![Mnemonic bass alto treble clefs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Mnemonic_bass_alto_treble_clefs.svg)
A clef (from French: 'key') is a
musical symbol used to indicate which
notes
Note, notes, or NOTE may refer to:
Music and entertainment
* Musical note, a pitched sound (or a symbol for a sound) in music
* ''Notes'' (album), a 1987 album by Paul Bley and Paul Motian
* ''Notes'', a common (yet unofficial) shortened versio ...
are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical
stave. Placing a clef on a stave assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines, which defines the pitches on the remaining lines and spaces.
The three clef symbols used in modern music notation are the
G-clef
A clef (from French: 'key') is a musical symbol used to indicate which notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical stave. Placing a clef on a stave assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines, which defines the pit ...
,
F-clef, and
C-clef. Placing these clefs on a line fixes a reference note to that line—an F-clef fixes the F below
middle C, a C-clef fixes middle C, and a G-clef fixes the G above middle C. In modern music notation, the G-clef is most frequently seen as treble clef (placing
G4 on the second line of the stave), and the F-clef as bass clef (placing F
3 on the fourth line). The C-clef is mostly encountered as alto clef (placing middle C on the third line) or tenor clef (middle C on the fourth line). A clef may be placed on a space instead of a line, but this is rare.
The use of different clefs makes it possible to write music for all instruments and voices, regardless of differences in
range
Range may refer to:
Geography
* Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra)
** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands
* Range, a term used to i ...
. Using different clefs for different instruments and voices allows each part to be written comfortably on a stave with a minimum of ledger lines. To this end, the G-clef is used for high parts, the C-clef for middle parts, and the F-clef for low parts.
Transposing instrument
A transposing instrument is a musical instrument for which music notation is not written at concert pitch (concert pitch is the pitch on a non-transposing instrument such as the piano). For example, playing a written middle C on a transposing ...
s can be an exception to this—the same clef is generally used for all instruments in a family, regardless of their sounding pitch. For example, even the low
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...
s read in treble clef.
A symmetry exists surrounding middle C regarding the F-, C- and G-clefs. C-clef defines middle C whereas treble clef and bass clef define the note at the interval of a fifth above middle C and below middle C, respectively.
Two common
mnemonic
A mnemonic ( ) device, or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval (remembering) in the human memory for better understanding.
Mnemonics make use of elaborative encoding, retrieval cues, and imag ...
s for learning the clef lines are:
:*'' Good Boys Do Fine Always'' (bass clef)
:*'' Every Good Boy Does Fine'' (treble clef)
Placement on the stave
Theoretically, any clef may be placed on any line. With five lines on the stave and three clefs, there are fifteen possibilities for clef placement. Six of these are redundant because they result in an identical assignment of the notes to the lines (and spaces)—for example, a G-clef on the third line yields the same note placement as a C-clef on the bottom line. Thus, there are nine possible distinct clefs, all of which have been used historically: the G-clef on the two bottom lines, the F-clef on the three top lines, and the C-clef on any line except the topmost. The C-clef on the topmost line is equivalent to the F-clef on the third line but both options have been used.
Each of these clefs has a different name based on the
tessitura
In music, tessitura (, pl. ''tessiture'', "texture"; ) is the most acceptable and comfortable vocal range for a given singer or less frequently, musical instrument, the range in which a given type of voice presents its best-sounding (or characte ...
for which it is best suited.
![All clefs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/All_clefs.svg)
In modern music, only four clefs are used regularly:
treble clef
A clef (from French: 'key') is a musical symbol used to indicate which notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical stave. Placing a clef on a stave assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines, which defines the pit ...
,
bass clef,
alto clef, and
tenor clef
A clef (from French: 'key') is a musical symbol used to indicate which notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical stave. Placing a clef on a stave assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines, which defines the pit ...
. Of these, the treble and bass clefs are by far the most common. The tenor clef is used for the upper register of several instruments that usually use bass clef (including
cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...
,
bassoon, and
trombone
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...
), while the alto is mostly only used by the
viola
; german: Bratsche
, alt=Viola shown from the front and the side
, image=Bratsche.jpg
, caption=
, background=string
, hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow
, range=
, related=
*Violin family ...
. Instruments with ranges too low (such as the
double bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...
) or too high (such as the
piccolo) to use a standard clef can be notated with an
octave clef, which
transposes the entire stave up or down by one or more
octaves.
Individual clefs
This section shows a complete list of the clefs, along with a list of instruments and voice parts notated with them. A
dagger (†) after the name of a clef indicates that the clef is no longer in common use.
G-clefs
Treble clef
![C_scale_treble_clef](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/C_scale_treble_clef.png)
The only G-clef still in use is the
treble clef, with the G-clef placed on the second line. This is the most common clef in use and is generally the first clef learned by music students. For this reason, the terms "G-clef" and "treble clef" are often seen as synonymous. The treble clef was historically used to mark a treble, or pre-pubescent, voice part.
Instruments that use the treble clef include
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
,
flute,
oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
...
,
cor anglais, all
clarinets
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. ...
, all
saxophones
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
,
horn
Horn most often refers to:
*Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound
** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments
*Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...
,
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
,
cornet,
vibraphone
The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist ...
,
xylophone
The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel (which uses metal bars), the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in ...
,
mandolin,
recorder
Recorder or The Recorder may refer to:
Newspapers
* ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper
* ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US
* ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...
,
bagpipe
Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, ...
and
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
.
Euphonium
The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word ''euphōnos'', meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( ''eu'' means "well" o ...
and
baritone horn are sometimes treated as transposing instruments, using the treble clef and sounding a major ninth lower, and are sometimes treated as concert-pitch instruments, using bass clef. The treble clef is also the upper stave of the
grand stave used for
harp and
keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument played using a keyboard, a row of levers which are pressed by the fingers. The most common of these are the piano, organ, and various electronic keyboards, including synthesizers and digital p ...
s. Most high parts for bass-clef instruments (e.g.
cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...
,
double bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...
,
bassoon, and
trombone
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...
) are written in the tenor clef, but very high pitches may be notated in the treble clef. The
viola
; german: Bratsche
, alt=Viola shown from the front and the side
, image=Bratsche.jpg
, caption=
, background=string
, hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow
, range=
, related=
*Violin family ...
also may use the treble clef for very high notes. The treble clef is used for the
soprano,
mezzo-soprano,
alto,
contralto
A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type.
The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typica ...
and
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...
voices. Tenor voice parts sound an octave lower and are often written using an octave clef (see below) or a double-treble clef.
French violin clef†
![C_scale_French_violin_clef](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/C_scale_French_violin_clef.png)
A G-clef placed on the first line is called the French clef, or French violin clef. This clef was used in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in France for violin music and flute music.
F-clefs
Baritone clef†
![C_scale_baritone_C-clef](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/C_scale_baritone_C-clef.png)
When the F-clef is placed on the third line, it is called the baritone clef. Baritone clef was used for the left hand of keyboard music (particularly in France; see
Bauyn manuscript) and for baritone parts in vocal music. A C-clef on the fifth line creates a staff with identical notes to the baritone clef but this variant is rare. (see
below).
Bass clef
![C_scale_bass_clef](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/C_scale_bass_clef.png)
The only F-clef still in use is the bass clef, with the clef placed on the fourth line. Since it is the only F-clef commonly encountered, the terms "F-clef" and "bass clef" are often regarded as synonymous.
Bass clef is used for the
cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...
,
double bass and bass guitar,
bassoon and
contrabassoon,
bass recorder,
trombone
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...
,
tuba
The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...
, and
timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally ...
. It is used for
baritone horn or
euphonium
The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word ''euphōnos'', meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( ''eu'' means "well" o ...
when their parts are written at concert pitch, and sometimes for the lowest notes of the
horn
Horn most often refers to:
*Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound
** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments
*Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...
.
Baritone and
bass voices also use bass clef, and the
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...
voice is notated in bass clef if the tenor and bass are written on the same stave. Bass clef is the bottom clef in the
grand stave for
harp and
keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument played using a keyboard, a row of levers which are pressed by the fingers. The most common of these are the piano, organ, and various electronic keyboards, including synthesizers and digital p ...
s. Double bass, bass guitar, and contrabassoon sound an octave lower than the written pitch; some scores show an "8" beneath the clef for these instruments to differentiate from instruments that sound at the actual written pitch. (see "Octave clefs" below).
Sub-bass clef†
![Subbass clef with ref](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Subbass_clef_with_ref.svg)
When the F-clef is placed on the fifth line, it is called the sub-bass clef. It was used by
Johannes Ockeghem
Johannes Ockeghem ( – 6 February 1497) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of early Renaissance music. Ockeghem was the most influential European composer in the period between Guillaume Du Fay and Josquin des Prez, and he was—with hi ...
and
Heinrich Schütz
Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as one of the most important composers of the 17th century. He ...
to write low bass parts, by
Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe for low notes on the bass viol, and by
J. S. Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...
in his ''
Musical Offering
''The Musical Offering'' (German: or ), BWV 1079, is a collection of keyboard canons and fugues and other pieces of music by Johann Sebastian Bach, all based on a single musical theme given to him by Frederick the Great (King Frederick II of P ...
''.
C-clefs
Alto clef
![C_scale_alto_clef](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/C_scale_alto_clef.png)
A C-clef on the third line of the stave is called the alto or viola clef. It is currently used for
viola
; german: Bratsche
, alt=Viola shown from the front and the side
, image=Bratsche.jpg
, caption=
, background=string
, hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow
, range=
, related=
*Violin family ...
,
viola d'amore
The viola d'amore (; Italian for "viol of love") is a 7- or 6- stringed musical instrument with sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin.
Structure and sound
The vio ...
,
alto trombone
The alto trombone (german: Altposaune, Italian, French: ''trombone alto'') is the alto member of the trombone family of brass instruments, smaller than the tenor trombone. It is almost always pitched in E♭ a fourth higher than the tenor, althou ...
,
viola da gamba
The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitch ...
, and
mandola
The mandola (US and Canada) or tenor mandola (Ireland and UK) is a fretted, stringed musical instrument. It is to the mandolin what the viola is to the violin: the four double courses of strings tuned in fifths to the same pitches as the viola ...
. It is also associated with the
countertenor voice and sometimes called the countertenor clef. A vestige of this survives in
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, ...
's use of the clef for the
cor anglais in his symphonies. It occasionally appears in keyboard music (for example, in
Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...
's
Organ Chorales and
John Cage's ''Dream'' for
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
).
Tenor clef
![C_scale_tenor_clef](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/C_scale_tenor_clef.png)
A C-clef on the fourth line of the stave is called tenor clef. It is used for the
viola da gamba
The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitch ...
and for upper ranges of bass-clef instruments such as the bassoon, cello, euphonium, double bass, and
tenor trombone
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...
. Treble clef may also be used for the upper extremes of these bass-clef instruments.
Tenor violin
A tenor violin (or tenor viola) is an instrument with a range between those of the cello and the viola. An earlier development of the evolution of the violin family of instruments, the instrument is not standard in the modern symphony orchestra. I ...
parts were also written in this clef (see e.g.
Giovanni Battista Vitali
Giovanni Battista Vitali (18 February 1632 – 12 October 1692) was an Italian composer and violone player.
Life and career
Vitali was born in Bologna and spent all of his life in the Emilian region, moving to Modena in 1674. His teacher in his ...
's Op. 11). It was used by the tenor part in
vocal music
Vocal music is a type of singing performed by one or more singers, either with instrumental accompaniment, or without instrumental accompaniment (a cappella), in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which employs singing but d ...
but its use has been largely supplanted either with an octave version of the treble clef or with bass clef when tenor and bass parts are written on a single stave.
Mezzo-soprano clef†
![C_scale_mezzo_soprano_clef](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/C_scale_mezzo_soprano_clef.png)
A C-clef on the second line of the stave is called the mezzo-soprano clef, rarely used in modern Western classical music. It was used in 17th century French orchestral music for the second viola or first tenor part ('taille') by such composers as Lully, and for mezzo-soprano voices in operatic roles, notably by
Claudio Monteverdi. Mezzo-soprano clef was also used for certain flute parts during renaissance, especially when doubling vocal lines. In
Azerbaijani music
Azerbaijani music (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan musiqisi) is the musical tradition of the Azerbaijani people from Azerbaijan Republic. Azerbaijani music has evolved under the badge of monody, producing rhythmically diverse melodies.Энциклоп ...
, the
tar
Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black bi ...
uses this clef.
Soprano clef†
![C_scale_soprano_clef](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/C_scale_soprano_clef.png)
A C-clef on the first line of the stave is called the soprano clef. It was used for the right hand of keyboard music (particularly in France – see
Bauyn manuscript), in vocal music for sopranos, and sometimes in high viola da gamba parts along with the alto clef. It was used for the second violin part ('haute-contre') in 17th century French music.
Other clefs
Octave clefs
![C_scale_sopranino_clef](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/C_scale_sopranino_clef.png)
Starting in the 18th century, music for some instruments (such as
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
) and for the tenor voice have used treble clef, although they sound an octave lower. To avoid ambiguity, modified clefs are sometimes used, especially in
choral writing. Using a C-clef on the third space places the notes identically, but this notation is much less common as it is easily confused with the
alto and
tenor clefs.
Such a modified treble clef is most often found in tenor parts in
SATB
SATB is an initialism that describes the scoring of compositions for choirs, and also choirs (or consorts) of instruments. The initials are for the voice types: S for soprano, A for alto, T for tenor and B for bass.
Choral music
Four-part harm ...
settings, using a treble clef with the numeral ''8'' below it. This indicates that the pitches sound an octave lower. As the true tenor clef has fallen into disuse in vocal writings, this "octave-dropped" treble clef is often called the tenor clef. The same clef is sometimes used for the
octave mandolin
The octave mandolin (US and Canada) or octave mandola (Ireland and UK) is a fretted string instrument with four pairs of strings tuned in fifths, G−D−A−E (low to high), an octave below a mandolin. It is larger than the mandola, but smaller ...
. This can also be indicated with two overlapping G-clefs.
Tenor banjo is commonly notated in treble clef. However, notation varies between the written pitch sounding an octave lower (as in guitar music and called octave pitch in most tenor banjo methods) and music sounding at the written pitch (called actual pitch). An attempt has been made to use a treble clef with a diagonal line through the upper half of the clef to indicate octave pitch, but this is not always used.
To indicate that notes sound an octave higher than written, a treble clef with an ''8'' positioned above the clef may be used for
penny whistle,
soprano and sopranino recorder, and other high woodwind parts. A treble clef with a ''15'' above (sounding two octaves above the standard treble clef) is used for the
garklein (sopranissimo) recorder.
An F-clef can also be notated with an octave marker. While the F-clef notated to sound an octave lower can be used for contrabass instruments such as the
double bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...
and
contrabassoon, and the F-clef notated to sound an octave higher can be used for the bass recorder, these uses are extremely rare. In Italian scores up to
Gioachino Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards ...
's
Overture to ''William Tell'', the cor anglais was written in bass clef an octave lower than sounding. The unmodified bass clef is so common that performers of instruments whose ranges lie below the stave simply learn to read ledger lines.
Octave-marked clefs are useful in
music notation software
A scorewriter, or music notation program is software for creating, editing and printing sheet music. A scorewriter is to music notation what a word processor is to text, in that they typically provide flexible editing and automatic layout, and p ...
to keep the score readable while having the notes play back at their correct pitch.
Neutral clef
![Characteristic rock drum pattern](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Characteristic_rock_drum_pattern.png)
The ''neutral'' or ''percussion'' clef is not a true clef like the F, C, and G clefs. Rather, it assigns different unpitched
percussion instruments
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
to the lines and spaces of the stave. With the exception of some common drum-kit and marching percussion layouts, the assignment of lines and spaces to instruments is not standardised, so a legend is required to show which instrument each line or space represents.
Pitched percussion instrument
A pitched percussion instrument (also known as a melodic or tuned percussion instrument) is a percussion instrument used to produce musical notes of one or more pitches, as opposed to an unpitched percussion instrument which is used to produce ...
s do not use this clef —
timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally ...
are notated in bass clef and
mallet percussion instruments are noted in treble clef or on a
grand stave.
If the neutral clef is used for a single percussion instrument the stave may only have one line, although other configurations are used.
The neutral clef is sometimes used where non-percussion instruments play non-pitched extended techniques, such as hitting the body of a string instrument, or having a vocal choir clap, stamp, or snap. However, it is more common to write the rhythms using × noteheads on the instrument's normal stave, with a comment to indicate the appropriate rhythmic action.
Tablature
![C_scale_tablature](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/C_scale_tablature.png)
For guitars and other fretted instruments, it is possible to notate
tablature
Tablature (or tabulature, or tab for short) is a form of musical notation indicating instrument fingering rather than musical pitches.
Tablature is common for fretted stringed instruments such as the guitar, lute or vihuela, as well as many fr ...
in place of ordinary notes. This TAB sign is not a clef — it does not indicate the placement of notes on a stave. The lines shown are not a music stave but rather represent the strings of the instrument (six lines would be used for guitar, four lines for the bass guitar, etc.), with numbers on the lines showing which fret should be used.
History
Before the advent of clefs, the reference line of a stave was simply labeled with the name of the note it was intended to bear: ''F'', ''C'', or sometimes ''G''. These were the most common 'clefs', or (key-letters), in Gregorian chant notation. Over time the shapes of these letters became stylised, leading to their current versions.
Many other clefs were used, particularly in the early period of chant notation, keyed to many different notes, from the low ''Γ'' (''gamma'', the G on the bottom line of the bass clef) to the G above middle C (written with a small letter ''g''). These included two different lowercase ''b'' symbols for the note just below middle C: round for B, and square for B. In order of frequency of use, these clefs were: ''F'', ''c'', ''f'', ''C'', ''D'', ''a'', ''g'', ''e'', ''Γ'', ''B'', and the round and square ''b''. In later medieval music, the round ''b'' was often written in addition to another clef letter to indicate that B rather than B was to be used throughout a piece; this is the origin of the
key signature
In Western musical notation, a key signature is a set of sharp (), flat (), or rarely, natural () symbols placed on the staff at the beginning of a section of music. The initial key signature in a piece is placed immediately after the clef a ...
.
![G-Schluessel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/G-Schluessel.png)
In the
polyphonic period up to 1600, unusual clefs were occasionally used for parts with extremely high or low tessituras. For very low bass parts, the Γ clef is found on the middle, fourth, or fifth lines of the stave (e.g., in
Pierre de La Rue
Pierre de la Rue ( – 20 November 1518) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of the Renaissance. His name also appears as Piersson or variants of Pierchon and his toponymic, when present, as various forms of de Platea, de Robore, or de Vic ...
’s Requiem and in a mid-16th-century dance book published by the Hessen brothers); for very high parts, the high-D clef (''d''), and the even higher ''ff'' clef (e.g., in the ''
Mulliner Book'') were used to represent the notes written on the fourth and top lines of the treble clef, respectively.
The practice of using different shapes for the same clef persisted until very recent times. The F-clef was, until as late as the 1980s in some cases (such as hymnals), or in British and French publications, written like this:
![Oldbassclef](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Oldbassclef.svg)
In printed music from the 16th and 17th centuries, the C clef often assumed a ladder-like form, in which the two horizontal rungs surround the stave line indicated as C:
![Mensural c clef 06](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Mensural_c_clef_06.svg)
; this form survived in some printed editions (
see this example, written in
four-part men's harmony and positioned to make it equivalent to an octave G clef) into the 20th century.
The C-clef was formerly written in a more angular way, sometimes still used, or, more often, as a simplified ''K''-shape when writing the clef by hand:
![Old C-clef](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Old_C-clef.png)
In modern Gregorian chant notation the C clef is written (on a four-line stave) in the form
![C clef neume](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/C_clef_neume.gif)
and the F clef as
![F clef neume](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/F_clef_neume.gif)
The flourish at the top of the G-clef probably derives from a cursive ''S'' for "sol", the name for "G" in
solfege.
![AdesteFidelesLilyPhil](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/AdesteFidelesLilyPhil.png)
C clefs (along with G, F, Γ, D, and A clefs) were formerly used to notate vocal music. Nominally, the soprano voice parts were written in first- or second-line C clef (''soprano clef'' or ''mezzo-soprano clef'') or second-line G clef (''treble clef''), the alto or tenor voices in third-line C clef (''alto clef''), the tenor voice in fourth-line C clef (''tenor clef'') and the bass voice in third-, fourth- or fifth-line F clef (''baritone'', ''bass'', or ''sub-bass clef'').
Until the 19th century, the most common arrangement for vocal music used the following clefs:
* Soprano = soprano clef (first-line C clef)
* Alto = alto clef (third-line C clef)
*Tenor = tenor clef (fourth-line C clef)
* Bass = bass clef (fourth-line F clef)
In more modern publications, four-part music on parallel staves is usually written more simply as:
* Soprano = treble clef (second-line G clef)
* Alto = treble clef
* Tenor = treble clef with an ''8'' below ''or'' a double treble clef. Many pieces, particularly those from before the 21st century, use an unaltered treble clef, with the expectation the tenors will still sing an octave lower than notated.
* Bass = bass clef (fourth-line F clef)
This may be reduced to two staves, the soprano and alto sharing a stave with a treble clef, and the tenor and bass sharing a stave marked with the bass clef.
Further uses
Clef combinations played a role in the modal system toward the end of the 16th century, and it has been suggested certain clef combinations in the polyphonic music of 16th-century vocal polyphony are reserved for authentic (odd-numbered) modes, and others for plagal (even-numbered) modes, but the precise implications have been the subject of much scholarly debate.
Reading music as if it were in a different clef from the one indicated can be an aid in
transposing music at sight since it will move the pitches roughly in parallel to the written part. Key signatures and accidentals need to be accounted for when this is done.
Citations
References
*
Del Mar, Norman. 1981. ''Anatomy of the Orchestra''. Berkeley: University of California Press. (cloth); .
* Dolmetsch Organisation. 2011.
Counter-tenor clef. I
Dolmetsch Online (Accessed 23 March 2012).
* Hessen, Paul, and Bartholomeus Hessen. 1555. ''Viel feiner lieblicher Stucklein, spanischer, welscher, englischer, frantzösischer Composition und Tentz, uber drey hundert, mit sechsen, fünffen, und vieren, auff alle Instrument ... zusamen bracht''. Breslau: Crispin Scharffenberg.
* Hiley, David. 2001. "Clef (i)". ''
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...
'', 2nd edition, edited by
Stanley Sadie and
John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan.
*
Kidson, Frank. 1908. "The Evolution of Clef Signatures." ''
The Musical Times
''The Musical Times'' is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom and currently the oldest such journal still being published in the country.
It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainzer ...
'' 49, no. 785 (1 July), pp. 443–444.
* Kidson, Frank. 1909. "The Evolution of Clef Signatures" (second article). In ''The Musical Times'' 50, no. 793 (1 March), pp. 159–160.
*
Moore, John Weeks. 1876. ''A Dictionary of Musical Information: Containing also a Vocabulary of Musical Terms, and a List of Modern Musical Works Published in the United States From 1640 To 1875''. Boston: Oliver Ditson.
Further reading
*
Dandelot, Georges. 1999. ''Manuel pratique pour l'étude des clefs'', revised by Bruno Giner and Armelle Choquard. Paris: Max Eschig.
* Morris, R. O., and Howard Ferguson. 1931. ''Preparatory Exercises in Score-Reading''. London: Oxford University Press.
*
Read, Gardner (1964). ''Music Notation: A Manual of Modern Practice''. Boston: Alleyn and Bacon. Second edition, Boston: Alleyn and Bacon, 1969, reprinted as ''A Crescendo Book'', New York: Taplinger, 1979. (cloth), (pbk).
* Smits van Waesberghe, Jos. 1951. "The Musical Notation of Guido of Arezzo". ''
Musica Disciplina'' 5:15–53.
External links
*
{{Authority control
Musical notation
Bass (sound)