Hi, I don't play the clarinet, but I was wondering about the clarinet ligature. My friend was bragging to me one day about having a gold ligature on her clarinet (she kind of stinks at clarinet too, which is sad). What does a gold ligature do? How do ligatures affect the clarinet? How does a leather ligature compare to a gold one?

Hey Ha-nul,

Well to begin with, you really can't play the clarinet with a ligature because it secures the reed onto the mouthpeice while letting the top part somewhat loose. This causes the vibration aka the sound.

There's is a difference in sound depending on the material, brand, ect. Like brass ligatures are said to produce a deeper tone. Most don't seem to like plain brass ones though.

This question can be related to, "What do mutes do? What's the difference between a strait mute and a cup mute?"