Day 23: The C Clefs - Alto & Tenor
Since we’re familiar with the two most common clefs, we’ll now examine the C Clefs
.
These are also still in use today but not as widespread as the treble and the bass clefs.
The C
clef is the symbol shown below, and as the name suggests, it indicates where the note C
is (specifically C4,
also known as the middle C
). When the C
clef is placed in such a way that shows the middle line to be the note C
, it becomes the alto
clef
. Instruments that use this clef include the viola and the trombone.
The Alto Clef and the note C
Of course, once any one note is established on the staff, we can know the other notes by counting up and down the musical alphabet.
When the C
clef is placed in such a way that shows the fourth line to be the note C
, it becomes the tenor clef
. This clef is used mostly for the higher ranges of the bassoon, trombone, and cello.
And once we the note C is established, the notes become:
