Reading Clefs – OPEN MUSIC THEORY (2024)

In Western musical notation, pitches are designated by the first seven letters of the Latin alphabet: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. After G these letter names repeat in a loop: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, etc. This loop of letter names exists because musicians and music theorists today accept what is called octave equivalence, or the assumption that pitches separated by an octave should have the same letter name. More information about this concept can be found in the next chapter, The Keyboard and the Grand Staff.

This assumption varies withmilieu. For example, some ancient Greek music theorists did not accept octave equivalence. These theorists used more than seven letters of the Greek alphabet to name pitches.

TheNotation of Notes, Clefs, and Ledger Lineschapter introduced four clefs: treble, bass, alto, and tenor. A clef indicates which pitches are assigned to the lines and spaces on a staff. In the next chapter,The Keyboard and the Grand Staff, we will see that having multiple clefs makes reading different ranges easier. The treble clef is typically used for higher voices and instruments, such as a flute, violin, trumpet, or soprano voice. The bass clef is usually utilized for lower voices and instruments, such as a bassoon, cello, trombone, or bass voice. The alto clef is primarily used for the viola, a mid-ranged instrument, while the tenor clef is sometimes employed in cello, bassoon, and trombone music (although the principal clef used for these instruments is the bass clef).

Each clef indicates how the lines and spaces of the staff correspond to pitch. Memorizing the patterns for each clef will help you read music written for different voices and instruments.

The treble clef is one of the most commonly used clefs today. Example 1 shows the letter names used for the lines of a staff when a treble clef is employed. One mnemonic device that may help you remember this order of letter names is “Every Good Bird Does Fly” (E, G, B, D, F). As seen in Example 1, the treble clef wraps around the G line (the second line from the bottom). For this reason, it is sometimes called the “G clef.”

Example 2 shows the letter names used for the spaces of a staff with a treble clef. Remembering that these letter names spell the word “face” may make identifying these spaces easier.

The other most commonly used clef today is the bass clef. Example 3 shows the letter names used for the lines of a staff when a bass clef is employed. A mnemonic device for this order of letter names is “Good Bikes Don’t Fall Apart” (G, B, D, F, A). The bass clef is sometimes called the “F clef”; as seen in Example 3, the dot of the bass clef begins on the F line (the second line from the top).

Example 4 shows the letter names used for the spaces of a staff with a bass clef. The mnemonic device “All Cows Eat Grass” (A, C, E, G) may make identifying these spaces easier.

Example 5 shows the letter names used for the lines of the staff with the alto clef, which is less commonly used today. The mnemonic device “Fat Alley Cats Eat Garbage” (F, A, C, E, G) may help you remember this order of letter names. As seen in Example 5, the center of the alto clef is indented around the C line (the middle line). For this reason it is sometimes called a “C clef.”

Example 6 shows the letter names used for the spaces of a staff with an alto clef, which can be remembered with the mnemonic device “Grand Boats Drift Flamboyantly” (G, B, D, F).

The tenor clef, another less commonly used clef, is also sometimes called a “C clef,” but the center of the clef is indented around the second line from the top. Example 7 shows the letter names used for the lines of a staff when a tenor clef is employed, which can be remembered with the mnemonic device “Dodges, Fords, and Chevrolets Everywhere” (D, F, A, C, E):

Example 8 shows the letter names used for the spaces of a staff with a tenor clef. The mnemonic device “Elvis’s Guitar Broke Down” (E, G, B, D) may make identifying these spaces easier.

When notes are too high or low to be written on a staff, small lines are drawn to extend the staff. You may recall from the previous chapter that these extra lines are called ledger lines. Ledger lines can be used to extend a staff with any clef. Example 9 shows ledger lines above a staff with a treble clef:

Notice that each space and line above the staff gets a letter name with ledger lines, as if the staff were simply continuing upwards. The same is true for ledger lines below a staff, as shown inExample 10:

Notice that each space and line below the staff gets a letter name with ledger lines, as if the staff were simply continuing downwards.

Online Resources

• The Staff, Clefs, and Ledger Lines (musictheory.net)
• Flashcards for Treble, Bass, Alto, and Tenor Clefs (Richman Music School)
• Printable Treble Clef Flash Cards (Samuel Stokes Music) (pages 3 to 5)
• Printable Bass Clef Flash Cards (Samuel Stokes Music) (pages 1 to 3)
• Printable Alto Clef Flash Cards (Samuel Stokes Music)
• Printable Tenor Clef Flash Cards (Samuel Stokes Music)
• Paced Game: Treble Clef (Tone Savvy)
• Paced Game: Bass Clef (Tone Savvy)
• Paced Game: Alto Clef (Tone Savvy)
• Paced Game: Tenor Clef (Tone Savvy)

Assignments on the Internet

Easy

1. Treble and Bass Clefs (.pdf)
2. Treble Clef (.pdf)
3. Bass Clef (.pdf)
4. Alto Clef (.pdf)
5. Tenor Clef (.pdf)

Medium

1. Worksheets in Bass Clef (.pdf)
2. Bass Clef with Ledger Lines (.pdf)
3. Worksheets in Alto Clef (.pdf)
4. Worksheets in Tenor Clef (.pdf)

Advanced

1. All Clefs (.pdf)

Assignments

1. Writing and Identifying Notes Assignment #1 (.pdf, .mscz). Asks students to write and identify notes in treble, bass, alto, and tenor clefs, with and without ledger lines.
2. Writing and Identifying Notes Assignment #2 (.pdf, .mscz). Asks students to write and identify notes in treble, bass, alto, and tenor clefs, with and without ledger lines.
3. Notating Pitch (.pdf, .mscz). Asks students to write and identify notes in treble and bass clefs only, with and without ledger lines.