Can I play classical music on a metal mouthpiece?

Most people who play the sax will think that metal mouthpieces are for jazz players only. But what if you have a metal mouthpiece that you really love but you want to do some classical playing on it? Maybe you do a bit of classical and a bit of jazz but you want to keep the same mouthpiece for both. Whatever the reason, it’s true that you can play classical music on a metal mouthpiece, but will it sound good? I’ll be looking into this and giving some advice on how to do it.

If you feel more comfortable playing on a metal mouthpiece, you can choose one that will work for classical playing. The shape of the mouthpiece rather than the material is the most important parameter in which playing style it is suitable for. It also depends on your own preferences and how much control you have over the mouthpiece.

There are many factors that affect a mouthpiece’s suitably for classical playing. It’s not necessarily the case that the material the mouthpiece is made from will have a big impact on its sound. What is the case, however, is that the majority of metal mouthpieces are designed for jazz playing. By this, I mean that the characteristic thin shape of the metal mouthpiece is more appropriate for producing a jazz sound.

How does the shape of a mouthpiece affect its sound?

The first thing I’ll talk about is the shape of mouthpieces, and what effect this could have on its sound. Firstly, we need to learn a few terms:

• Baffle – the inside of the mouthpiece, above where the active part of the reed is
• Chamber – the open area in the middle of the mouthpiece
• Tip opening – the distance between the reed and the mouthpiece

How does the baffle of a mouthpiece affect its sound?

Firstly, I’ll talk about the function of the baffle. The simplest layout for the baffle is completely flat. A flat baffle means a slow-moving air stream, which leads to a thick sound. The sound will be dark and won’t have a lot of projection. It’s a good shape for soprano saxes and clarinets in particular, as it muffles some of the shrillness. It’s also often paired with a small tip opening and stops the sound from being too bright. It’s a very consistent setup, and is most often found on a classical setup.

The second type of baffle is a rollover baffle. The looks quite similar to a flat baffle, but the end of the baffle by the tip opening is rounded off. This means that the air stream speeds up over this area and is pushed more quickly into the chamber. There is then some fast moving air with the majority of air being slow moving. This gives a similar sound to the dark sound produced by the flat baffle, but there is some added edge from the quicker air flow.

The third and final potential layout of a baffle is the step baffle. This is split into two sections, at an angle to each other, literally like a step or a wedge. As the air stream is then restricted to a smaller area, it travels more quickly into the chamber. This means there is more projection of the sound and the sound quality is very bright. This is usually favoured by jazz musicians.

How does the chamber of a mouthpiece affect its sound?

The chamber of the mouthpiece has a big impact on the sound. In particular, its size in relation to the bore is significant. If the chamber is bigger than the bore, it means the size of the area the air occupies gets bigger as it travels through the instrument. This allows the sound to expand, becoming very full. This type of mouthpiece is often favoured by jazz musicians due to the big sound they create.

If the chamber is smaller than the bore, the air that is directed is much more focused as it’s squeezed into a smaller space. This focused sound lends itself to classical playing. However, if a small chamber is used in conjunction with a high baffle (i.e. the step or rollover part of the baffle is close to the reed), the sound that is created will become much brighter, and brighter sound can often be more suited to jazz playing.

How does the tip opening of a mouthpiece affect its sound?

The tip opening of the mouthpiece has a big effect on how difficult it is to play. In general, the more open the mouthpiece, the more difficult it is to play. This is because a bigger opening means that more air is lost. You’ll need to have more breath control to be able to play on a mouthpiece with a large tip opening, but the sound you produce will be fuller and darker in general.

A smaller tip opening favours a beginner player as it’s easier to get a sound out, although a very small tip opening can lead to the gap between the reed and the mouthpiece closing up when played. Generally, classical players choose a mouthpiece with a smaller tip than jazz players, as this helps to focus the sound. The flexibility of the sound also increases with tip size, as the reed has a bigger area over which to vibrate.

So can I have a metal mouthpiece as a classical player?

The reason not many classical musicians do not play on metal mouthpieces, is that their shape is usually designed for a jazz sound. You don’t get a lot of metal mouthpieces with a flat baffle, small tip opening and small chamber. The material is more suited to creating a big, bright sound. Although the material does have a small effect on the sound, however, what is much more significant is the shape of the mouthpiece.

If you were to get a metal mouthpiece shaped for classical playing, and couple it with a classical style reed (usually quite a hard reed), there’s no reason why you couldn’t use it to play classical music. The most important thing is personal preference, so if you were to play a metal mouthpiece designed for jazz playing as a classical mouthpiece, if it creates the sound you want, then you shouldn’t let it stop you. Just try as many mouthpieces as possible and find the one you’re the most happy with.

Summary

To sum up this post, there are three main factors that affect the sound of a mouthpiece – the baffle, the chamber and the tip opening. The material the mouthpiece is made from does have some effect, but this is small. You could, therefore, have a classical metal mouthpiece, if it is shaped like a standard classical mouthpiece. Some classical musicians will say that the metal takes away some of the classical sound, but this is mostly down to personal preference.