Information on period mouthpieces

We have a number of sources of information about mouthpieces from earlier periods. Here's some of them:

Louis François Dauprat Méthode de Cor-alto et Cor-basse (Paris, Zetter et Cie, 1824, pp. 11 - 12).

Dauprat recounts that there are two types of very different mouthpieces; ones for the cor alto (high horn) players which should "facilitate the execution of very high notes" ("doit faciliter l'exécution des sons très aigus") whilst they must still be "wide enough to allow the lowest notes to sound fully and sonorously" ("doit être assez large pour permettre de fair entendre, pleins et sonores, les sons graves de son étendue"). For the cor bass (low horn) he recommends a mouthpiece which facilitates the very low ("des sons très graves.") whilst at the same time it must be "narrow enough to facilitate the sounding of its own highest notes" ("doit être étroite pour faciliter l'émission des sons aigus qui lui sont propres.")

Dauprat warns that mouthpieces which are too small give "a feeble and mediocre sound" ("Une embouchure trop petite donne un son faible et d'une qualité médiocre.") whilst those that are too large give the opposite effect ("C'est précisement le contraire avec l'embouchure trop large, dont on a signalé l'inconvénient.").

Dauprat also suggests that the edge of a mouthpiece should be "slightly rounded" as "flat edges, interior or exterior, offer a cutting edge that can harm the lips" ("il est à propos que le bord soit légèrement arrondi: les bords plats offrent, à l'interieur comme à l'extérieur, une ligne coupante qui peut offenser les lèvres.").

Amusingly Dauprat admits that it can be hard for students of the horn to know which genre (i.e. cor alto or cor basse) to choose and that "reluctance or indifference about this is entirely natural" ("son hésitation, ou son indifférence à ce sujet est très naturelle.") and recommends that the decision should simply be made for the student by the teacher.

Echoing teachers throughout the centuries Dauprat warns the student to not loose their mouthpiece as "the loss of the mouthpiece to which one is accustomed is almost irreparable" ("mai la perte de l'embouchure à laquelle on est accoutumé est presqu'irréparable").

Dauprat	Cor Alto	Cor Basse
Overall length: A to B	2 1/2 pouces [67.68 mm]	2 1/2 pouces [67.68 mm]
Exterior diameter of the rim: C to D	10 lignes [22.56 mm]	11 lignes [24.816 mm]
Interior diameter of the rim, from the point at which the rim is soldered to the cup: E to F	7 1/2 lignes [16.92 mm]	8 1/4 lignes [19.176 mm]
Width of the rim from interior to exterior: O	1 1/4 lignes [2.82 mm]	1 1/2 lignes [3.384 mm]
Exterior diameter of the end of the stem: I to K	2 1/2 lignes [5.64 mm]	3 lignes [6.768 mm]
Interior diameter: S	2 lignes [4.512 mm]	2 1/2 lignes [5.64 mm]
The information here is taken from Viola Roth’s translation of the Dauprat Méthode (Birdalone Music, Bloomington Indiana, 1994) and which uses information from Arthur E. Kenneley, Vestiges of Pre-metric Weights and Measures (The Macmillan Company, New York, 1928, p. 49).

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Heinrich Domnich Méthode de premier et de second cor (Paris: Imprimerie du Conservatoire de Musique, 1808, p. 8).

Dominich warns us that it is "impossible for one individual to go from the lowest to the highest notes on the horn with one mouthpiece and that it is impossible to use mouthpieces of two different diameters one after the other" ("J'ai dit qu'il était impossible au même individu de parcourir, du grave à l'aigu, toutes les notes du Cor avec une seule embouchure; il lui est également impossible d'employer tour-à-tour deux embouchures de different diamètres."). Therefore he, like Dauprat, suggests two different mouthpieces, one for "first horn" players (cor alto) and one for "second horn" players (cor basse). Interestingly, he suggests that the intermediate notes played by the "cor mixte" players could use either mouthpiece ("Les sons intermédiaires, qui constituent ce qu'on appèle le médium, appartiennent également aux deux genres.").

Dominch also raises the theory as to whether having a certain type of lip (thin or thick) has any bearing on a horn player being a high or low horn player. "It is generally received opinion that thin, flat lips are better for the First horn, and thick protruding lips have more ability as a Second horn" ("C'est une opinion assez généralement reçue que les lèvres minces et applies conviennent mieux au premier Cor, et que les lèvres épaisses et saillantes ont plus d'aptitude au second Cor."). Dominich rejects this idea ("Cette idée est dénué de fondement.") and suggests that the mouthpiece has more bearing than the profile of the horn players lips ("Les deux genres ne diffèrent que par l'embouchure qui, plus étroite pour le premier, aide à monter vers les notes élevées; plus ouverte pour le second, favorise la formation des sons graves.").

Domnich	First horn	Second horn
Diameter of the exterior from one outside edge to the other.	21 mm	24 mm
Diameter of the internal apature	18 mm	20 mm
Width of the inner edge to the outer	1.5 mm	2 mm
Inner diameter of the tip of the stem	4 mm	4 mm
Total length of the mouthpiece	7.1 cm	7.1 cm
These dimensions are based on measurements of the illustrations in Domnich's Méthode which he states are "true dimensions". They appear to be so given that they are similar to other measurements of the time but, of course, we should be relatively cautious taking measurements from a picture.

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Frédéric Duvernoy Méthode pour le cor (Paris: Imprimerie du Conservatoire de Musique, 1802. pp. 2 - 3).

Duvernoy, again, informs the reader that there are two genres of horn playing: the first (cor alto) that plays the high notes, and the second (cor basse) that plays lower notes. Similarly he says that the differences between the two genres are also seen in their corresponding mouthpieces and that a student who wishes to play one or other of the genres should choose an appropriate mouthpiece.

Duvernoy says that it's not necessary to "scrupulously adhere to the widths [he] specifies" ("il ne faut pas s'en tenir scrupuleusement à la largeur que j'indique") as we have "more or less lips" ("nous avons les lèvres plus ou moins grosses") and we "should search for suitable and proportional widths that suits the disposition of our lips whilst always hearing to the rule of the two genres" ("il faut chercher une largeur convenable est proportionnée à la dispotion de notre bouche, en se confront toujours à la règle des deux genres").

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Jacques-François Gallay Méthode pour le cor (Paris, Schoenberger, c.1845. p 6).

Gallay advises that the first thing any student of the horn should consider is a mouthpiece that is proportional, both in its aperture and in its width of rim to the shape and thickness of the student's lips ("Le premier soin de la personne qui se destine à l'étude du Cor, doit être de choisir une embouchure proportionnée à la forme et à l'épaisseur de ses lèvres, tant par son overture que par la largeur de son bord").

He warns that one mouthpiece cannot be used exclusively by everyone and suggests two types of mouthpieces ("Comme un modèle unique d'embouchure ne peut pas servir exclusivement de type, ses proportions vpuvant varier à l'infini, selon la conformation des individus, je crois utile d'en donner deux et d'y joindre les remarques que j'ai été à même de faire à ces sujet ; elles serviront de guide à l'élève qui pourra choisir entre l'une ou l'autre ou sans modifications.")

Gallay finds that small mouthpieces are more appropriate for thin lips whilst thicker lips require a larger mouthpiece ("J'ai très souvent reconnu qu'une petite embouchure convenait aux lèvres minces, tandis qu'au contraire des lèvres épaisses exigent une embouchure de plus grande dimension.").

Whilst the illustration only shows one model (Modèle No. 1) he includes a table with the dimensions of both. No. 1 is aimed at those with thinner lips whilst No. 2 is aimed at those with thicker lips and has the advantage of giving a better quality of sound and can cover the full range of the instrument with greater ease ("Le model No. 1 est par conséquent destiné aux premières ; quant aux autres elles trouveront dans le model No.2 dont le diamètre est plus grand, le double avantage d'obtenir une meilleure qualité de son et de parcourir toute l'étendue de l'instrument avec plus de facilité.").

Gallay also advises that the student's speed of progress can be affected one way or another by the choice of mouthpiece and emphasises that the right choice is very important and that these points should be brought to the most scrupulous attention of the teacher ("Les progrès plus ou moins rapides d'un élève pouvant quelquefois dépendre de l'embouchure qu'il a adoptée, le choix en est très important et je crois devoir appeler sur ce point l'attention la plus scrupuleuse du professeur.").

Gallay	Model no. 1	Model no. 2
Diameter of the exterior from one outside edge to the other.	21.5 mm	25.5 mm
Diameter of the internal apature	16.5 mm	18.5 mm
Width of the inner edge to the outer	2.5 mm	2.5 mm
Inner diameter of the tip of the stem	7 mm	7 mm
Total length of the mouthpiece	7.2 cm	7.2 cm

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Georges Kastner Méthode Elémentaire pour le Cor (Paris, Troupenas & Cie, 1844, p.10).

Kastner advises that "there is no one unvarying model of mouthpiece; one must seek the size which is best suited to the shape of the mouth; experience has shown that thick lips need a mouthpiece a bit wider and thin lips, on the contrary, are better with a smaller mouthpiece; but these nuances are always subordinate to the main principal which is that the second horn should have a wide mouthpiece than the first" ("Il n’y a point de modèles invariable d’embouchure; on doit chercher la grandeur qui convient le mieux à la conformation de la bouche; l’expérience a démontré que les grosses lèvres ont besoin d’une embouchure un peu large et que les lèvres minces, au contraire, s’arrangent mieux d’une petite embouchure; mais ces nuances restent toujours subordonnées à la proportion principale, qui veut pour le second Cor, une embouchure plus large que pour le premier.")

Where Kastner differs from other writers is in his suggestion that the mouthpiece is placed one third on the upper lip and two thirds on the lower lip ("Les lèvres étant bien jointes, vous y appliquez l’embouchure en pressant légèrement, vers le milieu de la bouche, et de façon qu’elle porte pour un tiers à peu près sur la lèvre supérieure et pour deux tiers sur la lèvres inférieure.") whilst most authorities suggest two thirds on the upper and one third on the lower.

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A. Tosoroni Metodo per Corno a 3 pistoni (Milan, Lucca, after 1840, p. 1).

Tosoroni goes to some lengths to show the dimensions of the horn mouthpiece including a diagram of the inside of the mouthpiece.

"The mouthpiece must have the form that you saw in the aforementioned design (below), which alone provides the means to get the notes, both high and low, with equal ease."
"l bocchino deve aver la forma che vedevi nel sopraccennato disegno, la quale sola offre il mezzo di ottenere con pari facilità i suoni sia gravi che acuti."

The mouthpiece should finally rest in the centre of the upper lip, leaving the lower almost free.
"Avversati finalmente che il bocchino deve poggiare sul centro del labbro superiore, lasciando quasi libero l’inferiore."

A. Internal silhouette of mouthpiece
A. Sagoma interna del Bocchino

B. External silhouette of the mouthpiece.
B. Sagoma externa del Bocchino.

C. Edge of the rim of the mouthpiece
C. Bordura de labbro superior del Bocchino

D. Lower edge of the mouthpiece.
D. Estremista inferire del Bocchino

The rim of the Mouthpiece (letter C) should be smoothed out so it rounds inside.
La Bordura del Bocchino lettera C deve essere smussata rotondamente tanto in fuori che in dentro.