Ocarina, << `ok` uh REE nuh, >> is a small wind instrument of the whistle type. It is made of molded clay or plastic, and is shaped like an elongated egg or a sweet potato, which it is often called in the United States. The ocarina has a mouthpiece through which air is blown and 8 to 10 holes that sound a simple scale. Its tone is pleasant and soft. An Italian named Giuseppe Donati developed the standard Western ocarina in the 1860’s, but forms of the ocarina were known in ancient China. Varieties of the ocarina are often used to play folk music.
