Mouthpiece (brass) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Brass instrument

A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...

s the mouthpiece is the part of the instrument which is placed upon the player's lip

Lip

Lips are a visible body part at the mouth of humans and many animals. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech...

s. The purpose of the mouthpiece is a resonator

Resonator

A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance or resonant behavior, that is, it naturally oscillates at some frequencies, called its resonant frequencies, with greater amplitude than at others. The oscillations in a resonator can be either electromagnetic or mechanical...

, which passes vibration from the lips to the column of air contained within the instrument, giving rise to the standing wave

Standing wave

In physics, a standing wave – also known as a stationary wave – is a wave that remains in a constant position.This phenomenon can occur because the medium is moving in the opposite direction to the wave, or it can arise in a stationary medium as a result of interference between two waves traveling...

pattern of vibration in the air column. Mouthpieces consist of a simple circular opening which leads, via a semi-spherical or conical cavity, to the main body of the instrument.

Mouthpieces vary to instrument to suit the tone of the instrument. Lower instruments also have larger mouthpieces, to maximize resonance (see pitch of brass instruments

Pitch of brass instruments

thumb|High brass - from the top left: Baroque trumpet in D, modern trumpets in B♭ and D , piccolo trumpet in high B♭, Flugelhorn in B♭; right: cornet in B♭....

). Also, mouthpieces are selected to suit the embouchure

Embouchure

The embouchure is the use of facial muscles and the shaping of the lips to the mouthpiece of woodwind instruments or the mouthpiece of the brass instruments.The word is of French origin and is related to the root bouche , 'mouth'....

of the player, to produce certain timbre

Timbre

In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...

, or to optimize the instrument for certain playing styles. For example, trumpet

Trumpet

The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

and trombone

Trombone

The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...

mouthpieces are usually semi-spherical whereas horn

Horn (instrument)

The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....

mouthpieces are conic.

Mouthpiece design

The mouthpiece has a large effect on the sound of the instrument. The major effects are due to the shape of the cup, shape of the throat, and the inner rim diameter. In addition players often choose a mouthpiece which complements their favored playing styles; a mouthpiece with a narrow bore is generally preferred by brass players who concentrate on the upper range of their instrument, and a wider bore by those who emphasize the lower range of their instrument in their playing.

The effects of different aspects of mouthpiece design

Mouthpiece element	Effect on playing	Typical size/nature (Trumpet)	Typical size/nature (Tuba)
Inner rim diameter	Larger inner rim diameters are optimized for lower ranges, giving a richer tone. Smaller diameters assist high range playing.	~16.0mm	~32mm
Rim width	Wider rim widths reduce the pressure on the lips, allowing greater stamina. It does, however, reduce flexibility.	~5, 6, or 7mm	~6mm
Rim contour	Flatter rim contours tend to be found on rims with sharper rim edges (see below).	Varied	Varied
Rim edge (or bite)	Sharper rim edges reduce stamina but increase control. More smoothed rims are commonly found on deeper cups.	Varied	varied
Cup depth	Shallower cups greatly assist playing in high ranges but do so at the cost of fullness of tone. Deeper cups assist low range flexibility and rich tone.	Around half the inner rim diameter.	3/4 to 2 times the inner rim diameter.
Cup shape	Semi-spherical cups have brighter, more projected tones, while conical cups have less tone definition (see throat contour, below).	Semi-spherical	Both
Throat contour	In semi-spherical cups, a sharper throat contour gives a more harsh, projected tone and a rounded contour gives a deeper, richer tone. Conical cups with a smooth throat have less definition.	Relatively sharp	Usually rounded
Throat diameter	Larger throat diameters give more volume but less control. Smaller diameters have much more control but significant volume limitations.	~3.6mm	~7.6mm
Backbore	More conical backbores give a richer tone, while more cylindrical ones give a brighter, more projected tone.	Fairly cylindrical	Varied

Note: in this table:

"flexibility" refers to the 'agility' possibility; greater flexibility assists in playing music with fast passages and large intervals.
"control" refers to the ease of control over harmonic and tone.
"rich tone" refers to notes possessing few high harmonics, while "bright tone" refers to notes possessing many high harmonics.

Material

There are 5 types of material available for brass players, each with different costs, properties, and features. Note that some of the following assertions, especially those regarding the effect of plating on tone color, are considered by the majority of players and specialists to be very questionable.

Gold plating

For some players, there is an option available to gold-plate

Gold plating

Gold plating is a method of depositing a thin layer of gold onto the surface of another metal, most often copper or silver , by chemical or electrochemical plating...

your brass mouthpieces. Some believe this creates a fuller, richer tone that can also be somewhat darker timbre

Timbre

. For some people who are allergic to silver

Silver

Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

, this is the best (but not cheapest) way to keep playing on a brass instrument

Brass instrument

A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...

without discomfort. Gold does not tarnish by nature and subsequently requires little maintenance apart from washing regularly with soap

Soap

In chemistry, soap is a salt of a fatty acid.IUPAC. "" Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. . Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford . XML on-line corrected version: created by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN...

and water

Water

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

Silver plating

Silver

plating is standard on all brass mouthpieces because it is the most cost-effective, and is a good material in terms of tone quality. Silver plating is not as comfortable or as expensive as gold, but still has properties and qualities that are sometimes necessary for some styles of playing. Silver-plate gives a clearer, darker sound than gold and is good for styles of playing that need clarity and projection. In addition, silver-plate is less valuable than gold but requires more maintenance

Maintenance, Repair and Operations

Maintenance, repair, and operations or maintenance, repair, and overhaul involves fixing any sort of mechanical or electrical device should it become out of order or broken...

as a result of its tendency to tarnish easily. Slightly tarnished silver-plate can be polished back to its brightness with some forms of silver polish.

Plastic

A third option is a plastic

Plastic

A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...

mouthpiece made out of Lexan

Lexan

Lexan is a registered trademark for SABIC Innovative Plastics' brand of polycarbonate resin thermoplastic. Polycarbonate polymer is produced by reacting bisphenol A with carbonyl dichloride, also known as phosgene. Lexan is the brand name for polycarbonate sheet and resin in a wide range of grades...

plastic. Some of the positive features of these mouthpieces are that they are very durable and will not chip nor dent as is the case with metal mouthpieces, they are very affordable compared to metal mouthpieces, and they are commonly used when playing in outdoor conditions as a result of their short "warm-up" time. They are widely referred to marching brass players because of these features listed above. The negative aspect of this type of mouthpiece is that it may not have the same tone quality and feel as metal mouthpieces do.

Other

Two more recent additions to the mouthpiece world are stainless steel and titanium. They are relatively rare, being produced by very few manufacturers. Stainless steel and titanium mouthpieces hold many advantages to the classic brass mouthpiece, including, anecdotally, a much more centered feel and sound, as stainless steel and titanium do not absorb as many vibrations as brass; they require much less care; etc., but they are much more expensive (titanium mouthpieces run up to about $400 each).

Sizes

Each mouthpiece company has different labeling system. A larger number might mean a larger or smaller mouthpiece depending on the company. Likewise, the letters mean different things depending on the company.

Mouthpiece design

Material

Gold plating

Silver plating

Plastic

Other

Sizes

See also