I’ve been remiss! I own every professional instrument and accessory that Backun Musical Services has ever produced, and my students all play Backun instruments (largely the Cocobolo Protégé) but I was a little late to the party on these!

That is probably because even for beginners, I like to start with professional mouthpieces, frequently the Backun Vocalise G on both soprano and bass clarinets. Moderately open professional mouthpieces are better for beginners on softer reeds than the generally more closed student mouthpieces. They are not stuffy, you can move more air, tonguing is easier and the embouchure and tone develop much more quickly.

For those students who don’t want to make that jump, there is finally an inexpensive student mouthpiece that has all these attributes! These mouthpieces play like professional mouthpieces…a lovely ringing sound and a full rich tone!

For years, I have been recommending a widely distributed inexpensive student mouthpiece at clinics to which students have brought beginner instruments that normally come with “mouthpiece shaped objects.” They were “the best of worst,” and I stocked them in my studio and loaned them to students until they would spring for a professional mouthpiece, usually three to six months after their first lesson. Now this brand is also classified as “mouthpiece shaped objects.”

Since the previous mouthpieces I stocked for beginners are too small for doorstops, I have made room in the studio for Backun Protégé mouthpieces another way!. Thanks, Morrie, for helping all young players sound better, faster!