ReedIts flat back sits on the table; the thin end vibrates.
LigatureHolds the reed firm on the table while it vibrates.
TipThe thin front edge. The reed's end is rounded to match it.
BeakThe sloped part that goes into the player's mouth.
TenonThe narrow end that pushes into the barrel of the clarinet.
CorkA band of cork around the tenon. Some makers fit O-rings instead.
TableThe flat surface the reed is clamped to.
WindowThe opening the reed covers, between the tip rail and side rails.
Put together, from the side 2
Ligature screwsTighten the ligature. Too tight and the reed cannot vibrate freely.
Mouthpiece patch (cushion)A thin pad stuck where the top teeth rest.
From below, reed off 2
Tip railThe narrow curved strip that the reed's end closes against.
Side railsTwo narrow strips along the window. The reed seals against them.
The reed on its own 4
HeelThe thick end of the reed, opposite the tip.
Reed tipThe thin, rounded end of the reed.
VampThe cut part of the reed, including the tip and heart.
HeartThe thicker middle of the vamp, just behind the tip.
Cut in half: clarinet and sax 7
BoreThe round passage from the throat to the tenon end.
ChamberThe hollow behind the window, with straight side walls on a clarinet.
BaffleThe roof of the chamber, facing the reed.
ThroatWhere the chamber narrows into the bore.
Tip openingThe gap between the reed's tip and the tip rail.
FacingThe curve where the rails bend away from the flat reed.
ShankNo tenon on a saxophone: the shank slides over the neck cork.
How this list was compiled: Part names and every detail line were checked, for facts only and with nothing copied, against pages read on 2026-09-20, and the part names again on 2026-09-30 in the four Wikipedia articles, glossary A, makers B, F and V, guide Y and reed maker D. A name is asked only when at least two of these sources use it. Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouthpiece_(woodwind) (the reed lies against the table; the tip opening is the gap from the mouthpiece's tip to the reed's tip; facing, also called lay; chamber; a baffle is a section of the roof that slopes close to the reed's plane; the clarinet mouthpiece is narrow inside, its side walls usually straight, and ends in a tenon ringed with cork; the saxophone mouthpiece has no tenon and fits onto the cork of the neck; Adolphe Sax specified a large, round interior; hard rubber is the most common material today). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_(mouthpiece) (the tip is rounded to match the mouthpiece; the back is flat to sit on the table; thickness tapers to a thin tip; heel; the vamp is the part with the tip and the heart right behind it; cane from Arundo donax). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ligature_(instrument) (holds the reed against the table; the earliest were string and Iwan Müller made a metal one; screws must not be overtightened so the reed can vibrate freely; band, pressure plate and thumbscrew designs). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarinet (the reed is on the underside, against the lower lip, and the top teeth normally touch the top of the mouthpiece). Maker glossary A, written for saxophone mouthpieces: https://theowanne.com/pages/mouthpiece-glossary (baffle directly behind the tip rail; beak; body; bore; break point; chamber; facing curve, seen from the side, from the break point to the tip rail; floor; inner side walls; ramp; shank, the outer portion behind the table, nearest the neck; side rails, where the reed seals at each side of the window; table; throat, where the chamber becomes the bore; tip opening; tip rail; window, the open area between the tip rail and the table and between the two side rails). Clarinet mouthpiece maker B: https://www.clarinetmouthpiece.com/copy-of-mouthpiece-nomenclature (beak, the part the player puts in the mouth; tenon, the part that goes into the barrel joint, with cork or O-rings; table, flat or concave; window; side rails; tip rail; baffle; side walls; throat at the juncture of chamber and bore; bore; facing, the curve from where the reed leaves the flat table up to the tip; the same shop sells a mouthpiece patch or cushion). Clarinet and saxophone mouthpiece maker F: https://www.clarkwfobes.com/pages/mouthpiece-nomenclature (tenon, the corked cylindrical part that fits in the barrel joint; body; beak; the bite, also called the tip; bore, about two thirds of the length from the tenon end; chamber; window, sometimes called the slot; baffle, the entire surface opposite the window; side walls; ramp; throat, where the chamber meets the bore; table, the area under the window where the reed is clamped; side rails; tip rail, the narrow arc of surface from tip to window; the curve, most often called the facing; tip opening). Reed and mouthpiece maker V: https://vandoren.fr/en/clarinet-mouthpieces/ (beak angle, shank, bore, tip rail), https://vandoren.fr/en/reeds-technical-elements/ and https://vandoren.fr/en/vandoren-reeds/v%e2%80%a212-bb-clarinet-reeds/ (heel, tip, spine and heart; this maker says palette for the vamp), https://vandoren.fr/en/clarinet-ligatures/ (screws, pressure plates, cap). Reed maker D, product pages under https://www.daddario.com/collections/woodwinds/products/ such as organic-reserve-classic-bb-clarinet-reeds (vamp, heel, tip, spine, filed and unfiled cuts). Instrument guide Y: https://www.yamaha.com/en/musical_instrument_guide/clarinet/play/ (line the ligature up before tightening; a patch, sometimes called a cushion, goes where the teeth touch) and https://www.yamaha.com/en/musical_instrument_guide/clarinet/maintenance/maintenance002.html (the joint cork end, the tip of the mouthpiece, cork grease). Also read, for the saxophone figure: https://syos.co/en-us/blogs/news/the-saxophone-mouthpiece (the chamber and the baffle shape the sound most) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxophone (a single-reed mouthpiece similar to the clarinet's). Dead, closed or without usable text on 2026-09-20: vandoren.fr/en/clarinet-mouthpieces-technical-elements (404; the live technical page puts its part names in a picture only), theowanne.com/knowledge/mouthpiece-anatomy (404), clarkwfobes.com/pages/basic-mouthpiece-nomenclature (404), jodyjazz.com, sax.co.uk and silversteinworks.com (403), dawkes.co.uk and the legere.com FAQ (404). No maker is named on the page. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Own original schematic drawing of a composite teaching mouthpiece; nothing traced or copied, and no maker's figure was redrawn. Licence: own work
How it works
Most parts of a clarinet mouthpiece are surfaces, and half of them hide under the reed or inside. Four drawings show it put together, turned over with the reed off, the reed alone, and cut in half.
Read the full guide
What are the parts of a clarinet mouthpiece called?
Eight names cover the outside: reed, ligature, tip, beak, tenon, cork, table and window. Start here: 8 main parts asks those. Turn the mouthpiece over and the window is framed by the tip rail in front and a side rail along each edge. Behind it lies the table, the flat surface the reed is clamped to.
Inside the mouthpiece: baffle, chamber, throat and bore
The cut view shows what the reed hides. Air enters the chamber, the hollow behind the window. Its roof, facing the reed, is the baffle. The chamber narrows at the throat into the bore, the round passage that runs on through the tenon. A clarinet's chamber is narrow, with straight side walls.
Makers do not agree on every name. One calls the baffle a ramp, and two others use ramp for the slope under the table.
A patch, also sold as a cushion, is an add-on. It sticks to the beak where the top teeth rest.
Questions and answers
What is the facing on a clarinet mouthpiece?
The facing, also called the lay, is the curve where the side rails bend away from the flat reed, from the point where the reed leaves the table up to the tip. The gap left at the front is the tip opening.
What are the parts of a sax mouthpiece?
The same names apply, because both are single-reed mouthpieces. A saxophone mouthpiece has no tenon and no cork of its own. Its back end, the shank, slides over the cork on the saxophone's neck. Adolphe Sax specified a large, round inside.
What are the parts of a clarinet reed called?
Four are asked here: reed tip, vamp, heart and heel. The vamp is the cut part, which thins toward the tip, and the heart is its thicker middle. The heel is the thick end at the back. The flat back sits on the table.
Which way does the reed go on a clarinet mouthpiece?
Flat side against the table, on the underside of the mouthpiece, so the reed rests on the lower lip. Line the ligature up before tightening its screws. Screws that are too tight stop the reed vibrating freely.