The Bonade ligature is characterised by two narrow longitudinal blocks which grip the reed either side of its centre line, but leave the outer edges and middle free to vibrate, thereby improving the quality and intensity of the tone produced.
The traditional* Bonade ligature (offered here) has the blocks positioned on the same side as the two tension screws; the inverted model (also available) has the blocks on the side opposite the tension screws.
Daniel Bonade (1896–1976) was a French classical clarinettist whose performing career included periods with the Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras under conductors including Stokowski and Toscanini. He is considered one of the most influential clarinet teachers of his time and patented his ligature design in 1957.
*All ligatures are either ‘traditional’ or ‘inverted’; the screws of a traditional ligature are on the reed side close to the bottom lip, while the screws of an inverted ligature are on the opposite side to the reed close to the top lip. Conventionally, ligature screw heads always point to the player’s right.