A clef is a fancy symbol in music which helps musician to know what they should play or sing.

In this music lesson, we will be diving into the world of musical clef and why a musician must know about it.

What is a Clef in Music?

A musical clef is a symbol placed at the beginning of a staff to indicate the pitches of the music notes written on the lines and spaces of the staff.

The musical clef helps musician to read music notes placed on line and spaces.

A clef is a French word which means Key.

A clef can also be placed in between staff to indicate change of clef.

TYPES OF CLEFS USED IN MUSIC

There are basically six clefs. These are :

Treble clef

Bass clef

Alto clef

Tenor clef

Neutral clef

Guitar TAB

The clefs that are used most often are the treble clef and the bass clef.

1. TREBLE CLEF

Treble clef is a musical symbol placed at the beginning of a staff to tell musician to play the notes using high sounding pitches. The treble clef is also called G clef. 

Here is the symbol of treble clef.

This clef is used for high-sounding instruments. 

Let’s look at some of the instruments that uses the treble clef.

INSTRUMENTS THAT USE THE TREBLE CLEF

Here are the list of instruments that use the treble clef.

Violin

Flute

Oboe

Bagpipe

Saxophone

Clarinet

Horn

Trumpet

Cornet

Vibraphone

Xylophone

Mandolin

Recorder

Guitar

keyboard

2. BASS CLEF

Bass clef is a musical symbol placed at the beginning of a staff to tell musician to play the notes using low sounding pitches. The bass clef handles the lower range of notes. The bass clef is also called F clef.

Here is the symbol of bass clef.

Bass clef is the second clef that musicians learn after the treble clef.

This clef is used for low sounding instruments.

Let’s look at some of the instruments that uses the bass clef.

INSTRUMENTS THAT USE THE BASS CLEF

Here are the list of instruments that use the bass clef.

Cello 

Euphonium

Double bass

Bass guitar

Bassoon

Contrabassoon

Trombone

Baritone horn

Tuba

Timpani

Baritone Voice

3. ALTO CLEF

The Alto clef is a C clef that is placed on the third line of the musical staff. It is centered on the middle of the staff to indicate the middle C.

Here is the symbol of Alto clef.

It is a less common clef. Only a few handful of instruments make use of the alto clef.

INSTRUMENTS THAT USE THE ALTO CLEF

Here are the list of instruments that use the alto clef.

Viola

Alto Trombone

Mandola

4. TENOR CLEF

The Tenor clef is a C clef that is placed on the fourth line of the musical staff. 

Here is the symbol of Tenor clef.

It is a less common clef. Only a few instruments make use of the tenor clef.

INSTRUMENTS THAT USE THE TENOR CLEF

Here are the list of instruments that use the tenor clef.

Basson

Cello

Double Bass

Trombone

Euphonium

5. NEUTRAL CLEF

The neutral clef indicates that the notation does not have a definite pitch . It is also called Percussion Clef. It indicates that the lines and spaces of the staff are each assigned to a percussion instrument. The neutral clef can be identified on the staff by either of the symbol:

INSTRUMENTS THAT USE THE NEUTRAL CLEF

Here are the list of instruments that use the neutral clef.

Snare

Cymbals

Bass drum

Timbale

Tom-tom

Clapping of hands

6. GUITAR TABLATURE

A Tablature is a form of musical notation that indicates the fingering of instrument rather than the musical pitches. It is often shortened as Tab.

To indicate a tablature, a musical symbol TAB is placed at the beginning of staff.

We do hope you had a nice time learning about what a clef is all about. Hope to see you in our next lesson.