Irish and Scottish traditional music has long been played on small wind instruments, the tin whistle above all, and the ocarina shares a lot with the whistle: a soft tone, a modest range and fingering that lets you slide between neighbouring notes. Slow airs in particular sound lovely on an ocarina.
The library has 21 tunes from Ireland and Scotland. There are songs and slow airs, including Danny Boy, which is sung to the old melody known as the Londonderry Air, The Parting Glass, She Moved Through the Fair and The Foggy Dew. There are two dance tunes, the Kesh Jig and the reel Drowsy Maggie, and Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór, a harp tune by the 17th and 18th century harper Turlough O'Carolan. From Scotland come the Skye Boat Song, Loch Lomond, Scotland the Brave and Ye Banks and Braes.
Two well-known hymns are sung to Gaelic melodies and are included here too: Be Thou My Vision, to the Irish tune Slane, and Morning Has Broken, to Bunessan.
The dance tunes are the hardest. Jigs and reels are played fast, so learn them slowly with the play button before bringing them up to speed.
Be Thou My Vision by Tune: Slane (Traditional Irish) / Words: trans. Mary Byrne and Eleanor Hull. Intermediate: 47 notes, C4 to F5, no sharps or flats.