Pitch names and Clefs

Music Theory 

Objective: 

• To know the pitch names for treble and bass clefs.
• To know what the other 2 clefs are. 

Music is written in the form of notation by using the Staff. It comprises of 5 horizontal lines and 4 spaces. It is where musical notes lie. The lines and spaces between them signify different pitches. Since we do not know what notes to play on a blank staff, we use Clefs. They show us which notes correspond to which lines or spaces. There are 4 clefs which are Treble clef (G clef), Bass clef (F clef), Alto clefs and Tenor clefs (C clefs):

• ·         Treble clef: Spirals around the second line from the bottom. This shows us that the note G lies on this line. According to this, we can easily figure out the other notes by going backward or forward through the musical alphabet. The note names in this clef are D, E, F, G, A, B, C. If we want to extend the amount of notes above and below the Staff, Ledger Lines are used. Middle C is the first ledger line below the Staff.
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• ·         Bass clef: Has two dots below and above the second line. This signifies that the note F lies on this line. The note names in this clef are E, F, G, A, B, C, D. Middle C is the first ledger line above the Staff.
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• ·         Alto clef: Positioned on the middle line where the note C (Middle C) lies. The note names in this clef are: C, D, E, F, G, A, B. Have two curves that meet in the center.
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• ·         Tenor clef: Similar to Alto clef but it is positioned on the second line from the top whereas the alto clef is on the middle line. The note C also lies on the second line.