Musical symbols: Clefs

By: Aisling Gallagher - Langley Park Girls School

Many musicians will be able to read multiple clefs such as treble, bass, alto and tenor clef. These clefs each have different notations. What all the clefs have in common is they will be placed on a five-lined stave. However the first line in the treble clef will be an E, whereas the first line in the bass clef will be a G and so on.   This article will show you how to figure out the notes behind the clefs.

The treble clef, this clef is one many people can associate with. But did you know that the treble clef was drawn to look like a G. So the point at where you start to draw a treble clef will be the note G (the second line up). From here you can work out all the notes on that stave. Many instruments use this clef for example the violin, flute, oboe and trumpet.

The bass clef, this clef is also very common in instrumental playing. This clef is made to look like and F. The two dots shown on the bass clef indicate that the line between them is and F (the fourth line up). Instruments that use the bass clef are cello, bassoon, double bass and tuba.

The alto clef, this is one of the unusual clefs that is mainly associated with the viola, its common name also being the viola clef. However other instruments such as the alto trombone. The alto clef is known as the C clef. Where the clef curves into itself this is where the C is (the third line up).

The tenor clef, this is another unusual clef also known as a C clef. So where the clef curves into itself this is where the C is (the fourth line up). Instruments such as the bassoon and cello play in this clef at the higher end of there register.

These are all the clefs normally used in classical orchestrations however there are other clefs known to historical musicians or percussion players.

By: Aisling Gallagher - Langley Park Girls School