A Basic Guide to Woodwind Mouthpiece Testing

Materials you needs (besides mouthpieces):

· Protective patches (to prevent teeth marks)

· Sanitizing spray and soft cloth, preferably cotton or micro fiber (tissues are not acceptable)

· Extra reeds

Materials the student needs:

· His or her instrument

· NEW reeds

** Reeds that are already broken-in often conform to the old mouthpiece and may not play well on a new mouthpiece.

Mouthpiece testing tips

· Important note: When trying a new mouthpiece, a student should NOT play sheet music. Instead, he or she should play from memory.

Something simple – a scale or even part of a scale is fine, so long as it covers the entire range of the instrument (crossing the break for clarinetists)

When testing a mouthpiece consider three things:

1. How does it sound?

• Is it round and warm
• Is it too bright

2. How does it feel?

• Are you comfortable playing this mouthpiece?

3. Is it in tune?

Other thoughts:

• If the student wishes to look at multiple mouthpieces, they should try no more than three at a time. It helps the student stay focused. When the favorite of the three has been selected, exchange the two others for more (if desired).
• If the student sounds better but you feel the sound could even be better, try different reed strengths to see if you can close in on the desired sound.
• Clean each mouthpiece before a different student tries it.