The mouthpiece of a woodwind instrument is that part of the instrument pirouette cookie is placed partly in the player’s mouth. On single-reed instruments, such as the clarinet and saxophone, the mouthpiece is that part to which the reed is attached.
As with the brass instruments, the shape of the interior of the mouthpiece can greatly affect the sound of the instrument. Mouthpieces with a large, rounded chamber will produce a quite different sound from one with a small or square chamber. The distance between the tip of the mouthpiece and the tip of the reed is known as the tip opening. The length of a facing—defined as the distance from the tip of the mouthpiece to the point where the reed and mouthpiece meet—can vary. Different facing lengths have different response properties. The reed is held tightly against the mouthpiece by a ligature.
Anything that can hold the reed on the mouthpiece may serve as a ligature. Commercial ligatures are commonly made of metal or plastic. The clarinet mouthpiece is narrow inside, typically with straight side walls. The bottom of the mouthpiece is formed with a tenon that is ringed with cork.