standard 12-hole ocarina:

• The left hand covers the top left holes and bottom left hole.

• The right hand covers the top right holes and bottom right hole.

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Step 2: Understand the Tab Diagram

Each note in the tablature is represented by a diagram of the ocarina’s holes, basically telling you how to achieve this specific notes. The filled-in circles indicate which holes you need to cover with your fingers.

For example:

● = Hole covered by your finger

○ = Hole left uncovered.

So, if a diagram shows:

This means you need to cover the top left four holes and bottom left hole (using your left hand)

 leave the top four right holes uncovered, and lastly cover bottom right hole (with your right hand).

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Step 3: Follow the Flow of the Tabs

Most ocarina tabs will move from left to right, showing you the progression of notes in the song. Each diagram corresponds to a single note. For more advanced tabs, you may also see additional symbols to indicate rhythm, such as:

• Dashes: To indicate the length of the note (longer dashes = longer notes).

• Slurs or Ties: Indicating that the notes should be played smoothly and connected.

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Step 4: Practice Fingering

Take some time to practice fingering the notes shown in the tabs without playing yet. This will help you build muscle memory for the correct finger placement.

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Step 5: Play the Notes

Once you feel comfortable with the finger placements, start playing the notes shown in the tabs. Pay attention to any rhythm markings and try to match the tempo of the song. You may want to start slowly and gradually increase your speed as you become more confident.

Best practice is to play along with melody you learn in the background to hit the right tempo, if the melody is too fast , usually 0.75 speed will do the trick and will make the practice more comfortable with correct tempo.

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Example Ocarina Tab for “Game of Thrones" theme

Here’s a simple example of how the ocarina tabs might look for a well-known tune:

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You can practice each of these notes slowly and work on building up to the full song.

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Final Tips for Reading Ocarina Tabs

• Start simple: Begin with easy songs or exercises, as they will help you get comfortable with switching between notes.

• Use a metronome: Tabs usually don’t show rhythm in detail, so a metronome can help you maintain a steady beat.

• Experiment with tone: Even if tabs don't indicate dynamics, feel free to explore how hard or soft you blow into the ocarina to create a more expressive sound.

• Record and listen your self , it's much more easy to recognize the mistakes when you don't have to concentrate on playing the Ocarina 

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Conclusion

Ocarina tabs offer an easy and visual way to learn songs without needing to read standard sheet music. With a bit of practice, you’ll be able to interpret the tabs and play beautiful melodies on your ocarina.

It is a great and simple way to start the journey , and makes learning the notes much more easy.

 Keep practicing, and soon you’ll master reading ocarina tabs!