Clarinet mouthpiece (beak)
The mouthpiece of the clarinet and similar reed instruments.
What it means
'Beak' (German Schnabel) is the older, now rarely used term for the mouthpiece of the clarinet and related single-reed instruments. The name refers to the mouthpiece's characteristic shape, reminiscent of a bird's beak, with a flat underside to which the reed is attached.
Historically the term was also applied to the obsolete, straight-built beaked recorder-like flute, whose blowing opening shares the same beak-like shape.
Musical use
The mouthpiece shapes the air stream the player blows into the instrument and, together with the attached reed, sets the air column inside the instrument vibrating. The shape, tip opening (the so-called facing), and material of the mouthpiece considerably affect timbre, response, and required breath pressure.
The term 'beak' itself has largely been replaced in everyday German usage by 'mouthpiece,' but still appears in historical instrument descriptions and nineteenth-century specialist literature.
The clarinet's beak-shaped mouthpiece should be distinguished from the recorder's mouthpiece, which likewise has a beak-like shape but works without a reed, instead splitting the air stream against a sharp edge.
Performance practice
Make sure the reed sits exactly and evenly on the mouthpiece without tilting, since even small misalignments noticeably hinder response. If response problems occur, experiment first with the reed's position before changing the mouthpiece itself.