What’s better than an instrument? A virtual one. The ocarina app from Smule is a virtual recreation of what Wikipedia defines as an “ancient flute-like wind instrument”. It’s a nifty time-wasting app that’s packing some pretty sweet features.

The playing interface is super simple – four “holes”, or finger positions and a menu button. To begin playing, all you have to do is blow into the built-in microphone on the iPhone. I haven’t tested it with an iPod touch or any other types of mic’s, but my guess is that they would work fine.

While it may seem as if this is all that Ocarina does, it does much more. There are many built in tutorials, recording functionality, options and preferences, as well as a virtual map to hear what other users are playing. It works really well.

You’ll be able have plenty of fun just tinkering with the Ocarina as it is, but it can actually be used to play songs. There’s an array of sheet music available on the Smule Website, where users submit the finger covering patterns of their favorite songs. Once you get started playing, you can’t stop.

This app may not be for everyone, but those who like it, love it. Plus it’s only $0.99, so why not give it a shot? It’s available for download in the App Store.