Editing Clef

{{Short description|Musical symbol used to indicate the written pitches of notes}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Distinguish|cleft (disambiguation){{!}}cleft}}
{{Redirect|Clé|other uses of "Cle"|Cle (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}

[[File:Clef Diagram.png|thumb|Diagram of treble, alto, and bass clefs with identical-sounding musical notes aligned vertically|alt=|440x440px]]
[[File:Middle C in four clefs.svg|thumb|[[Middle C]] represented on (from left to right) treble, alto, tenor, and bass clefs|420px]]
[[File:Mnemonic bass alto treble clefs.svg|thumb|200px|Three clefs aligned to middle C]]

A '''clef''' (from French: {{lang|fr|clef|}} 'key') is a [[Musical notation|musical symbol]] used to indicate which [[Musical note|notes]] are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical [[staff (music)|staff]]. Placing a clef on a staff assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines or four spaces, which defines the pitches on the remaining lines and spaces.

The three clef symbols used in modern music notation are the [[#G-clefs|G-clef]], [[#F-clefs|F-clef]], and [[#C-clefs|C-clef]]. Placing these clefs on a line fixes a reference note to that line—an F-clef fixes the F below [[middle C]], a C-clef fixes middle C, and a G-clef fixes the G above middle C. In modern music notation, the G-clef is most frequently seen as treble clef (placing [[Scientific pitch notation|G<sub>4</sub>]] on the second line of the staff), and the F-clef as bass clef (placing F<sub>3</sub> on the fourth line). The C-clef is mostly encountered as alto clef (placing middle C on the third line) or tenor clef (middle C on the fourth line). A clef may be placed on a space instead of a line, but this is rare.

The use of different clefs makes it possible to write music for all instruments and voices, regardless of differences in [[tessitura|range]]. Using different clefs for different instruments and voices allows each part to be written comfortably on a staff with a minimum of ledger lines. To this end, the G-clef is used for high parts, the C-clef for middle parts, and the F-clef for low parts. [[Transposing instrument]]s can be an exception to this—the same clef is generally used for all instruments in a family, regardless of their sounding pitch. For example, even the low [[saxophone]]s read in treble clef.

A symmetry exists surrounding middle C regarding the F-, C- and G-clefs. C-clef defines middle C whereas G-clef and F-clef define the note at the interval of a fifth above middle C and below middle C, respectively. 

Common [[mnemonic]]s for the notes on treble clef:
:*'' '''E'''very '''G'''ood '''B'''oy '''D'''oes '''F'''ine'' (lines)
:*'' '''F''' '''A''' '''C''' '''E''' '' (spaces)

For bass clef:
:*'' '''G'''ood '''B'''oys '''D'''o '''F'''ine '''A'''lways<ref>[http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/Every+Good+Boy+Does+Fine Every Good Boy Does Fine – What does EGBDF stand for?<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>'' (lines)
:*'' '''A'''ll '''C'''ows '''E'''at '''G'''rass'' (spaces)

==Placement on the staff==
Theoretically, any clef may be placed on any line. With five lines on the staff and three clefs, there are fifteen possibilities for clef placement. Six of these are redundant because they result in an identical assignment of the notes—for example, a G-clef on the third line yields the same note placement as a C-clef on the bottom line. Thus there are nine possible distinct clefs when limiting their placement to the lines. All have been used historically: the G-clef on the two bottom lines, the F-clef on the three top lines, and the C-clef on the four bottom lines. The C-clef on the topmost line has also been used, but is equivalent to the F-clef on the third line, giving a total of ten historically attested clefs placed on the lines. In addition, the C-clef has been used on the third ''space'', i.e. not on a line at all.

The ten clefs placed on lines (two are equivalent) have different names based on the [[tessitura]] for which they are best suited.
<!--image displayed wider than 400px for clarity-->
[[File:All clefs.svg|center|640px|The ten possible clefs placed on lines]]

In modern music, only four clefs are used regularly: [[#Treble clef|treble clef]], [[#bass clef|bass clef]], [[#alto clef|alto clef]], and [[#tenor clef|tenor clef]]. Of these, the treble and bass clefs are by far the most common. The tenor clef is used for the upper register of several instruments that usually use bass clef (including [[cello]], [[bassoon]], and [[trombone]]), while the alto is most prominently used by the [[viola]]. Music for instruments and voices that [[Transposing instrument|transpose]] at the octave is generally written at the transposed pitch, but is sometimes seen written at concert pitch using an [[#Octave clefs|octave clef]].

[[File:common clefs.svg|center|212px|Common clefs]]
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!  | Clef
!  | Name
!  | Note
!  | Note Location
|-
|  | [[File:GClef.svg|center|30px]]
|  | G-clef or Treble-clef
|  | G<sub>4</sub>
|  | On the line that passes through the curl of the clef
|-
|  | [[File:CClef.svg|center|30px]]
|  | C-clef
|  | C<sub>4</sub> ([[Middle C]])
|  | On the line that passes through the centre of the clef
|-
|  | [[File:FClef.svg|center|30px]]
|  | F-clef or Bass-clef
|  | F<sub>3</sub>
|  | On the line that passes between the two dots of the clef
|}

== Individual clefs ==
This section shows a complete list of the clefs, along with a list of instruments and voice parts notated with them. A [[Dagger (mark)|dagger (†)]] after the name of a clef indicates that the clef is no longer in common use.

[[File:GClef.svg|left|G-clef|40px]]

===G-clefs===

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==== {{anchor|treble_corn}} Treble clef ====
[[File:Treble clef with ref.svg|left|90px|Treble clef]]
[[File:C scale treble clef.png|thumb|C major scale, treble clef. {{audio|Diatonic scale on C.ogg|Play}}]]
The only G-clef still in use is the [[Treble (sound)|treble]] clef, with the G-clef placed on the second line. This is the most common clef in use and is generally the first clef learned by music students.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Greer |first=Amy |date=2003 |title=In Praise of Those Grass-Eating Cows |journal=[[American Music Teacher]]|volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=22–25 |jstor=43547681 }}</ref> For this reason, the terms "G-clef" and "treble clef" are often seen as synonymous. The treble clef was historically used to mark a treble, or pre-pubescent, voice part.

Instruments that use the treble clef include [[violin]], [[flute]], [[oboe]], [[cor anglais]], all [[clarinets]], all [[saxophones]], [[French horn|horn]], [[trumpet]], [[cornet]], [[vibraphone]], [[xylophone]], [[mandolin]], [[recorder (musical instrument)|recorder]], [[bagpipe]] and [[guitar]]. [[Euphonium]] and [[baritone horn]] are sometimes treated as transposing instruments, using the treble clef and sounding a major ninth lower, and are sometimes treated as concert-pitch instruments, using bass clef. The treble clef is also the upper staff of the [[grand staff]] used for [[harp]] and [[keyboard instrument]]s. Most high parts for bass-clef instruments (e.g. [[cello]], [[double bass]], [[bassoon]], and [[trombone]]) are written in the tenor clef, but very high pitches may be notated in the treble clef. The [[viola]] also may use the treble clef for very high notes. The treble clef is used for the [[soprano]], [[mezzo-soprano]], [[alto]], [[contralto]] and [[tenor]] voices. Tenor voice parts sound an octave lower and are often written using an octave clef (see below) or a double-treble clef.

===={{anchor|french_violin_clef}}French violin clef<sup>†</sup>====
[[File:French clef with ref.svg|left|90px|French clef]]
[[File:C scale French violin clef.png|thumb|C major scale, French violin clef. {{audio|Diatonic scale on C sopranino clef.ogg|Play}}]]

A G-clef placed on the first line is called the French clef, or French violin clef. It was used in France in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries for violin music and flute music.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dolmetsch Online – Music Theory Online – Other Clefs|url=http://www.dolmetsch.com/musictheory14.htm|website=www.dolmetsch.com|access-date=1 September 2016}}</ref> It places the notes in the same staff positions as the bass clef, but two octaves higher.

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[[File:FClef.svg|left|F-clef|40px]]

===F-clefs===

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==== {{anchor|Baritone clef}}Baritone clef<sup>†</sup> ====
[[File:Baritone clef with ref.svg|left|90px|Baritone clef]]
[[File:C scale baritone clef.png|thumb|C major scale, baritone F-clef. {{audio|Diatonic scale on C bass clef.ogg|Play}}]]
[[File:Baritone C clef with ref.svg|left|90px|Baritone clef]]
[[File:C scale baritone C-clef.png|thumb|C major scale, baritone C-clef. {{audio|Diatonic scale on C bass clef.ogg|Play}}]]

When the F-clef is placed on the third line, it is called the baritone clef. Baritone clef was used for the left hand of keyboard music (particularly in France; see [[Bauyn manuscript]]) and for baritone parts in vocal music. A C-clef on the fifth line creates a staff with identical notes to the baritone clef, but this variant is rare.
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===={{anchor|bass_clef}} Bass clef====
[[File:Bass clef with ref.svg|90px|left|Bass clef]]
[[File:C scale bass clef.png|thumb|C major scale, bass clef. {{audio|Diatonic scale on C bass clef.ogg|Play}}]]

The only F-clef still in use is the bass clef, with the clef placed on the fourth line. Since it is the only F-clef commonly encountered, the terms "F-clef" and "bass clef" are often regarded as synonymous.

Bass clef is used for the [[cello]], [[Bass (instrument)|double bass and bass guitar]], [[bassoon]] and [[contrabassoon]], [[bass recorder]], [[trombone]], [[tuba]], and [[timpani]]. It is used for [[baritone horn]] or [[euphonium]] when their parts are written at concert pitch, and sometimes for the lowest notes of the [[French horn|horn]]. [[Baritone]] and [[bass (vocal range)|bass]] voices also use bass clef, and the [[tenor]] voice is notated in bass clef if the tenor and bass are written on the same staff. Bass clef is the bottom clef in the [[grand staff]] for [[harp]] and [[keyboard instrument]]s. Double bass, bass guitar, and contrabassoon sound an octave lower than the written pitch; some scores show an "8" beneath the clef for these instruments to differentiate from instruments that sound at the actual written pitch (see "Octave clefs" below).
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===={{anchor|sub-bass_clef}}Sub-bass clef<sup>†</sup>====
[[File:Subbass clef with ref.svg|left|90px|Sub-bass clef]]
When the F-clef is placed on the fifth line, it is called the sub-bass clef. It was used by [[Johannes Ockeghem]] and [[Heinrich Schütz]] to write low bass parts, by [[Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe]] for low notes on the bass viol, and by [[J. S. Bach]] in his ''[[The Musical Offering|Musical Offering]]''.

It is the same as the treble clef, but two octaves lower.
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[[File:CClef.svg|left|C-clef|40px]]

===C-clefs===

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===={{anchor|alto_clef}} Alto clef====
<!-- Linked from redirect [[Viola clef]] -->
[[File:Alto clef with ref.svg|left|90px|Alto clef]]
[[File:C scale alto clef.png|thumb|C major scale, alto clef. {{audio|Diatonic scale on C.ogg|Play}}]]

A C-clef on the third line of the staff is called the alto or viola clef. It is currently used for [[viola]], [[viola d'amore]], [[alto trombone]], [[viola da gamba]], and [[mandola]]. It is also associated with the [[countertenor]] voice and sometimes called the countertenor clef.<ref>Moore 1876, 176; Dolmetsch Organisation 2011.</ref> A vestige of this survives in [[Sergei Prokofiev]]'s use of the clef for the [[cor anglais]] in his symphonies. It occasionally appears in keyboard music (for example, in [[Brahms]]'s [[Eleven Chorale Preludes|Organ Chorales]] and [[John Cage]]'s ''Dream'' for [[piano]]). It was originally used for [[alto]] parts in choral music to reduce the number of [[ledger line]]s needed, since much of the alto range is between treble and bass clef. Alto parts are now commonly written in treble clef instead.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ben |date=2020-01-30 |title=Alto Clef |url=https://www.musictheoryacademy.com/how-to-read-sheet-music/alto-clef/ |access-date=2024-03-22 |website=Music Theory Academy |language=en-US}}</ref>
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===={{anchor|tenor_clef}} Tenor clef====
[[File:Tenor clef with ref.svg|left|90px|Tenor clef]]
[[File:C scale tenor clef.png|thumb|C major scale, tenor clef. {{audio|Diatonic scale on C bass clef.ogg|Play}}]]

A C-clef on the fourth line of the staff is called tenor clef. It is used for the [[viola da gamba]] (rarely, and mostly in German scores; otherwise the alto clef is used) and for upper ranges of bass-clef instruments such as the bassoon, cello, euphonium, double bass, and [[tenor trombone]]. Treble clef may also be used for the upper extremes of these bass-clef instruments. [[Tenor violin]] parts were also written in this clef (see e.g. [[Giovanni Battista Vitali]]'s Op.&nbsp;11). It was used by the tenor part in [[vocal music]] but its use has been largely supplanted either with an octave version of the treble clef or with bass clef when tenor and bass parts are written on a single staff.

[[File:Far Above Cayuga's Waters 1906.png|thumb|right|Male chorus arrangement showing use of ladder-shaped C-clef.]]

Another tenor clef variant, formerly used in music for [[TTBB|male chorus]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Blood |first1=Brian |title=Other Clefs |url=https://www.dolmetsch.com/musictheory14.htm |website=Dolmetsch Online |access-date=May 9, 2023}}</ref> has a ladder-like shape. This C-clef places the C on the third space of the staff, and is equivalent to the [[#Octave clefs|sub-octave treble clef]]. See also [[#History|History]].
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===={{anchor|mezzo-soprano_clef}}Mezzo-soprano clef<sup>†</sup>====
[[File:Mezzo-soprano clef with ref.svg|left|90px|Mezzo-soprano clef]]
[[File:C scale mezzo soprano clef.png|thumb|C major scale, mezzo-soprano clef. {{audio|Diatonic scale on C.ogg|Play}}]]

A C-clef on the second line of the staff is called the mezzo-soprano clef, rarely used in modern Western classical music. It was used in 17th century French orchestral music for the second viola or first tenor part ('taille') by such composers as Lully, and for mezzo-soprano voices in operatic roles, notably by [[Claudio Monteverdi]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Curtis|first=Alan|date=1989-04-01|title=La Poppea Impasticciata or, Who Wrote the Music to La Poppea Impasticciata (1643)?|journal=[[Journal of the American Musicological Society]]|volume=42|issue=1|pages=23–54|doi=10.2307/831417|issn=0003-0139|jstor=831417}}</ref> Mezzo-soprano clef was also used for certain flute parts during renaissance, especially when doubling vocal lines.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Thomas |first=Bernard |date=1975 |title=The Renaissance Flute |journal=[[Early Music (journal)|Early Music]]|volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=2–10 |jstor=3125300 |doi=10.1093/earlyj/3.1.2 }}</ref> In [[Music of Azerbaijan|Azerbaijani music]], the [[Tar (Azerbaijani instrument)|tar]] uses this clef.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}}

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===={{anchor|soprano_clef}}Soprano clef<sup>†</sup>====
[[File:Soprano Clef - trimmed.png|left|90px|Soprano clef]]
[[File:C scale soprano clef.png|thumb|C major scale, soprano clef. {{audio|Diatonic scale on C.ogg|Play}}]]

A C-clef on the first line of the staff is called the soprano clef. It was used for the right hand of keyboard music (particularly in France – see [[Bauyn manuscript]]), in vocal music for sopranos, and sometimes for high [[Viol|viola da gamba]] parts along with the alto clef. It was used for the second violin part ('haute-contre') in 17th century French music.

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[[File:C-clefs.png|600px|thumb|center|The same line on the staff in different clefs means different pitches.<br>The line indicating C (going from the center of a clef) is marked in orange. <br> The clefs as numbered in the diagram are: <br> {{olist |Soprano clef |Mezzo-soprano clef |Alto clef |Tenor clef |Baritone clef}}]]

==Other clefs==

===Octave clefs===
[[File:Tenorclefs.png|thumb|left|200px|Three types of suboctave treble clef showing middle C]]
[[File:C scale treble sub-octave clef.png|thumb|C major scale, suboctave clef. {{audio|Diatonic scale on C bass clef.ogg|Play}}]]
[[File:C scale sopranino clef.png|thumb|C major scale, "sopranino" clef. {{audio|Diatonic scale on C sopranino clef.ogg|Play}} (this is one octave higher than the treble clef without an 8)]]

Starting in the 18th century, music for some instruments (such as [[guitar]]) and for the tenor voice have used treble clef, although they sound an octave lower. To avoid ambiguity, modified clefs are sometimes used, especially in [[choir|choral]] writing. Using a C-clef on the third space places the notes identically, but this notation is much less common<ref>There was a vogue in 20th-century Oliver Ditson Co. editions, for example ''Master Choruses'' selected by Smallman & Matthews (Boston 1933)</ref><ref>This notation is also used in the 1985 ''Hymns of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints'' for many of the men's arrangements, i.e. Hymns [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/music/library/hymns/rise-up-o-men-of-god-mens-choir?lang=eng&showFlash=false 323] and [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/music/library/hymns/see-the-mighty-priesthood-gathered-mens-choir?lang=eng&showFlash=false 325–337]</ref> as it is easily confused with the [[#Alto clef|alto]] and [[#Tenor clef|tenor clefs]].

Such a modified treble clef is most often found in tenor parts in [[SATB]] settings, using a treble clef with the numeral ''8'' below it. This indicates that the pitches sound an octave lower. As the true tenor clef has fallen into disuse in vocal writings, this "octave-dropped" treble clef is often called the tenor clef. The same clef is sometimes used for the [[octave mandolin]]. This can also be indicated with two overlapping G-clefs.

Tenor banjo is commonly notated in treble clef. However, notation varies between the written pitch sounding an octave lower (as in guitar music and called octave pitch in most tenor banjo methods) and music sounding at the written pitch (called actual pitch). An attempt has been made to use a treble clef with a diagonal line through the upper half of the clef to indicate octave pitch, but this is not always used.

To indicate that notes sound an octave higher than written, a treble clef with an ''8'' positioned above the clef may be used for [[penny whistle]], [[Recorder (musical instrument)#Sheet music notation|soprano and sopranino recorder]], and other high woodwind parts. A treble clef with a ''15'' above (sounding two octaves above the standard treble clef) is used for the [[garklein recorder|garklein (sopranissimo) recorder]].

An F-clef can also be notated with an octave marker. While the F-clef notated to sound an octave lower can be used for contrabass instruments such as the [[double bass]] and [[contrabassoon]], and the F-clef notated to sound an octave higher can be used for the bass recorder, these uses are extremely rare. In Italian scores up to [[Gioachino Rossini]]'s [[William Tell Overture|Overture to ''William Tell'']], the cor anglais was written in bass clef an octave lower than sounding.<ref>Del Mar 1981, 143.</ref> The unmodified bass clef is so common that performers of instruments whose ranges lie below the staff simply learn to read ledger lines.
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===Neutral clef===
[[File:Music-neutralclef.png|95px|left]]
[[File:Characteristic rock drum pattern.png|thumb|Simple quadruple [[drum beat|drum pattern]] on a rock [[drum kit]]. {{Audio|Simple duple drum pattern.ogg|Play}}]]

{{main|Percussion notation}}

The ''neutral'' or ''percussion'' clef is not a true clef like the F, C, and G clefs. Rather, it assigns different unpitched [[percussion instruments]] to the lines and spaces of the staff. With the exception of some common drum-kit and marching percussion layouts, the assignment of lines and spaces to instruments is not standardised, so a legend is required to show which instrument each line or space represents. [[Pitched percussion instrument]]s do not use this clef — [[timpani]] are notated in bass clef and [[mallet percussion]] instruments are noted in treble clef or on a [[grand staff]].

If the neutral clef is used for a single percussion instrument the staff may only have one line, although other configurations are used.

The neutral clef is sometimes used where non-percussion instruments play non-pitched extended techniques, such as hitting the body of a string instrument, or having a vocal choir clap, stamp, or snap.  However, it is more common to write the rhythms using × noteheads on the instrument's normal staff, with a comment to indicate the appropriate rhythmic action.

===Tablature===
{{main|Guitar tablature}}
[[File:Tablature.svg|left|60px]]
[[File:C scale tablature.png|thumb|C major scale, guitar tablature and staff notation (suboctave is assumed). {{audio|Diatonic scale on C tablature.ogg|Play}}]]
For guitars and other fretted instruments, it is possible to notate [[tablature]] in place of ordinary notes. This TAB sign is not a clef — it does not indicate the placement of notes on a staff. The lines shown are not a music staff but rather represent the strings of the instrument (six lines would be used for guitar, four lines for the bass guitar, etc.), with numbers on the lines showing which fret, if any, should be used and symbols for specific techniques.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/lessons/for_beginners/how_to_read_tabs.html|title=How to Read Tabs|author=Ultimate Guitar|date=October 18, 2013}}</ref>

==History==
Before the advent of clefs, the reference line of a staff was simply labeled with the name of the note it was intended to bear: ''F'', ''C'', or sometimes ''G''. These were the most common 'clefs', or {{lang|la|litterae clavis}} (key-letters), in Gregorian chant notation. Over time the shapes of these letters became stylised, leading to their current versions.

Many other clefs were used, particularly in the early period of chant notation, keyed to many different notes, from the low ''Γ'' (''gamma'', the G on the bottom line of the bass clef) to the G above middle C (written with a small letter ''g''). These included two different lowercase ''b'' symbols for the note just below middle C: round for B{{Music|flat}}, and square for B{{Music|natural}}. In order of frequency of use, these clefs were: ''F'', ''c'', ''f'', ''C'', ''D'', ''a'', ''g'', ''e'', ''Γ'', ''B'', and the round and square ''b''.<ref>Smits van Wasberghe 1951, 33.</ref> In later medieval music, the round ''b'' was often written in addition to another clef letter to indicate that B{{Music|flat}} rather than B{{Music|natural}} was to be used throughout a piece; this is the origin of the [[key signature]].

[[File:G-Schluessel.png|thumb|Early forms of the G clef—the third combines the G and D clefs vertically]]
In the [[Polyphonic Era|polyphonic period]] up to 1600, unusual clefs were occasionally used for parts with extremely high or low tessituras. For very low bass parts, the Γ clef is found on the middle, fourth, or fifth lines of the staff (e.g., in [[Pierre de La Rue]]'s ''Requiem'' and in a mid-16th-century dance book published by the Hessen brothers); for very high parts, the high-D clef (''d''), and the even higher ''ff'' clef (e.g., in the ''[[Mulliner Book]]'') were used to represent the notes written on the fourth and top lines of the treble clef, respectively.<ref>Hiley 2001; P. and B. Hessen 1555.</ref>

The practice of using different shapes for the same clef persisted until very recent times. The F-clef was, until as late as the 1980s in some cases (such as hymnals), or in British and French publications, written like this: [[File:Oldbassclef.svg|45px]]

In printed music from the 16th and 17th centuries, the C clef often assumed a ladder-like form, in which the two horizontal rungs surround the staff line indicated as C: [[File:Mensural c clef 06.svg|40px]]; this form survived in some printed editions ([[:File:Far Above Cayuga's Waters 1906.png|see this example]], written in [[TTBB|four-part men's harmony]] and positioned to make it equivalent to an octave G clef) into the 20th century.

The C-clef was formerly written in a more angular way, sometimes still used, or, more often, as a simplified ''K''-shape when writing the clef by hand: [[File:Old C-clef.png|45px]]

In modern Gregorian chant notation the C clef is written (on a four-line staff) in the form [[File:C clef neume.gif|30px]] and the F clef as [[File:F clef neume.gif|30px]]

The flourish at the top of the G-clef probably derives from a cursive ''S'' for "sol", the name for "G" in [[solfege]].<ref>Kidson 1908, 443-44.</ref>

[[File:AdesteFidelesLilyPhil.png|thumb|300px|right|Vocal music can be contracted into two staffs, using the treble and bass clefs.]]

C clefs (along with G, F, Γ, D, and A clefs) were formerly used to notate vocal music. Nominally, the soprano voice parts were written in first- or second-line C clef (''soprano clef'' or ''mezzo-soprano clef'') or second-line G clef (''treble clef''), the alto or tenor voices in third-line C clef (''alto clef''), the tenor voice in fourth-line C clef (''tenor clef'') and the bass voice in third-, fourth- or fifth-line F clef (''baritone'', ''bass'', or ''sub-bass clef'').

Until the 19th century, the most common arrangement for vocal music used the following clefs:<!--The immediately preceding paragraph says otherwise. Neither is sourced, so the first one to come up with a verifying citation wins?--> <!-- this one does appear in most sources prior: manuscripts (ex. Bach's or Telemann's), printed scores (ex. mostly everything from Breitkopf und Härtel up to that point), even occasionally keyboard music! -->

* Soprano = soprano clef (first-line C clef)
* Alto = alto clef (third-line C clef)
*Tenor = tenor clef (fourth-line C clef)
* Bass = bass clef (fourth-line F clef)

In more modern publications, four-part music on parallel staffs is usually written more simply as:
* Soprano = treble clef (second-line G clef)
* Alto = treble clef
* Tenor = treble clef with an ''8'' below ''or'' a double treble clef. Many pieces, particularly those from before the 21st century, use an unaltered treble clef, with the expectation the tenors will still sing an octave lower than notated.
* Bass = bass clef (fourth-line F clef)
This may be reduced to two staffs, the soprano and alto sharing a staff with a treble clef, and the tenor and bass sharing a staff marked with the bass clef.

==Further uses==
{{Main|Chiavette}}

Clef combinations played a role in the modal system toward the end of the 16th century, and it has been suggested certain clef combinations in the polyphonic music of 16th-century vocal polyphony are reserved for authentic (odd-numbered) modes, and others for plagal (even-numbered) modes,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Powers|first=Harold S.|title=Tonal Types and Modal Categories in Renaissance Polyphony|journal=[[Journal of the American Musicological Society]]|year=1981|volume=34|issue=3|pages=428–470|doi=10.1525/jams.1981.34.3.03a00030}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Kurtzman|first=J. G.|title=Tones, Modes, Clefs, and Pitch in Roman Cyclic Magnificats of the 16th Century|journal=[[Early Music (journal)|Early Music]]|year=1994|volume=22|issue=4|pages=641–664|doi=10.1093/earlyj/xxii.4.641}}</ref> but the precise implications have been the subject of much scholarly debate.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hermelink|first=S.|title=Zur Chiavettenfrage|journal=Musikwissenschaftlicher Kongress|year=1956|pages=264–271|location=Vienna}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Smith|first=A.|title=Über modus und Transposition um 1600|journal=Basler Jahrbuch für historische Musikpraxis|year=1982|pages=9–43}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Parrott|first=Andrew|title=Transposition in Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610: an "Aberration" Defended|journal=[[Early Music (journal)|Early Music]]|year=1984|volume=7|issue=4|pages=490–516|doi=10.1093/earlyj/12.4.490}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Wiering|first=F.|title=The Waning of the Modal Ages: Polyphonic Modality in Italy, 1542–1619|journal=Ruggiero Giovannelli: Palestrina and Velletri|year=1992|pages=389–419}}</ref>

Reading music as if it were in a different clef from the one indicated can be an aid in [[Sight transposition#Clef|transposing music at sight]] since it will move the pitches roughly in parallel to the written part. Key signatures and accidentals need to be accounted for when this is done.

==In Unicode==
{{Contains special characters|Unicode|section}}
For use with computer systems, the [[Unicode Consortium]] has created [[code point]]s for twelve different clef symbols as part of a repertoire called the [[Musical Symbols (Unicode block)|"Musical Symbols" block]]. Although much of the list was established by 1999, general provision of these symbols in common [[computer font]]s remains rather limited.{{efn|Suitable fonts include [[Noto fonts|Noto]] Music.}} The clef symbols provided are these:
* {{unichar|01D11E|Musical symbol G clef}}
* {{unichar|01D11F|Musical symbol G clef ottava alta}}
* {{unichar|01D120|Musical symbol G clef ottava bassa}}
* {{unichar|01D121|Musical symbol C clef}}
* {{unichar|01D122|Musical symbol F clef}}
* {{unichar|01D123|Musical symbol F clef ottava alta}}
* {{unichar|01D124|Musical symbol F clef ottava bassa}}
* {{unichar|01D125|Musical symbol drum clef-1}}
* {{unichar|01D126|Musical symbol drum clef-2}}
* {{unichar|01D1D0|Musical symbol Gregorian C clef}}
* {{unichar|01D1D1|Musical symbol Gregorian F clef}}
* {{unichar|01D1DE|Musical symbol Kievan C clef}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==Citations==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* [[Norman Del Mar|Del Mar, Norman]]. 1981. ''Anatomy of the Orchestra''. Berkeley: University of California Press. {{ISBN|0-520-04500-9}} (cloth); {{ISBN|0-520-05062-2}}.
* Dolmetsch Organisation. 2011. "[http://www.dolmetsch.com/defsc2a.htm Counter-tenor clef]". In [http://www.dolmetsch.com/musictheorydefs.htm Music Dictionary Online] Dolmetsch Online (Accessed 23 March 2012).
* Hessen, Paul, and Bartholomeus Hessen. 1555. ''Viel feiner lieblicher Stucklein, spanischer, welscher, englischer, frantzösischer Composition und Tentz, uber drey hundert, mit sechsen, fünffen, und vieren, auff alle Instrument ... zusamen bracht''. Breslau: Crispin Scharffenberg.
* Hiley, David. 2001. "Clef (i)". ''[[The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]'', 2nd edition, edited by [[Stanley Sadie]] and [[John Tyrrell (musicologist)|John Tyrrell]]. London: Macmillan.
* [[Frank Kidson|Kidson, Frank]]. 1908. "The Evolution of Clef Signatures." ''[[The Musical Times]]'' 49, no. 785 (1 July), pp.&nbsp;443–444.
* Kidson, Frank. 1909. "The Evolution of Clef Signatures" (second article). In ''The Musical Times'' 50, no. 793 (1 March), pp.&nbsp;159–160.
* [[John Weeks Moore|Moore, John Weeks]]. 1876. ''A Dictionary of Musical Information: Containing also a Vocabulary of Musical Terms, and a List of Modern Musical Works Published in the United States From 1640 To 1875''. Boston: Oliver Ditson.

==Further reading==
* [[Georges Dandelot|Dandelot, Georges]]. 1999. ''Manuel pratique pour l'étude des clefs'', revised by Bruno Giner and Armelle Choquard. Paris: Max Eschig.
* Morris, R. O., and Howard Ferguson. 1931. ''Preparatory Exercises in Score-Reading''. London: Oxford University Press.
* [[Gardner Read|Read, Gardner]] (1964). ''Music Notation: A Manual of Modern Practice''. Boston: Alleyn and Bacon. Second edition, Boston: Alleyn and Bacon, 1969, reprinted as ''A Crescendo Book'', New York: Taplinger, 1979. {{ISBN|0-8008-5459-4}} (cloth), {{ISBN|0-8008-5453-5}} (pbk).
* Smits van Waesberghe, Jos. 1951. "The Musical Notation of Guido of Arezzo". ''[[American Institute of Musicology#Musica Disciplina|Musica Disciplina]]'' 5:15–53.

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Clefs (music)|Clefs}}

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