Clefs for Voices and Instruments
In this lesson, you'll find out which clef each voice and each instrument uses, both in Danhauser's day and today.
We saw in Lesson 7 that the bass clef puts the lowest sounds on the staff, and that the other clefs then follow one another toward the high range in this order: baritone, tenor, alto, mezzo-soprano, soprano, treble. Now let's see which voices and instruments use them.
| Clef | Voices (Danhauser) | Instruments (Danhauser) |
|---|---|---|
| Bass (F, 4th line) | First bass or baritone; second bass or “basse-taille” | Horn (a few notes), bass trombone, tuba, cello, double bass |
| Tenor (C, 4th line) | First tenor; second tenor | Bassoon (a few high notes), tenor trombone, cello (a few notes) |
| Alto (C, 3rd line) | Contralto | Viola (“alto” in French) |
| Soprano (C, 1st line) | First soprano; second soprano | (none) |
| Treble (G, 2nd line) | (see the remarks below) | Violin, cello (high notes), flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, cornet, trumpet, English horn (cor anglais in British English), saxhorn, saxophone |
Two details from Danhauser: the baritone voice used to be written with the F clef on the 3rd line, and the second soprano with the C clef on the 2nd line. That is why these clefs exist, and how they got their English names (baritone clef, mezzo-soprano clef).
Transposing instruments
The double bass part is written an octave higher than it sounds, so the written note sounds an octave lower. It isn't the only case: other instruments also produce a sound different from the written note, a fifth, a second or some other interval away. They're called transposing instruments, and you'll find them in Supplement C.
Piano, organ, harp: two staves
Music for piano and harp is written on two staves. So is organ music, usually with a third staff for the pedals. The lower staff, in bass clef, is for the low sounds, usually played by the left hand. The upper staff, in treble clef, is for the high sounds, played by the right hand. The two staves are joined by a sign called a brace, placed at the start of each line. Together they form the grand staff, or great stave in British English.
Another kind of brace, a straight bracket, is used only in a score, to group several staves of instruments of the same kind or several choral parts.
Remarks (§ 38)
1. Because the treble clef is better known than the C clefs, songs for soprano, contralto or tenor are usually published in treble clef. Any music written in treble clef and sung by men is heard an octave below its written pitch.
2. Knowing all the clefs is essential only for those who want to transpose, or to study harmony and composition. Those who simply want to sing or play an instrument can stick to the clef of their own voice or instrument.
- Voice
- Soprano, high female or child voice
- Usual range
- C4 to A5 (do3 to la4)
- Danhauser's clef
- soprano clef (formerly)
Press a key: you hear the sound and see its name and its place on the staff.
Typical ranges for amateur choir singers; professional soloists often go beyond. Danhauser counts “twelve or thirteen successive notes”.
Reproduce from memory the table of clefs for voices and instruments.