26
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Why are clefs associated with reference notes G, F and C?
Three clef signs are in common use, plus the neutral or percussion clef.
The most common are those found in piano music, where the two clefs are separated by a space where 'middle C' lives, on its ...
- 190k
26
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Accepted
Is there a legitimate reason why a C-Clef could ever be used in piano music?
I don't think a C-clef is necessary.
Consider using the treble clef for the top staff, and leaving the upper voice here.
Put the middle voice with the lower, in the bottom staff in bass clef.
If the ...
- 12.4k
24
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Why are double staff pieces of music not properly aligned for Middle C?
Relative to the Grand Staff, it's important to think of "Middle C" as a concept more than a literal visual expression. Here's why:
Let's say you have a "grand" staff using 11 lines (5 for each staff +...
- 25.5k
23
votes
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Identifying bass notes on piano with strange clef
Yes, that's a bass clef / F-clef. They've had many different versions in the past, as indicated in the Wikipedia article you linked to. It mentions French and British publications but it looks like ...
- 3,650
19
votes
Is there a legitimate reason why a C-Clef could ever be used in piano music?
Pianists don't read C clefs. A great majority flatly don't know how, and most of the ones that can (because they play an instrument that reads them) are completely unpracticed at it for piano. It's ...
- 22.3k
18
votes
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Is it fair to say the treble clef is optimized for piano?
The staff is not optimized for piano, nor vice versa. Both the staff and the keyboard are optimized towards playing diatonic scales. A diatonic scale is a 7-note scale containing exactly one note of ...
- 20.7k
18
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How should I write this passage to make it the most readable?
Certainly not the first. The second is unobjectionable. But why not the third? It's the standard notation, and is just fine.
- 90.6k
18
votes
Treble Clef with optional 8 va bassa?
This is used in vocal music where the line can be sung either at normal treble-clef pitch (usually by a soprano), or at a pitch an octave below that (usually by a tenor or baritone).
It's very often ...
- 1,020
17
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How can I read these cross staff notes?
There's two things going on here that may be a bit confusing.
There are cross-stave notes, like you already noted.
The rhythm is a so called 'tresillo' rhythm, that's often used in latin-american ...
- 5,128
15
votes
Is it common to mix multiple clefs on the same sheet?
Switching clefs is not uncommon. It can provide notational convenience when a part shifts to a higher or lower range than the current clef easily encompasses. However, the piece you've posted is an ...
- 82.8k
15
votes
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Am I Doing It Wrong? Why Can't I Use Multiple 5-Line Staves to Represent Guitar's Open Strings?
You are trying to reinvent the wheel it seems. All you have to do if you want to see the actual pitches of the open strings of the guitar is use the grand staff:
I showed where the G and B strings ...
- 25k
13
votes
Accepted
Bass clef in piano scores, why?
The clef you're referring to already exists: it's written like this
The number 15 standing for 15 steps down, i.e. two octaves. (I know, it's ridiculous that two octaves are not 16 steps... the thing ...
- 35.3k
13
votes
Can the treble clef be used instead of the bass clef in piano music?
Can the bass clef be transformed to the treble clef in piano music?
Yes but please don't.
It seems like it would be much easier to read.
No. You will be making Middle C be a line in one staff and a ...
- 854
13
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Is the bass clef the same thing as a question mark? How are they related?
It may look a bit like a question mark, but it's not the same thing, and they aren't related.
To understand the evolution of the clefs, we need to go back a bit in music history. Because of this, I'...
- 84k
13
votes
Is it common to mix multiple clefs on the same sheet?
The sheet music you posted is a solfege exercise, that's why it contains all those clef changes.
(etude de solfege = study of solfege = solfege exercise)
And note that there are not only clef changes, ...
- 6,319
13
votes
Accepted
What is the Schäffer Clef?
This clef is attributed to Bogusław Schaeffer, who used it synonymously with the traditional treble and bass clefs, according to the staff line on which it was placed: that is, placed on the second ...
- 82.8k
13
votes
When should tenor clef be used?
Don't over-think this. Go into tenor clef when there's a substantial section of music that would otherwise need an annoying number of ledger lines.
Note that while orchestral trombone players are ...
- 90.6k
12
votes
Accepted
Are there any clefs other than treble, bass, tenor, and alto?
There are three modern pitched clefs:
, the G-clef
, the C-clef (less common)
, the F-clef
Note that I didn't call them treble, alto, and bass. That's because the meaning of the clef depends on ...
- 9,589
12
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Is there a legitimate reason why a C-Clef could ever be used in piano music?
A C clef is unusual for piano. A C clef is also only one note below treble clef written 8vb or one note above bass clef written 8va. If you want to avoid ledger lines I think choice #2 is better since ...
- 25k
12
votes
Why doesn't vocal music use C clefs nowadays?
I think they've simply fallen out of use, to a point where most musicians are unfamiliar with them. The vast majority of music for both voice and instruments are written in treble or bass clef. Back ...
11
votes
Is it fair to say the treble clef is optimized for piano?
What happens in your version of the staff when you start tossing in flats and sharps and double-flats and double-sharps and such? Is the bottom of the D space now Db and the top of the D space a D ...
- 1,878
11
votes
Where was the D clef used?
Common notation for tenor voice prior to 1900, especially if older than that. See, for example, this TTBB arrangement of Cornell's Alma Mater at Wikipedia.
- 934
11
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C Clef Showing Middle C on the Second Space: Printing Error, or Obscure Clef?
This is definitely bad type setting.
I'm not aware of any conventional C clef that sits between two lines (although you can of course roll your own), but even if this was supposed to be between two ...
- 640
11
votes
Accepted
Can the treble clef be used instead of the bass clef in piano music?
It is common for piano staff to change clefs. There can be passages with both hands playing G clef or passages with both hands playing F clef. You really need to read both clefs, and getting familiar ...
- 55k
11
votes
Is there a legitimate reason why a C-Clef could ever be used in piano music?
The reason to write in C clef is the one you've come up with: the notes fit better on the staff. That's how clefs came into being — so that the core range of a particular voice (or instrument) fits ...
- 82.8k
11
votes
Accepted
Why aren't octave clefs used in piano notation?
it's easy to read and doesn't have any extra visual clutter.
That's exactly why it's hard to read. With ledger lines and ottava brackets you have something there reminding you continually that you'...
- 20.6k
10
votes
Why are double staff pieces of music not properly aligned for Middle C?
Because the the bigger point behind the grand staff for piano is to have one for each hand rather than show an absolute note position on the instrument.
It's not too uncommon to see two treble or ...
Dom♦
- 47.5k
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