Clef

Which line is which note?

The page Reading music explains it like this: the clef at the start of every line fixes which note lies on which line, and it holds for the whole line. The same notehead means a completely different note depending on the clef. The treble clef, also called the G clef, curls its inner spiral around the second line from the bottom, the note G4. In the bass clef, the F clef, two dots enclose the fourth line from the bottom, the note F3.

The reasons for having two clefs lie in the ledger lines. According to the symbol library the bass clef is for low voices because otherwise too many ledger lines would be needed below the treble clef. Middle C lies on the first ledger line below the staff in the treble clef and on the first above it in the bass clef; precisely this note joins the two clefs at the piano. Pianists need both at once, singers and players of melody instruments usually only one.

The same music in three clefs

Mozart's serenade “Eine kleine Nachtmusik” is in the archive as individual parts. From the movement the three clefs can be read side by side:

One serenade, three clefs

• Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Stimme Violine 1 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, K. 525, 1st movement Allegro · violin · 2 pages

  Treble clef. The part begins in bar 1 with the dynamic marking f (forte).

• Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Stimme Viola Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, K. 525, 1st movement Allegro · viola · 2 pages

  Alto clef, that is, a C clef on the middle line. The same lines mean different notes here from those in the treble clef.

• Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Stimme Violoncello und Kontrabass Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, K. 525, 1st movement Allegro · cello and double bass · 2 pages

  Bass clef. The part shows the sharp of the key of G major, like the two others.

Guitar

• Etüde Nr. 10 Matteo Carcassi, op. 60 No. 10 · guitar · 2 pages

  Guitar music is written in the treble clef with a small 8 beneath it, which shows that the sound is an octave lower than notated.

Memory aids

The page Reading music gives mnemonics. In the treble clef the lines from the bottom are E – G – B – D – F (“Every Good Boy Does Fine”), the spaces F – A – C – E (which spell “face”). In the bass clef the lines are G – B – D – F – A (“Good Boys Do Fine Always”), the spaces A – C – E – G (“All Cows Eat Grass”). The sayings are only a scaffold for the beginning.

Common mistakes

The commonest mistake is overlooking the clef: anyone who reads the bass clef like a treble clef gets every note wrong. The page Reading music therefore advises always checking the clef first. That applies above all to piano music, where the clefs can change within a piece.