A clef is a symbol placed at
the beginning of a musical staff that indicates the pitch of the notes on
that staff. The two most common clefs are the treble clef: and bass clef: . The
treble clef is also called the G-clef, because it originated hundreds of
years ago as a stylized letter 'G'. The letter 'G' evolved into the
scroll-like sign that we know as the treble clef. The bass clef's other
name is the F-clef, because it started out as a letter 'F' sitting on a
staff, eventually modifying into today's bass clef.
There is another clef, called a C-clef. It looks like
this: The C-clef is written so that it is centered on a
line. Wherever the C-clef is centered, that line is considered to be
the note 'Middle C'. Depending on the line upon which it is placed,
this clef gets a different name:
ALTO CLEF:
In this
case, the clef has been centered on the middle line. So here is Middle C,
written in this clef:
The alto clef is used by violas in an orchestra.
Here is a C-major scale, in the treble clef:
Here is that same scale, written in the alto
clef:
As with the treble and bass clefs, you can use leger lines
to extend the staff upward and/or downward.
TENOR CLEF:
As you can see, the
clef has been placed so that it is centered on the 4th line. That means
the 4th line is middle C. Here is the C-major scale above, written in the
tenor clef:
There is another tenor clef, commonly called the "vocal
tenor clef": You
only usually see this clef in vocal music. Music written in the vocal
tenor clef should be read as if it is in treble clef, then sung one
octave lower. (Read more about octave transposition in Lesson 18.)
Used by tenor voice (hence the name!) Here is the same C-major scale,
written in the vocal tenor clef:
NEUTRAL CLEF:
All musical staves require a clef of some sort. Even
unpitched percussion music uses a clef. It's called a neutral clef,
and looks like this: With the neutral clef, no pitches are indicated,
because this clef is used by instruments that produce no specific pitch:
snare drum, bass drum, tom toms, etc. The staff also looks a little
unusual: it is obviously a staff for two different percussion instruments,
one with a high sound, the other with a low sound. This 2-line staff, with
the neutral clef at the beginning would be ideal for two different sizes
of tom toms. No specific pitches are indicated when the neutral clef is
used, so you would never be asked to transpose something from a neutral
clef into another clef!
KEY SIGNATURES IN THE ALTO, TENOR AND VOCAL TENOR CLEFS Key
signatures will be placed differently on each of these clefs. Here is each
clef with a key signature of seven sharps and seven flats correctly
placed.
and bass clef: 
. The
treble clef is also called the G-clef, because it originated hundreds of
years ago as a stylized letter 'G'. The letter 'G' evolved into the
scroll-like sign that we know as the treble clef. The bass clef's other
name is the F-clef, because it started out as a letter 'F' sitting on a
staff, eventually modifying into today's bass clef.
The C-clef is written so that it is centered on a
line. Wherever the C-clef is centered, that line is considered to be
the note 'Middle C'. Depending on the line upon which it is placed,
this clef gets a different name:
In this
case, the clef has been centered on the middle line. So here is Middle C,
written in this clef: 
The alto clef is used by violas in an orchestra.
Here is a C-major scale, in the treble clef:
As you can see, the
clef has been placed so that it is centered on the 4th line. That means
the 4th line is middle C. Here is the C-major scale above, written in the
tenor clef:
You
only usually see this clef in vocal music. Music written in the vocal
tenor clef should be read as if it is in treble clef, then sung one
octave lower. (Read more about octave transposition in 
With the neutral clef, no pitches are indicated,
because this clef is used by instruments that produce no specific pitch:
snare drum, bass drum, tom toms, etc. The staff also looks a little
unusual: it is obviously a staff for two different percussion instruments,
one with a high sound, the other with a low sound. This 2-line staff, with
the neutral clef at the beginning would be ideal for two different sizes
of tom toms. No specific pitches are indicated when the neutral clef is
used, so you would never be asked to transpose something from a neutral
clef into another clef!
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