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Anatomy of a Trombone Mouthpiece

First of all, I feel as if I should stress this point:

NO MOUTHPIECE WILL DO EVERYTHING EQUALLY WELL

There! Now say that out loud ten times till it starts to sink in to your subconcious mind. Everywhere I go, I run into students and professionals alike who are looking for the "miracle mouthpiece" that will allow them to play loud, high, legato, low, fast, bright, dark, and on and on. All I can tell them is that no such mouthpiece exists. I believe most of them realize this; but just like playing the lottery, they keep searching with a burning hope and a wishful mindset.

The bottom line is this: when you hear a player sounding like you wish to sound, it is only partially due to the equipment they're playing. They have, through diligence and careful listening, achieved "work arounds" to the limitations of their particular mouthpiece. And you can, too.

The physics involved will dictate that a mouthpiece facilitating high range must necessarily do so at the expense of low range.

In choosing a mouthpiece, the musical setting will be a major factor,too. Jazz players are free to find a mouthpiece that gives them "THEIR" sound. If you close your eyes and think of J.J. Johnson, Jack Teagarden, Frank Rosolino, Bill Watrous, Carl Fontana, Conrad Herwig, etc., you can HEAR their highly stylized and individualized sounds. The jazz medium allows for this very personalized concept of sound. That's really part of it's beauty!

If you are primarily a "legit" solist, too, you have this freedom. Think of Christian Lindberg, Michel Bequet, Alain Trudel, etc. VERY unique sounds from each of these players.

If, however, you play in orchestras and/or wind ensembles primarily, you must be concerned with BLEND as well as commonly accepted concepts of SOUND. It's not desirable that a second trombonist, for instance, have a very unique sound. They must have a pure, rich, warm sound that can BLEND with the section. The best orchetral sections have a UNIFORM concept of sound. Though this uniform concept may not be the individual's preferred sound, for the sake of ENSEMBLE they will reach a consensus. Later that week, when the individual plays a solo recital or a quintet gig, he or she might very well play very different equipment to achieve a very different sound.

When you have realized in your hyperactive imagination the IDEAL sound for YOU, here's how to find a mouthpiece to help you achieve it:

 

How Each of the Above Features May Effect Your Sound:

Shank: trumpet palyers will tell you how important the correct shank can be.....they know that how a mouthpiece fits into the leadpipe receiver of your instrument is vital. If not aligned correctly, a small gap can result between the shank and leadpipe. This small gap can have disastrous effects on intonation and response on your trombone. Make sure your mouthpiece sits firmly into the leadpipe without any excess play and without sticking out too far. (NOTE: for those that play European trombones, a custom shank may have to be fitted for your mouthpiece.........euphonium players experience this with their Besson instruments)

Cup Depth: a deep cup will tend to darken one's sound and open the trombone up in the low register. This comes at the expense of making the high range a bit more difficult and cutting some brightness out of your sound. If you want a mouthpiece to assist in the high register, look for a shallow cup.

Cup Shape: the more "funneled" a mouthpiece's cup, the darker and mellower the sound. The presence of a well-defined SHOULDER in a cup-shaped mouthpiece will brighten the sound by favoring more of the higher overtones in your sound.

Throat: this is the point of most resistance since it's the narrowest aperture through which the air will pass. A big, open throat will allow for more volume, but will require more air from the player. If you venture too far into wide-open throats, you will also experience intonation problems as notes will have a tough time "centering". A smaller throat will make your sound more focused and centered, but you will "break up" on the louder stuff. If you never need to play loudly, a small throat can make your job easier. If you notice that your sound spreads when you play loudly, you might want a bigger throat.

Backbore: the interior of the shank is referred to as the backbore. It begins where the throat ends and serves to "guide" the airstream into your horn. An open backbore that tapers very quickly to it's largest diameter will let you put a lot of air into the horn and thus play loudly with a bigger, darker sound. A backbore too open will lead to control problems and tricky intonation tendencies. A more narrow backbore will "compact" the sound at the expense of some darkness and volume. A delicate balance must be achieved between the dimensions of the throat and the backbore of a mouthpiece. Many drastic changes in response and tone quality can result by experimenting with this balance.

Rim Width: a wide, cushioned rim can feel very comfortable and many players say they have more endurance on these. It has been my experience, though, that the big fat rims can wear you out very quickly and don't allow for much flexibility. Very narrow rims can be uncomfortable and tire you out quickly too. A happy medium should be sought in this regard.

Rim Contour: if you look at your mouthpiece from the side, you'll notice that the rim is not flat. Old sackbut mouthpieces were very often flat, but modern mouthpieces are rarely so. There's a slight "roundness" to the rim and the peak of the roundness should probably be closer to the inner rim. This allows for a nice mixture of comfort and effectiveness.

Bite: the bite is the steepness of angle as the rim meets the cup on your mouthpiece. A 90-degree bite would be severe. A sharp bite like that would allow notes to center very well and notes would "slot" nicely. Staccato attacks would be easy, but legato would be tough on an extremely sharp bite. A round, gentle bite would make legato very smooth indeed, but would make it tough to center notes and play harder articulations with any amount of clarity. Again, since music will demand both centered staccattos and legato passages, a happy medium should be sought. If you notice great difficulty in playing legato, you may want to examine the bite of your mouthpiece.

Here are some links to mouthpiece makers. You can consider yourself very lucky that so many features are available to you in mouthpiece design. It wasn't that long ago that players had very few options other than very expensive customizations.

Bach Mouthpieces

Greg Black Mouthpieces

Warburton Mouthpieces

Giardanelli Mouthpieces

Yamaha Mouthpieces