About clarinet mouthpieces

Mouthpiece and the reed make the clarinet sound. Reed is attached to mouthpiece by ligature.

When musician  blows into the clarinet, reed vibrates and that makes the sound. Mouthpiece defines the sound and ligature must be at the right place, otherwise the reed has problems vibrating.

The top of the mouthpiece (clarinet players put in their mouth) and the top of the reed are 1mm apart.

The difference in this distance must be very exact. This distance is approximately between 1.000mm to 1.040mm. There is a lot of different mouthpieces on the market and the technology  must be very precise to make them. I use Selmer mouthpiece, but there are many more brands like Vandoren, Yamaha...
You can take a look in this online store for more info about Clarinet mouthpieces (Brands, price and such)
The difference between closed and open mouthpiece is:
- closed mouthpiece has a smaller tip opening
- on a open mouthpiece clarinet players use less hard reeds
I started to use a closed mouthpiece when i played 3 years, because my tutor said that i would make better sound with harder reeds. I found out that on my closed mouthpiece best reed hardness is 4.5(Vandoren silver). Depends on a reed brand. I also used reeds with hardness 4.

About clarinet reeds part two

Beginners shouldn't try a reed that is harder than a 2.5. Harder reed means that sound is harder to produce.
Students should wait until they have developed (some years of  practice) before trying harder reeds.

French reeds like Vandoren V-12 advanced Bb clarinet reeds are cut thin, but slightly thicker than American reeds at the bottom of the reed. This makes them slightly harder to play on, but produces a rich, better sound. The tone is also brighter.

German reeds (Vandoren's Blackmaster reeds, and other non-major brands) tend to be cut thicker, particularly in the center of the reed. This type of reed, played properly, produces a dark, rich, but not versatile tone.
German reeds are ment to be played with a German mouthpiece.

American reeds try to combine the French and German sound, to get a dark tone with plenty of flexibility. American mouthpieces have much wider tip openings and are larger. The reeds are cut with a thinner bottom and center. This type of reed is very good for students .

Reeds must be stored carefully, in a case hey came in, or in a case made for reeds, must be dry and don't expose them to high temperature changes.
If you store a reed wet and sometimes weather changes can cause the reeds to warp (Reed is warped if you look at the tip of it and it seems wavy). Often can still be played on, but they'll be more difficult and won't sound very good.
Reeds should be thrown away if they are chipped or cracked.

To test the reeds i normally buy a 10 pack and try all of them for 10 minutes.I put the ones i don't like back in the box. I do the same thing that the next day (next time). I  get 2-5 good reeds from a box of 10. Depends on a brand. At the moment i am using 3 Vandoren's reeds V-12 strenhgt 4 and 1 reed strenght 4.5.

Reeds are very important, because they produce clarinet's tone. Choose the appropriate reed for your mouthpiece, and keep your reeds in good condition.