mouthpiece

music

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Last updated

July 1, 2026

Quick Summary

A mouthpiece is a part of a musical instrument that is placed at or forms the mouth of the instrument, or to which the player's mouth is applied. In brass instruments, the player's lips vibrate against a cup- or funnel-shaped mouthpiece to create sound. For reed instruments like clarinets and saxophones, a reed is placed against the mouthpiece, and the airstream passes through it before vibrating the air column. Mouthpieces can vary in size and shape, influencing the instrument's tone quality. The term "mouthpiece" can also refer to a spokesperson who expresses another's views.12345

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wind instrument
Trumpet-type aerophones
…against the rim of a mouthpiece or mouth hole (although the behaviour of the lips, strictly speaking, is not exactly comparable to the operation of a reed). When the lips vibrate, the resulting tremor in the flow of the breath is transmitted to the air in the tube, which resonates…
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…against the rim of a mouthpiece or mouth hole (although the behaviour of the lips, strictly speaking, is not exactly comparable to the operation of a reed). When the lips vibrate, the resulting tremor in the flow of the breath is transmitted to the air in the tube, which resonates…
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sound
Bore configuration and harmonicity
The addition of a mouthpiece and a bell to a tube, either cylindrical or conical, results in all harmonics being possible, as in both the trumpet (cylindrical) and cornet (conical) family of brasses. Even after fixing a reed to one end of a conical tube—as in the oboe, bassoon,…
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The addition of a mouthpiece and a bell to a tube, either cylindrical or conical, results in all harmonics being possible, as in both the trumpet (cylindrical) and cornet (conical) family of brasses. Even after fixing a reed to one end of a conical tube—as in the oboe, bassoon,…
Read More