[Carola]

I don’t like the hard and slippery mouthpiece that’s attached to the tube.
First, I’ve tried to use mouthpiece patches for saxophones to get a better grip, but wasn’t happy with that.

But now I’ve found something that feels very comfortable, no need to bite or to press with the lips: A baby dummy! (Also called: pacifier, soother, dodie, … depending on region). I use silicone dummies (Yamaha: size 2 or 3, Suzuki: size 3, usually the largest available size).

If you want to try this yourself:

Remove the dummy from the mouth shield and cut off the tip:

Put it on the (cleaned) mouthpiece:

Then adjust position and length so that it feels comfortable for you and doesn’t block the airflow.

For hygienic reasons, I recommend rinsing it with water after playing and drying it carefully.

I think food grade silicon tubes might be an alternative, but I like the rounded shape of the dummy, it’s really comfortable.

[Carola]

For some reason, the images are not displayed. Here’s another try:

https://app.box.com/s/915yog76l2yfqdubfpn6r17nrh23oc8d

https://app.box.com/s/hs9nrk0vw4l2n7dw5alhjs8lrtckuslv

[Lamar]

That looks much better than I was imagining. 🙂

[Carola]

Yes, I was also positively surprised. I think it looks quite unspectacular, especially if one doesn’t know what it was originally.

[Alan Brinton]

Good, I like this. Let’s face it, the melodica is a source of oral satisfaction. Another alternative is using a short piece of rubber tubing of a diameter that fits snugly into the mouthpiece receptacle.

[Author]

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