Ocarinas United

abseeley wrote:Well this article will eventually be the definitive source for wooden ocarina making. Ive been doing some digging on fipple angle and position and I found a great snippet in a book on google books. Link to book Its a book on general instrument making, ive taken the liberty of writing out what I found important about fipples:

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Factors In Fipple And Edge Design

here is a list of factors affecting tone quality in fipple flutes.

1) Aperture size: The larger the opening between the windway and the edge, the higher the instrument's overall pitch. Larger apertures also require larger toneholes on the flute body to achieve the same pitch relationships.

2) Aperture shape: Short, wide openings (short distance from windway to edge; wide edge) produce a clear, focused tone. With all edgetones, pitch tends to rise as the speed of the air stream increases, but the pitch bending effect is less pronounced with short, wide apertures. Instead, such flutes tend to overblow to the second octave easily. Recorders exemplify this approach, with apertures that are typically over three times as wide as they are long.
Long, narrow apertures produce a braetier tone and require more blowing pressure. The pitch bends broadly in response to variations in wind pressure, but the octave doesn't overblow as readily. Some pre-Columbian flutes were made this way, with apertures a little over twice as long as they are wide.

3) Windway size and shape: The windway must focus the air stream as much as possible, so windways are made very thin -- often less than a sixteenth of an inch high, even for moderatlely large flutes. Their width should be the same as that of the edge opposite. Some are made with parallel upper and lower walls, while some become narrower toward the exit as a way to increase the air stream's focus. Less focuesed windways make for breathier tone. The passageway must be smooth; roughness or irregularities inhibit the sounding of high notes.

4) Angle of incidence: The windway should be oriented in such a way that it directs the air stream head-on to the edge, centered so that the edge cuts the air stream roughly in half. For most fipple flutes, this means that the windway should be parallel to the tube walls, not heading down from above.

5) Acuteness of the edge: Recorders generally use a sharp, narrow edge, at about 20 or 25 degrees. Many ocarinas and clay flutes use thicker edges at about 45 degrees, and you can get a decent tone with still coarser edges, such as the rounded edges of bottles and jugs.

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That had to be hand copied as its from an image but basically what it says contrary to my previous knowledge, that the air should be cut in half by the fipple (ramp) at a roughly 45 degree angle for vessel flutes (ie ocarinas). I also discovered that making the fipple slightly wider then I have been is also probably a good idea to maintain clear tonality. And also I've learned that its not the angle of the fipple that determines the tone so much as the aperture (the opening by the fipple)! Which is news to me! The overall size and shape is also an effective change of tone. Ive also been making my airway (or fipple channel) a straight even size at both ends when it should be short and wide and should be smaller at the aperture to focus the air onto the fipple (duh why didnt i think of that!).

So there is a bit more research to tack onto the pile, maybe once we get a big resource we could make a solid tutorial on wooden ocarina making and get a sticky