Potato Flute › Play a real ocarina
From the game to a real instrument
Heard the ocarina in a game? Play a real one
The ocarina in the game is a real instrument: a small flute, often made of clay, with a soft, round sound. You can learn to play one at home, and Potato Flute is a free teacher in your browser: it listens to you play, shows you each fingering, and tells you when a note is right.
New · a game for your real ocarinaDeep Song
In The Legend of Zelda™: Ocarina of Time™, you play the ocarina with a controller. In Deep Song, your real ocarina is the controller.
Zelda and Ocarina of Time are trademarks of Nintendo. Potato Flute is not affiliated with Nintendo.
Which ocarina to get
Two kinds are good for a beginner. Both play with Potato Flute, and it asks which one you have.
12-hole ocarina
The classic shape most people picture, held sideways in both hands. It plays about an octave and a half, so most songs fit. If you want one ocarina for years, this is it: an alto in C is the usual first size.
Pendant ocarina (4 or 6 holes)
Small and round, often on a cord around your neck. Fewer holes means simpler fingerings, but fewer notes too, so some songs don't fit. A friendly start for young children.
Plastic or ceramic? Ceramic ocarinas have the classic warm sound, but break if they're dropped. Plastic ones are sturdy and a good choice for children. Sizes: a soprano is smaller and higher, a bass bigger and lower; start with an alto.
Already have one? Potato Flute can work out which kind and size it is: play a few notes when it asks. How an ocarina works
Your first lessons
The lessons start with three notes (G, A and B), and your first songs use only those: Hot Cross Buns and Au Clair de la Lune. Each new lesson adds a note, and each group of notes ends with a song. The teacher hears the note you play, and with your camera on it also watches your fingers. The camera picture and the sound stay on your device.
Songs to play next
- Hot Cross Buns
- Au Clair de la Lune
- Mary Had a Little Lamb
- Ode to Joy
- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
- All the songs
We don't teach video game music here: those songs belong to their composers and publishers. Potato Flute teaches classics and traditional tunes.
The ocarina's story
How a clay flute became the most magical instrument in gaming, and why it's thousands of years older than any game: The ocarina in video games · The history of the ocarina.
Potato Flute is not affiliated with Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda and Ocarina of Time are trademarks of Nintendo.