The gemshorn is an instrument of the ocarina family that was historically made from the horn of a chamois, goat, or other suitable animal.

Examples have been unearthed in Italy, in Hungary and in Germany, including one intact instrument made of clay which dates at least to 1450, as it was found buried beneath the foundation of a house built at that time.

[1] The early history of the instrument is not well-known, but the oldest known illustration of one in a reference work is in Musica Getutscht (1511), by Sebastian Virdung.

Horace Fitzpatrick developed a form of gemshorn which adopted the fingering method of recorders and produced them in consort families, which have proven very popular since the 1960s.

[4] Modern gemshorns are often made of the horns of domesticated cattle, because they are readily available, and their use prevents endangering wild species.

A fipple plug, usually of wood, is fitted into the wide end of the instrument, with a recorder type voicing window on the front of the horn, for tone production.