Main parts of a mouthpiece
- Facing: this is the part of the mouthpiece on which the reed is placed. It is composed of two parts, the flat part of the facing (up to a closing point) and the curved part of the facing.
- Tip Opening: the space at the end of the mouthpiece, between the reed and the facing.
- Chamber: the part in which the sound is formed and which receives the pressure of air directly from the mouth, the bore channelling the air to send it into the instrument.
- Baffle: when the mouthpiece is placed in the mouth, it is the upper part of the chamber (the part which has the most effect on the sound).
- Throat (called “trapeze” in clarinet mouthpieces): the surface that separates the bore chamber.
Relationship between the mouthpiece and reed
With the same tip opening:
long facing = stronger reed
short facing = softer reed.
With the same facing:
open mouthpiece = softer reed
closed mouthpiece = stronger reed.
The facing represents the foundation
In the architecture of a mouthpiece, the facing represents the foundation. The part that is in permanent contact with the reed should be perfectly flat.
Constant use of a mouthpiece leads to:
- corrosion or clogging up by saliva,
- friction between the reed and ligature,
- wear-and-tear,
even distortions that are sometimes invisible to the eye, caused by pressure from the mouth.
If the mouthpiece is not changed in time, the inconveniences multiply, creating:
- difficulties in finding suitable reeds,
- difficulties in adapting to a new mouthpiece (the mouthpiece should not be “fixed” at any cost!).