why is a sweet potato shaped that way?

[beginnersmind]

Why is a sweet potato ocarina large at one end and pointed at the other if other types ( English, Mountain, etc) work as just a rounded shape?

[Walden]

It's mostly a matter of tradition, I think. They will work in any number of shapes, but this was the shape Donati found that worked for him as a maker and a player. It's like an egg, bulbous at one end, and narrower at the other. This makes eggs less apt to break than if they were other shapes. An ocarina of this shape was stout enough not to break too easily, yet could still be held in a position similar to the concert flute.

English ocarinas and Mountain ocarinas use fingering systems designed to be played not in a transverse flute position, but vertically, like a clarinet, so there wasn't the need to make them in an oblong shape.

[beginnersmind]

Thanks, I like that answer. It makes a lot of sense.