Rudiments of Music - a music-theory overview
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Chapter 2b - Clefs
The staff is used to indicate the relative pitch of the various notes placed upon it
To show the absolute, height or depth of any sound, we use signs called clefs (names from the French word “clef” meaning a key).
A clef shows which set of five lines is to be used, and so localises the actual position of the sounds: Until a clef is put at the beginning of such a staff, we don't know the names or pitches of the notes written on it.
Clefs are of three kinds:
They may also be called treble, alto and bass clefs.
The C clef is placed on the staff in the position where it shows "Middle C ”
The F clef is placed on the F below that note, and the
The G clef is placed on the G above it.
This diagram shows these positions, and where they sit on the Great Staff, - and how this matches with human voice ranges:
Some books describe the C clef as a "moveable" clef. The author of Rudiments doesn't agree with this statements, because the clef is always in the same place, ie on the line representing “ Middle C” - and what actually changes is the number of lines above or below, ad needed.
When a staff is made from the five highest, or five lowest, lines of the Great Staff, “Middle C” is not included: in this case, the the C clef cannot be used (there's nowhere tidy to put it) - and this is why the other two other clefs (F and G aka treble and bass), are used.
Some even-older books refer to “Mezzo-Soprano” clef: it has been omitted, because it was practically obsolete when this book was written.
The three clefs shown are the ones most often seen now, and the only ones now used in pianoforte (aka piano), harp, or organ sheet-music.
The sounds indicated upon the two staves controlled by the F and G clefs are:
Since the line for “Middle C” is omitted , if this note is required it is written on a short line (called a ledger line) which is the same distance below the Treble staff as it is above the Bass staff - like this
Other sounds above and below the pitch of the staff are shown by similar ledger lines, and the spaces between them, e.g.
The C clef was previously formerly more often used than it is now. Presently, it is mainly used in the scores for certain orchestral instruments, and occasionally (particularly in foreign scores) to the Soprano, Alto and Tenor voices. This diagram shows how it can be used:
In the above diagram, the three notes are in each case the same pitch: They could be shown in the G and F clefs like this:
In England and America, vocal parts are nearly always written in the F and G clefs. However there are advantages of using of the C clef:
- Almost the whole range of any one particular voice is included on the staff, without needing ledger-lines.
- When the G clef is used, especially for the Tenor voice, the notes are written an octave higher than they sound, which obscures their true pitch in the singer's mind/
In music for the piano, harp, or organ, the two staves are usually connected by a Brace - like this:
Unless specially stated otherwise:
- Notes in the treble (G) clef are played with the right hand,
- Note in the Bass (F) clef are played with the left hand.
