I'd never considered not cleaning it like that, but recently I was at a county youth orchestra playday, and one of the older ones (who is auditioning for music colleges this year) mentioned that he didn't like to clean his mouthpiece with a pull-through, because over time it might affect the tuning. Perhaps this is why my 2-year-old clarinet is permanently flat?!

Just curious as to what the experts think/do to clean their mouthpiece!

Well, firstly my pull through doesn't fit through my mouthpiece!

I clean mine with a damp cotton bud. It gets rid of any gunk in there and is the right size to be able to clean it properly.

I was always told never to use a pull-through on the mouthpiece as it will gradually erode the edges of it leading to tuning problems, whistles, squeaks etc. I use one of those mini mop things on it to dry and occasionally clean it more thoroughly in very luke-warm water.

Oh, dear! Daughter uses a pull-through, or I do if she has left me to clear up after practice . It won't go right through, though so we just pull it in, then pull it out. Also, wash with warm water occasionally. With recorder. we were cautioned against using the moppy type brushes as more likely to damage the inside of the recorder, so I assumed the same would be true with clari.... Cotton buds sound like hard work.. We must discuss this with her teacher.

This is what i do too. I've had my mouthpiece for over 20 years now and have always cleaned it with a pull through. My old one went all the way through. My new one goes half way and has a pull tag on the the opposite side to the weighted rope so I pull it back out the way it came using that.


In previous years I was told a very well cleaned mascara brush was good for cleaning out mouthpiece gunk with warm soapy water (Didn't do it all that often though) but have recently been offered the same caution as Halka re scratching.

So I've given mine some thrashing and have probably dropped it a time or two as well in my youth and it's still going strong so i don't see a pull through causing too much damage....

The standard pullthroughs can wear away the inside of the mouthpiece - or that's what I've been told before - so it can be bad for the mouthpeices to be cleaned with a pullthrough. You can buy small pullthroughs (I think) that can be used in mouthpieces or a mouthpiece mop.

Lucid

For my saxophone, I have these small triangular pieces of cloth that I assume are for cleaning the mouthpiece. I haven't actually worked out how to use them yet though!

i'm defo no expert but i've always believed it was of the utmost importance to clean/dry the mouth piece with a pull through after use. however i have also been told that anything you use- any thing you put in the bore of the instrument for whatever reason- could scratch the bore of the instrument and will alter the sound pitch and performance. you may not notice it immediately or ever if you play it every day but over time it wears away and soem fresh ears may notice the sound damage more than you as it can really alter the pitch. i was advised that only the softest and most absorbant materials should be used as a pull through mouth piece or not. if there is any resistance at all in any part of the instrument its no good(too big you could trim it down so it fits easier) as its scratching the sides while you pull it out. i was also told that any pull throughs with metal, wooden weights are no good as the metal sliding down the inside will also cause bore damage.

i fashioned my own pull through from a light piece of silk with a silk cord sewn on with a knot in it its done me just fine. i couldnt comment on weather even this silk is causing damage but i dont think so.

We got some tear shaped bits of material with our Hanson sax, but according to the BG leaflet that came with the accessory pack they're pad cleaners/dryers. Is that what you mean?

That sounds like them. My sax is Hanson, but there weren't any insrtuctions as to what anything was for.

I would caution against getting too wound up about what you should or should not be doing. Cleaning it out with a tissue or something every couple of days should be fine. There is a school of thought that it is the unique mouthpiece deposits that create the unique sound of each player. Looking back to my years playing a school girl, my mum wouldn't have had a clue as to what way was up, down, or what she would do with it. I really think that mouthpiece hygiene is up to the player. As a biochemist too - really don't get upset about the hygiene, you'd have to be fairly gross to be a health risk.

Just to add to what others have said already, I've always used the pull through on the mouthpiece without any problems. It's a fairly obvious thing to say but I think as long as you aren't forcing it through, you are unlikely to cause damage. My pull through doesn't go all the way through, so goes so far and then is gently pulled back out the way it went in. Other than drying it off, I tend to leave well alone. The reed gets a wipe and then is stored on the mouthpiece with the ligature loosely fastened. There are lots of differing opinions on mouthpiece/reed storage and hygiene but I'm with TSax on this one.

I used to do this,
I also used to clean my clarinet after every use......oops

I've always used a pull-through on my mouthpiece. I used to have a cotton one with a weighted end, now I've got a thicker micro-fibre cloth with a weighted end, but both of them go through quite easily. I've never heard that it could affect tone etc, but I'll remember that excuse next time I don't sound so good

I usually use my pull through to clean out my mouthpiece. Not after every use but occaisionally. I'm careful not to scratch the inside.

Only one warning - only use luke warm or cold water if cleaning the mouthpiece as warm water can cause the material of the mouthpiece to discolour and green mouthpieces are not the most attractive.

Sax rather than clarinet, but I've always used one of the soft moppy things and also a lint-free cloth to swab out the worst of the moisture in my mouthpiece after use - then I wipe off the reed and stick it back in the ligature. However, I've never bothered with any cleaning of the mouthpiece beyond that. I have difficulty in seeing how you'd manage to scratch the mp with the mop thing I have - it's pretty soft, and provided you insert it centrally, the metal core doesn't come into contact with any part of the mp...

Me too : and it's survived now for 6-7 years, and it still plays as well as when I purchased it.

No, I never use the pull-through on the mouthpiece. I use a tissue. I have been told that pull-throughs can damage a mouthpiece over years of use and I'm not willing to take the risk when it's so easy to just use a tissue instead. The same tissue can be used for soaking up water from the tone-holes and (last of all ) cleaning off cork grease from the tenons so that it doesnt build up into a sticky gunk.