Clefs I: Introduction

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Overview

To understand music notation, you need to learn how to read notes on a staff. In this section of the course, you will learn how to read music that is notated in the treble clef, the bass clef, and the C clef. You will also learn about ledger lines, the grand staff, and basic notational guidelines.

Be ready to:

Define the clef as a symbol that fixes a particular pitch onto a specific line or space on the staff.

Differentiate between the four most commonly used clefs in notated music (treble, bass, alto, and tenor).

Clefs: Introduction

Definition

By itself, the staff does not tell us exactly which pitches should be played-it can only show us how high or low notes are in relationship to each other. To indicate specific pitches, you need to add a clef at the beginning of the staff. A clef is a musical symbol that fixes a particular pitch onto a specific line or space on the staff.

Clef Names

The three most commonly used clefs are the treble clef, the bass clef, and to a lesser degree, the C Clef. The alto and tenor clefs are two forms of the movable C clef. The interactive example below illustrates how each clef points to a particular line on the staff and assigns a specific pitch to it (also highlighted on the piano below the staff). Be sure to click on each of the clefs listed in the "View" box on the right.

Clef Names

In the lessons that follow, we will examine each one of these clefs in turn, with a particular focus on the treble and bass clefs.