Best Clarinet Mouthpieces for Beginners
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Choosing the best mouthpiece for your Clarinet can change your playing experience dramatically. As the main point of interaction with the instrument, the mouthpiece plays a major part in how easily you can produce a given tone and the qualities it exhibits. We’ve put together a list of the best clarinet mouthpieces for beginners to help you choose a mouthpiece that will improve your playing and enjoyment.
Most student instruments come with a basic mouthpiece, which may not be the easiest or most rewarding to use. Standard mouthpieces can make the learning experience more challenging and slow down your progress.
Not all mouthpieces are the same, with varying face lengths & openings. These variations allow the player to produce differing tones & registers more easily. The right mouthpiece can make playing the instrument more enjoyable.
What makes a good beginner mouthpiece?
As you develop your playing technique, you will be in a position to choose a mouthpiece that best suits your playing style.
As a beginner, it’s important to have a mouthpiece that makes it easy to play evenly across all registers. For the majority of players, this would be a mouthpiece with a medium or slightly narrow tip opening and a medium length facing (see diagram below).
The Yamaha 4C is a good example of this beginner friendly configuration and is one of the most popular student mouthpiece in the world for good reason. If you’re unsure of what to choose, this would typically be the best choice.
All of the mouthpieces below can work for students, but we’d consider the Yamaha & Rico mouthpieces below to be best suited for beginner students and the D’addario and Vandoren mouthpieces to be for the more advanced beginner / intermediate student. As always, following your teachers advice is a good place to start.
Diagram of a Clarinet Mouthpiece
This diagram shows the major parts of a typical Clarinet mouthpiece.
Clarinet teachers typically recommend that you upgrade your mouthpiece early on in your learning, although each teacher has their own preferences and will be able to advise you based upon their experience of your progress and playing style.
We’ve gathered the four best clarinet mouthpieces for beginners & students, as recommended by Clarinet teachers, which you can see below.
The four best Clarinet mouthpieces for beginners
Each Clarinet mouthpiece below is commonly recommended by music teachers. Everyone has their own personal preference and we would advise you to try out as many as possible before you find the best fit for you. With that said, it is hard to go wrong with any of the mouthpieces in this list. All of them will make it easier for you to get a tone across all registers.
Like with most things, it is possible to spend even more than the highest priced mouthpieces below, but we feel it wouldn’t be necessary for most student musicians.
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Yamaha 4C Mouthpiece
The Yamaha 4C Mouthpiece is Yamaha’s official original-equipment mouthpiece and is the exact mouthpiece that comes with all new standard, intermediate & professional series Yamaha Clarinets.
Widely recommended by Clarinet Teachers around the world, the Yamaha 4C is very well made to exacting standards.
Beginners will typically find this mouthpiece helps them produce a wonderful & rewarding sound.
- Proven Yamaha quality
- Recommended by teachers
- Made from Phenol Resin Plastic
- Fits any standard Clarinet model
- Reasonably priced
- Tip opening: 1.05mm
- Facing length: 19mm / long
£50 (correct at time of posting)
Rico B5 Graftonite Mouthpiece
The Rico B5 is the cheapest mouthpiece on our list, but that shouldn’t mean it gets overlooked.
This mouthpiece is an ideal upgrade for a player on a budget. Providing a noticeable difference in feel and tone.
- Made from polycarbonate
- Easy to play with
- Extremely affordable
- Tip opening: 1.27mm
- Facing length: 19mm / long
£31.30 (correct at time of posting)
Vandoren B45 Clarinet Mouthpiece
The Vandoren B45 is the mouthpiece of choice to take you a little further as an advanced beginner to intermediate player.
Widely recommended by teachers and experienced players, this mouthpiece delivers a great playing experience and is widely appreciated by Clarinet players of many levels.
- Advanced beginner to Intermediate level
- Vandoren quality
- Made from ‘ebonite’ (vulcanised rubber)
- Price reflects quality
- Tip opening: 1.195mm
- Facing length: 17mm / medium long
£83 (correct at time of posting)
D’addario Reserve Evolution EV10
The most expensive mouthpiece on this list, the D’addario EV10 is a simply brilliant mouthpiece.
The EV10 is milled from a piece of specially manufactured rubber and as a result is a precision-crafted item.
Highly flexible and suited to a range of musical styles, this mouthpiece can go with you as you upgrade your instrument with experience.
- Advanced students & intermediate players
- Precision-milled & superior quality
- Easy to get along with
- Good long-term investment
- High up-front cost when compared with other beginner mouthpieces
- Tip opening: 1.08mm
- Facing length: medium long
£104.95 (correct at time of posting)
Summary
We recommend that you consider the advice of your music teacher when making a decision on which beginner Clarinet mouthpiece you purchase. Our list above is based upon the experiences and recommendations of Clarinet teachers. Common advice is to try several different mouthpieces before committing to one, as each player is unique and what works for one player, may not work for another.
With that said, we don’t think you can go wrong by starting with a Yamaha 4C Mouthpiece, it provides a huge improvement to the feel of the instrument and the ease at which you can achieve the tones you want.
If you have any further questions on Clarinet Mouthpieces for beginners, please don’t hesitate to contact us, we will be happy to help wherever we can.
Thanks for reading and we hope you found this post useful.
