Chapter 3. Clefs
In the previous chapter, you learned about clefs. Without this clef, it is not possible to read music. In this chapter you'll learn more about clefs. You learn how clefs look like and their names.
1. What is a clef?
In order to read the notes, we have to make two decisions.
1 We choose one of the five lines, and decide on which natural note goes through this line.
2 We indicate (for example on the piano) which tone we mean exactly.
A capital letter is placed at the beginning of the staff, indicating which tone we are referring to. We call the (capital) letter at the beginning of the staff a clef.
2. The capital letters C, F and G
The capital letters used are C, F or G. A, B, D and E are not included.
Capital letter C
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Capital letter C at the beginning of the staff.
Capital letter F
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Capital letter F at the beginning of the staff.
Capital letter G
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Capital letter G at the beginning of the staff
3. The C-clef, the F-clef and the G-clef
Clefs have changed their form over the years. This is how they look today.
Capital letter C: the C-clef
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The C-clef looks like this.
Capital letter F: the F-clef
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The F-clef looks like this.
Capital letter G: the G-clef
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The G-clef looks like this.
When notating music for the piano, two staffs are joined together, one above the other. The upper staff uses the G-clef, the lower staff the F-clef. The C-clef is not used for the piano.