The clarinet's mouthpiece - together with the reed - serves as a creator of tones (of sound waves, technically speaking). Looking at different wind instruments like the oboe, trumpet, flute or clarinet you will find that there is a wide variety of ways to create a tone and they result in different types of mouthpieces.
A clarinet mouthpiece is nothing more than the end of a cylindrical tube with a flattened end onto which a reed is fastened, either with a ligature or a cord as can be seen on the picture left (the cord is typical for Germans). One can blow into this end and you will get a somewhat squeaking, high pitched note - but this definitely is a clarinet sound. Ancient woodwind instruments did not have the mouthpiece separated from the instrument, and with very ancient ones the reed was a part of the instruments body (which was made from reed grass), separated by simply sawing a slot between body and reed.
If the mouthpiece creates the tone, then all the delicately crafted rest of the clarinet is needed "only" to produce notes of different hight. And it is the mouthpiece that matters most for the sound. However, one can say this for most if not all wind instruments.
If you play - using the same mouth piece - on two different clarinets, one that is simple and cheap, maybe made of plastic, and one that is extremely expensive, you will find the difference in the sound is in general less significant than using the same instrument with two different mouthpieces. Many players might not accept this - especially when you have payed lots for your instrument. But then the same players often play the same mouthpiece they got with the clarinet from the start and never tried a different one, even when they change their instrument (as long as the mouthpiece still fits). Of course they get used to the properties of the mouthpiece and know from their experience how to handle it. If you change your mouthpiece you will always face problems in the beginning. In fact you can considerably improve your tone and even your playing alltogether by using a mouthpiece that fits you.
What makes different mouthpieces different?
This is mostly about...
- diameter of the bore
- length of the lay or facing
- steepness of the lay or tip opening
- form and volume of the transgression between lay and bore (the chamber)
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The diameter of the bore is defined by the instrument (or better: its type), because the mouthpiece must have the same bore as the rest of the instrument. This is for example 15,2 mm (equals 0.598 inch) for a German style A- or B flat clarinet and it is 14,9 mm (equals 0.587 inch) for an A or B flat Boehm instrument, just below the mouthpiece.
The lay is the cut-off surface onto which you fix the reed, that has the wind-cut and the tip opening. On first glance the lay seems to be flat. In fact it is not; the surface at which the reed is held with the ligature or a cord (which is called the table) is slightly concave and the tip opening is convex. The idea here is as follows:
- the hollow table bends the reed like a spring when you fix it tighly onto the table. As a result the reed's tip would be a little above a lay, so a thin gap is created that air can flow through.
- the tip opening is convex, that is even with a perfectly flat reed the gap exists, plus a swinging reed will close the wind-cut only for a very very short fraction of time. If the tip opening was flat, the swinging reed would slap upon the sides of the mouthpiece next to the wind-cut creating a croaking or squeaking sound. Because of the bent form even the strongest fff will not cause the reed to slap onto the lay when swinging.
- You will hear that form and volume of the transition in between the mouthpiece and the bore of the instrument is very important. In combination with the oral cavity they form an important part of the "resonance room" of the instrument. That explains why the very same instrument produces a different tone frequency with different players. The oral cavity is part of the swinging air system, it alis to the length of the instrument. Unfortunately, there is far too few practical knowledge about this, so mouthpiece and instrument manufacturers have to work with values drawn from experience.
Different lengths and especially the different bends at the tip opening result in mouth pieces of different "hardness" or "heavyness", that react differently and can respond differently to dynamics.
The choice here depends on individual player's features, especially the setting of the player's jaws and teeth.
Faults and scratches on the mouthpiece result in serious problems
It is critical that the lay on both sides is applied perfectly symmetrical by the instrument or mouthpiece maker. If this goes wrong the reed will not swing the same on both sides and this will result in an uncontrollable swinging behaviour which then results in an uncontrollable instrument - lots of squeaks at best.
A symmetrical lay can be checked by the "glasstest": All you need is a flat piece of glass. You breath on it (to make it foggy), then you roll it over the lay of the mouthpiece. You can recognize the bearing surfaces well. Faults show clearly now. Scratches on the sides of the lay must be avoided absolutely. Therefore the mouthpiece should be wrapped in a cloth before stowing it away in your case or you attach an old reed onto it.
One can have the lay redone by a specialised mouthpiece maker, but then of course all parameters will change, a foreseeable result can't be guaranteed.
How to find the optimal mouthpiece for yourself
I know that for most of us these hints are mostly theoretical (especially difficult for beginners), but this is how you do it best:
Experience in this field helps, so try out every mouthpiece that you can get your hands on unless they tell you your playing is perfect (wiping a mouthpiece with some disinfecting cloth might be a good idea before using it and before giving it back, because viruses and bacteria stay infective for more than some moments - sometimes for months!).
If possible you should take some hours time to play on a mouthpiece in order to find out whether you really get along with it well - especially if it has a different lay than your own. Different lays may require different reeds so you might want to get some of those. European instrument dealers will usually be ready to offer you a variety of mouthpieces to try out for some time - like a weekend. This is important because even the most perfect mouthpiece for you will make difficulties if you are used to something different.
Have others listening to your playing. Then select and stay with the one and play this one a lot. From time to time, however, one should go and try out an alternative one.
German Version