Interview – Ross Dubois (Oberon Ocarinas)
Originally published on The Ocarina Repository by Cambell Baxter, circa June 2013. That site is no longer online; this copy is preserved here from the Internet Archive.
So I have been planning some interviews for some time now, which I sent out questions for yesterday. I got some speedy replies too! Here is the first in the series:
Ross Dubois - Owner of Oberon Ocarinas
Ross, an active member of both The Ocarina Network and Little Geese forums, has been on my radar for a long time with his ocarinas. He started with a small Eb sopranino pendant that got rave reviews on The Ocarina Network, and has since produced transverse 11- and 12-hole ocarinas of various (beautiful!) designs, one of which I have on order at this very moment. Look out for my review when it arrives! You can read Achint’s Review here!
- Tell us about yourself!
My name is Ross Dubois, Im 25 and I’m an Ocaholic haha. I live in the United States, I love music, art, comics, instruments, bicycles, nature and a nice glass of scotch heh.
- How did you get started playing the Ocarina?
I first heard of an ocarina when I was quite young, maybe around 8 or 9 or something. Whenever the Sega Genesis came out. My best friend had this game “Wonderboy In Monster World” which featured an ocarina that the hero used to open musically sealed doors in the first dungeon. I hadnt a clue what it was really, or that it was actually an instrument at the time, I just thought it was pretty cool that you could use the buttons on the control to play a little tune.
Years later, after Zelda: Ocarina of Time came out, I saw an ad in a Nintendo Power magazine for real ocarinas by Songbird. I was immediately fascinated by them, not even the blue Zelda one really, but the pendants. They just looked so interesting and the fact that they were real instruments made me obsessed. So I was able to order one for my birthday and it easily became one of my favorite possessions. That’s pretty much when I started playing them.
- When did you start making ocarinas?
After I had purchased my first ocarina I was instantly interested in making my own. I figured since they were clay and I was kinda raised as an artist, I could probably make one. I studied the pendant obsessively and came up with my own method on how to make them, thinking that it was how Darynn [Songbird] made them. Since the internet was relatively young still, searching for other ocarina makes and designs was difficult, but I ultimately found more information in Clayzness whistleworks links and subsequently, Kenji Ogawa’s ocarina tutorials.
The fact that Kenji made ocarinas with 12 holes was amazing as the concept had never crossed my mind, considering the only ones I knew of were 5 hole pendants. That set me off on making more advanced models. I had kept with it for some years after but it faded out of my mind in the depths of highschool and early adult life. It wasn’t until about 2011 I decided to work more seriously at producing a professional ocarina. I’ve been at it ever since.
- What advice would you give to new makers, or those thinking about making Ocarinas?
I think the best advice I could give is: be your own harshest critic. Chances are folks that see your early work in person won’t have experience with ocarinas and will tell you that it’s amazing and will want one, which is great in itself. But if you really want to make something that you hope a musician would genuinely desire, you’ve got to be hard on yourself. Most people wont be too rough on you if they cant make something better than you, ya know? The worst thing you can do is become complacent about your work, thinking you’ve hit a plateau or something. Be tough on your work, always look to improve. When folks that are really into ocarinas start giving you some praise you’ll know youre on the right track but keep moving.
Additionally, it really helps to ask questions. Study other maker’s work, find other ocarina makers to talk to about problems youre having (it helps to have some close friends that make ocarinas of course! cough Jade Everett cough). In the end its like any other craft- perseverance and a desire to improve.
- What are some mistakes that new makers make?
A common mistake is ignoring the aforementioned advice. I’ve seen folks that make ocarinas really crudely, charge too much for the product and talk a lot about how good their work is or how huge their knowledge base is and are complacent with their level of skill. That’s a big one.
Another big mistake is rushing through development to sell a product just for monetary gain. Everyone needs to make money yes, but if you are expecting to make lots of money on ocarinas in general you’re in the wrong business. If you’re just making something crudely to make a quick profit on, it certainly will not last when there are a host of professional quality instruments available.
Because the tools and materials for Ocarina making are so readily available, many people expect that it is very simple to make a really good Ocarina and profit on it. You wouldn’t buy a hunk of mahogany, bolt a stick to it with some strings and sell it as a professional guitar just because it makes one buzzy note would you?
Lastly I’d say, and this is probably the most important- be a musician first. If youre making a musical instrument, you should be able to play one. Understanding how your breath effects intonation, how to control it, the general qualities an ocarinist looks for in an ocarina should all be in your mind as you approach Ocarina making.
I doubt I could make a good ale if I never tasted beer (if that makes sense)
- If you had to start again, is there anything you would do differently, knowing what you know now?
I’m not sure. I mean, if I could reset time but keep my knowledge it would certainly give me more time to develop! haha. I guess if I had to start again, I wouldn’t have told folks over and over that I would begin selling when I did, like a year ago. There have been many times I thought I was ready to sell my ocarinas which brings me back to that point about being your harshest critic. Sometimes I would think my stuff was good, but that was because I didnt have any great Ocarinas at the time. It wasnt until I started getting some really amazing ones like that of Pacchioni, Kuolong Pan, Menaglio, Gosselink, etc that I knew what was possible for an Ocarina. It really REALLY helps to know other maker’s work.
- What do you recommend to new makers on a budget?
For years, when I didnt have access to a kiln, I made test Ocarinas out of air drying clay, particularly this stuff called Stonex. Its a little tough to work with but without a means to fire it does the job well. I still have my first transverse Ocarina made out of stonex from 1999. Its sitting in my room right now, still in one piece so the stuff is strong enough. Making due with that is a good step. If you would like to fire an Ocarina, there are ceramic centers around, schools with kilns, pottery studio’s etc that would fire your work for a small fee. Some ceramic supply companies can fire your work as well. If you are adamant about firing, try to use one of those services, even if you have to travel. Before I bought a kiln, I used to take several trains to get to a pottery studio to fire my work. It was a major pain, but getting your fired work back is like christmas.
For any aspiring maker on a budget, using a service is a viable choice and air dry clay, while not fit for selling, is perfectly fine to use when honing your skills. Keep in mind though, shrinkage and absorption rates that come with firing will not be learned with air dry so you’ll have to learn that stuff later on if you decide to fire your own work.
- What do you think is the future of the Ocarina world?
That’s tough to say. Who knows? Its still a young instrument and when compared to classical instruments, the Ocarina has not gotten the same amount of attention and acceptance in western cultures. Its improving, but is still very obscure. Video games from Japan basically caused the new upsurge of popularity, but its affect on the Ocarina’s acceptance as a classical instrument is one of those long debated topics. In any case, I think the ocarina is at its highest level of interest than it ever has been and can only continue to grow.
I think the future of the Ocarina is dependent on two things:
Heroes of the Ocarina: virtuosos, professionals, people that can show the Ocarina’s potential to an audience that has never seen or heard one before. First impressions are everything. If an audience can be amazed, they are more likely going to be interested and spread word. Excellent performances are everything. If the first violin performances were some people playing a screeching and out of tune stringed thing, I doubt it wouldve been accepted as an instrument.
Ocarina makers and quality: A poorly functioning ocarina is also detrimental to the advancement of the instrument. If most makers produce something that doesnt work properly or is out of tune, it will not help to advance its knowledge base. Many people will tout that things like acute bend are completely necessary on all 12 holes, when this is not the case. It is because of complacency and surrender that these things are not developed upon. There are many ocarina makers that produce amazing quality work and yes, it may take months to make, yes it may be expensive, but the thing is, youre paying for that quality. Lowering one’s prices and producing sub par work to make a profit only hinders the general understanding of the ocarina and its development.
It’s up to both the players and the makers to determine the future of the instrument. It’s definitely a responsibility the modern generation owes to the Ocarina.
- What have been your most rewarding experiences with the ocarina?
The most rewarding experiences… The first ocarina I was able to fire. That was an amazing feeling. Something you made from raw materials, solidifying, becoming something permanent and functional is just surreal. Many cosmetic things were exciting from an artist standpoint, like the first saggar result, the first glaze result, etc. Producing my first ocarina that had a completely stable high F was great.
My absolute favorite experience though is hard to explain. When making an ocarina there is this point in the construction of the voicing and air way that when lined up and cleaned just right- a sort of air stream-connection phenomena occurs when blowing that is really difficult to describe. I get it, but itd be hard to convey haha. Anyway, thats my most rewarding experience. Its that kinda stuff that keeps me going.
- Who is your favourite Ocarina maker?
Hisashi Kayama is my biggest influence. His work and that of his students: Sojiro, Toshikazu Matsumoto (Healing Ocarina), Maruyama Kinzo (Pieta Ocarina). Ive based a lot of my design work and method around his.
- What is your favourite Ocarina performance?
hm, Im not sure! I love anything the GOB does. They’re an outstanding group. I also really enjoy what Milt does, he’s a very innovative ocarinist and I would say he has a lot to give to the modern ocarina world. Tomohiro Ibaraki is also really awesome, he has some very interesting performances.
- Any additional comments?
Thats it for me! Thank you ever so kindly for the interview, its been fun! Im really excited that this blog is up and I keep saying that I believe its going to do nothing but good for the advancement of the instrument. Cheers!
I would like to say a big thank you for this interview and for your contribution to the Ocarina world, Ross! I’m sure the community will gain some valuable insight from this and hopefully encourage more people to take up serious ocarina making; that would be amazing.
If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, or if you just want to say hi, leave a comment below!
As always, happy playing (and making!)
Cam
If you wrote this, or were interviewed in it, and would like it changed or removed, please write to theocarinamuseum@gmail.com.