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Well, my search is over, anyway. There have been may great apps released for the iPhone/iPod touch, but, Zelda geek that I am, this is the first I had to buy and download the very moment I learned about it. Smule has just announced Ocarina, the first and only app that transforms the iPhone into an expressive musical wind instrument. And to answer your question, yes. What kind of fools would the Smules be if they didn’t more or less teach you to play the theme from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time almost right away.

Before we get to the good stuff, though, more about Ocarina:

The Ocarina synthesizes sound in real-time, just like a regular instrument, based on actual gestures including wind input, tilt, and finger placement over the four holes overlaid on the multi-touch pad. Unlike other iPhone audio apps, the sound is not pre-compiled, but is generated by the notes, gestures and nuance of the individual performer. As a result, it allows an iPhone user to explore and master the musical sounds of an entirely iPhone-native version of an ancient flute-like instrument.

Smule’s audio engine (CHiP) and the Smule Sonic Network make it possible to hear live performances around the world. With the globe view, you can hear performances, and see the origin of that performance.

The website contains “scores” for four songs to get you started: Amazing Grace, The Song of TIme (from Zelda), Joy To The World, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. It also contains an online score generator that allows you compose/transpose your scores that can be saved and shared with other Ocarina players via their online forum. Seeing that Ocarina was just released, there’s not a lot of activity yet. However, when I started this article, no scores had been uploaded. I’m now on paragraph five, and The Theme from Zelda has already been posted by one user.

Check out the videos below to see (hear) Ocarina in action:

Ocarina is available now in the iTunes App Store for $0.99. It’s optimized for 3G phones, so first generation iPhone owners are cautioned to wait until the iPhone 2.2 firmware is released. I’ve been playing it on my first gen iPhone running 2.1, and although I am getting some audio anomalies, it still sounds pretty good.

Product [Ocarina]