We Asked 200 Band Directors What Beginner Clarinet Mouthpieces They Like. Here’s What They Recommend.

Every year, we help thousands of beginning band students choose their first clarinet through our rent-to-own program. To help give them the best start, we ask their teachers for supply lists to make sure we carry what they need.

Teachers we serve tend to have more requests for clarinets than any other instrument. So we analyzed their supply lists to find the most commonly recommended accessories they have for their students.

How We Got Our Data

Summerhays Music of Murray & Layton services over 500 music teachers throughout the Salt Lake Valley and other areas in Northern Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and Nevada.

While preparing for the new school year, our education team asks all these teachers for a list of approved instruments and accessories. Just under 200 band teachers responded. We then took those responses and tracked how frequently certain brands or products were mentioned.

Keep in mind, these are recommendations specifically for beginning clarinetists. They don’t factor intermediate or college-level players.

The Best Beginner Clarinet Mouthpieces

The mouthpiece is arguably as important as the clarinet itself. So it’s no wonder that some teachers are picky about what mouthpiece their students use. Here are the top 3 recommendations for beginners.

1. Fobes Debut

Over 65% of our teachers recommend Fobes Debut over every other beginner clarinet mouthpiece. Here are some of the reasons they like it:

• It’s free-blowing, responsive, and easy for students to play.
• The sound quality is warm and pleasant compared to other stock mouthpieces.
• It’s inexpensive.It’s inexpensive, making it an easy choice for new players on a budget.

All in all, the Debut is an instant upgrade to any beginner clarinet setup. It’s gratifying for young students to play, and the warm sound is more pleasant for teachers and parents to listen to.

2. The Stock Mouthpiece That Comes With Your Clarinet

About 16% of the teachers who responded went out of their way to say that stock mouthpieces are just fine.

While we can't speak for every brand, the reputable manufacturers we work with at Summerhays provide everything a young clarinetist needs to play right out of the box. Generally speaking, the mouthpiece is usually “good enough” for most beginners.

That said, some manufacturers are getting more and more competitive with their products. To that end, they’re supplying their instruments with better equipment to help young students succeed early on. For example, Backun Alpha student clarinets now come with the Protégé mouthpiece, which is a significant step up from previous stock mouthpieces they used to come with.

Cost is another factor some teachers are considering here. They might not want to burden their students with additional purchases, so they told us that the stock mouthpiece is just fine.

3. Vandoren M13 Lyre and B45

We’re sort of cheating here by bunching these two Vandoren mouthpieces together. But neither one was mentioned more frequently than the other, so we felt like it made sense to group them like this.

The M13 Lyre and B45 are made of hard rubber instead of plastic or acrylic. As a result, they produce a richer, warmer sound than typical student mouthpieces.

Vandoren mouthpieces have been a long-time favorite among clarinet and band teachers. Back before the Fobes Debut or Yamaha 4C became standard choices, these were some of the go-to mouthpieces that teachers would recommend.

While they’re excellent mouthpieces, they’re a bit higher priced than other options. That said, they’re still fairly popular step-up mouthpieces for advanced students playing at a high school or college level.

Honorable Mentions

While Fobes, Vandoren, and stock mouthpieces were the most frequently mentioned, there were some honorable mentions a few teachers mentioned more than once:

• Yamaha 4C — The default mouthpiece that comes with Yamaha student clarinets. Arguably as good or better than any stock clarinet mouthpiece.
• D’Addario Reserve X0 — A premium mouthpiece made from hard rubber. Like the Vandoren mouthpieces, it’s a great choice for advanced players.
• Backun Protégé — Some teachers specifically recommended Backun clarinets partially because of the Protégé mouthpiece.

Shop Beginning Clarinet Supplies at Summerhays

Summerhays is the best place in Utah for all your clarinet needs. Whether you’re shopping for beginning clarinet supplies, or looking for a new instrument, we’ve got you covered.

Visit Summerhays Music in Murray or Layton, or give us a call at (801) 268-4446.