What is Musical Clefs?

What's that Musical Clefs? People who are familiar with the music and musical notation, they have a better idea about musical clefs. To understand the musical clefs from layman terms, read further which is explained briefly. Clefs are necessary to write music for different instruments. Different instruments have different note ranges. 

The idea is to deliver the written music containing the very low amount of ledger lines possible. It will useful for a musician or singer to read it and play it or sing it. Before entering into the concept, let’s learn some terms, which helps to understand the musical clefs.

Words in Short

• The term staff (US) or stave (UK) is a set of five horizontal lines and four spaces that each represent a different musical pitch indicating the pitch of the notes written on it. 
• When music on two staves is joined by a brace or is intended to be played at once by a single performer (usually a keyboard instrument or harp), a grand staff (US) or great stave (UK) is created.
• A clef is a musical symbol refers to the pitch of written notes. Placed on a stave, it indicates the name and pitch of the notes on one of the lines.
• The term octave means a series of eight notes occupying the interval between (sometimes including) two notes, one having twice or half the frequency of vibration of the other. 

In music, different tones/clefs are being used. The basic classification of tones is Treble, Bass, Alto and Tenor. 

• Treble is the higher hearing end capacity of human beings, refers to high notes.
• The word Bass has two main meanings with separate pronunciations. Bass a high vowel sound (like base) refers to very low sounds. Bass instruments and Bass singers are in the lowest part of the musical range.
• Alto refers to the second-highest tones while singing the chorus, low women's voices or high men's voices.
• The Tenor is a type of classical male singing voice tones. It is one of the highest of the male voice types. 

Treble Clef

The treble clef is represented by the symbol:

The treble clef is also called the G clef because the symbol at the beginning of the staff encircles the second line of the staff, indicating that line to be G4 (or G above middle C). 

It is the most commonly used clef in present and is usually the first clef that musicians learn on their music theory journey. Examples of treble sounds are soprano voices, flute tones, piccolos, etc. 

Among the instruments which use the treble clef are the violin, flute, bagpipe, etc. It is also used for the guitar, which sounds an octave lower than written. 

When the treble clef is indicated, the lines and spaces represent the following notes:

The treble clef is the upper staff of the grand staff used for harp and keyboard instruments. It is also sometimes used, along with tenor clef, for the highest notes played by bass clef instruments such as the cello, double bass. The viola for very high notes.

Bass Clef

The bass clef is represented by the symbol:

The bass clef is also called an F clef because it wraps around the highest F note (F3 - the F below middle C) on the bass staff. It’s usually the second clef that musicians learn after the treble, as it is placed on the bottom staff in the grand staff for piano.

Among the instruments that use the bass clef are the cello, double bass, bass guitar. It is also used for the lowest notes of the horn, and as the bottom staff in the grand staff for harp and keyboard instruments.

When the bass clef is indicated, the lines and spaces represent the following notes:

Both bass and baritone voice parts are notated in the bass clef, though the tenor voice can be notated in the bass clef when the bass and tenor are notated on the same staff.

Alto Clef

The alto clef is represented by the symbol:

The alto clef is one of many C clefs because its centre indicates middle C. The alto clef’s centre is placed on directly in the middle of the staff, designating the third line from the bottom of the middle C. 

 When the alto clef is indicated, the lines and spaces represent the following notes:

 Many do not learn this clef, as it is primarily used only for the viola, the viola da gamba, the alto trombone, and the mandala.

Tenor Clef

The tenor clef is represented by the symbol:

The tenor clef is another type of “C clef,” however, it’s the centre is on the fourth line from the bottom, so middle C is moved up a third from where it was on the alto clef.

 When the tenor clef is indicated, the lines and spaces represent the following notes:

Another less common clef, it is used for the upper ranges of the cello, double bass, etc. These instruments use bass clef for their low to mid ranges and treble clef for their upper extremes.

Neutral Clef

The neutral clef can be identified in the staff by either symbol:

The neutral clef is one worth mentioning and is also known as the percussion clef. This clef indicates that the lines and spaces of the staff are each assigned to a percussion instrument with no precise pitch.

Guitar TAB

A guitar TAB sign on the staff:

On guitar, a TAB sign is often written instead of a clef. The number of lines of the staff may change depending on the instrument. 

Each line represents a different string on the instrument, so for standard six-stringed guitars, six lines would be used, and for a traditional bass guitar, four lines would be used.

 Many times the guitar TAB is notated alongside the treble clef, and so altogether, the guitar TAB sheet music looks like the following:

Numbers instead of notes are placed on these lines, and they represent which fret on the string should be played. This TAB sign, like the Percussion clef, is not a clef in the true sense, but rather a symbol employed instead of a clef. 

The Smart Way to Learn Music

The place where future musicians come to get inspired. Learn music online, check out ONLINE MUSIC CLASSROOM, Learn Music-Anytime-Anywhere. Online Music Classroom is a platform to learn pianos, electronic keyboards and much more.

You are provided with an opportunity of buying the musical instruments on Amazon. Teachers are well-trained experts with good knowledge to handle from beginner to advanced level skill students. Join and get benefited to become future musicians.

 Is this information useful to you? Tell us in the comments below: