Parts of the Mouthpiece

Video Transcript

For expertvillage.com this is Mitch Kaplan. In this clip we will be talking about the saxophone mouthpiece. The saxophone mouthpiece is comprised of three different components. We have the ligature, we have the mouthpiece and we have the reed. The mouthpiece can be made out of metal, plastic or hard rubber, which this one is. The ligature is made out of leather or metal, and the reed is made from a cane also found in Paris and it is from the reeds of a swamp. Now, there are important factors to the saxophone mouthpiece that separated from other mouthpieces. That is the fact that the chamber inside for a jazz one is round and it gives you a bigger sound, whereas a classical mouthpiece is basically the same, however you have a square chamber inside and that produces a softer, more sweeter sound. Now there are some things that you can purchase for the mouthpiece. This is a pad or mouthpiece saver, it is a little rubber piece that you would stick on the top of the mouthpiece, and it prevents your teeth from vibrating off the mouthpiece. The next thing that we would want to talk about as an accessory is the reed. The reed is just as important as the mouthpiece. It produces a wonderful sound, and as a professional would be very fuzzy in checking out how to get a good reed. The best way to find out about reeds is by looking up at a light and seeing the heart of the reed, and you could see how dark it is and you will see that the perfect one is actually like a V upside down, and that is how you would maintain a great reed. And of course when you take it off, you put it back in its case, so it does not break or split. Cleaning your mouthpiece is simply done by taking a swab and a Q-Tip and cleaning out all the stuff that is inside the mouthpiece. Basically that is what you do. The next thing you should know about cleaning your mouthpiece is that you can put the mouthpiece itself into a glass of water, and you drop a Polident or Efferdent tablet inside and wait till it fizzes up, and it will alleviate some of the side materials that would crust up eventually and it is pretty disgusting but that is what happens.

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