6

Adding up to my previous question, what clef was first and why? I guess there should be answers somewhere out there but I can't find them.

Improve this question
2
  • The point of a clef is to disambiguate which line-to-pitch mapping should be used in playing a score. If the upper line always meant the same pitch, you wouldn't need a clef! Therefore it's unlikely that a single clef was invented first. I would expect that at least two came in to use around the same time.
    – Kilian Foth
    Feb 14, 2017 at 7:25
  • 1
    Went looking for the "previous question" mentioned above, but didn't find a clear candidate. Is the question still around? If yes, a link would be appreciated.
    – Aaron
    Jan 6, 2021 at 7:55

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
9

According to both the Harvard Dictionary of Music and the Grove Encyclopedia, the first clefs to be used in a manner anything like the modern usage are F and C clefs. The vast majority of early plainchant manuscripts use these. Even earlier, Guido d'Arezzo would use colored lines in his staves to show notes--a red line for F and a yellow line for C--which seems to further cement the idea that indicating F and/or C was seen as most useful initially. Grove suggests that this is probably because those two notes are especially common in the vast majority of plainchant, which certainly makes sense to me.

EDIT TO ADD: I realized that for people not as familiar with clefs, a bit more clarification might be helpful. The modern bass clef is a descendant of the F clef used in plainchant notation. The modern alto and tenor clefs (the former used only for viola, the latter used occasionally for cello, trombone and bassoon) are descendants of the C clef.

Improve this answer
1

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.