The ocarina and xun products displayed in this store are all hand made by Song Wei in Shenyang, China. Alternative fingerings may be available by custom request.

GOOD NEWS! If you are located in the following countries, you can now order our ocarina and xun products directly. Shipping charge, which is based on shipping weight, is calculated at check-out.

• United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Australia

If you are not located in one the above countries, or have custom requests that are neither in the following list of offerings (such as a less common key) nor in the product options, please contact us at info@imperialcityocarina.com, letting us know your location, postal/zip code, ocarina model, and your custom requests.

The xun 埙 is played similar to a western flute, in the sense that air flows partly into and partly across the windway opening. Good tonal quality on the xun requires development of a proper embouchure. As with the western flute, the higher the note the tighter the required embouchure. Thus, ocarina players will find that the xun takes some getting used to early on. But with practice, the full range of this wonderful instrument can be mastered!

The sound quality of the xun is more mellow and distant-feeling than the ocarina with a slightly windy sensation, creating for many listeners a dreamy sense of drifting off to another place and time.

But now there is great news for xun players... Song Wei developed a new windway opening design (China patent no. ZL201320566499.3) that makes the xun significantly easier to play! Check out the product photos... you& will notice that the traditionally round windway hole is now cut with a notch resembling the shape of Song Wei's ocarina fipple windows. Many here in China are discovering this new xun product and interest in the xun is growing as a result.

Maybe it is time you give the xun a try!

Traditionally, xun have had no fingering provision for sharps and flats, requiring the player to half-cover toneholes to achieve a fully chromatic scale. But now, Song Wei's new design offers complete chromatic fingerings.

These instruments have no neckcord hole and must be held solely with the hands without neckcord support while playing.

We now refer to our xun in C as a bass instrument, though we continue to call the D xun an alto.

Our bass G xun is especially low, playing an octave below an alto G ocarina.

Xun origins. The xun is an ancient Chinese vessel flute made of clay or ceramic. The first 3-tonehole xun were made during the Xia Dynasty (ca. 2070 to 1600 BC). Later on, at the time of the Shang Dynasty (1600 to 1046 BC), xun took on the familiar flat-bottomed egg shape, being made not only from ceramic but also stone or bone. More toneholes were added over the centuries, but basic design of the xun remains simple (excepting of course Song Wei's new innovations). Like the ocarina, pitch is determined by vessel volume and tonehole diameter.

How in the world do you say "Xun"?!! That's a problem for Western tongues because we don't make the sounds indicated by "xu". The closest I can render "xun" for the native Englsih speaker is shwoun, where the ou is pronounced as in "should". To hear a short sound clip of "xun" in a standard Beijing pronunciation, click HERE (accept the download and your media player should open automatically).