I’ve been going over some music theory and want to memorise the Great Staff for the sound compass of the Highland pipes. I want to put the tenor clef in for the A one octave below middle C (i.e. - the A one octave below the A below middle C). One source that I’ve got uses a symblol that looks like a big “K” for the tenor clef, but another source uses a sort of stylised “B” - like this.
Are these just two different but equivalent symbols, or is there a difference between the two symbols for tenor clef?
and now that I have your attention, a follow-up question:
which is the correct spelling for the alternative name for the quarter-note: “crotchet” or “crochet”? It’s pronounced like there’s a “t”, but I think the origin of the term is the French word for “hook” - “crochet.”
WHat Jpeg Jones says. You will also occassionally come across a bass clef that’s arranged differently, which curls in the opposite direction and is more circular/spirally (what’s the adjective of ‘spiral’?) than the common shape.
Yes, one of the sources I was looking at had the “K” sumbol used for both the tenor and alto clefs. I noticed the difference in location, and thought that it would be awfully easy to confuse the two in a hurry, since it’s the same symbol, just displaced.
I think I’ll stick with the “B” symbol - it’s the one that one of my instructors used.
Now that my question’s been answered, can I add supps? what was the origin of the different clef symbols? The treble clef is a stylised “G”, which makes sense since it’s based on the G line of the stave. Do the others have any meaning, or are they just fancy squiggles pressed into service?
The tenor and alto clefs are both C-clefs, which once-upon-a-time were the most common, and could appear on any line of the stave. The bass clef is an F-clef - note that the curve and the dots both focus on the second line down, which is of course F.
To expand on what GorillaMan said, the “C” clef is a “movable” clef. Wherever the center is is middle C. In older music, it is not uncommon to see it placed almost anywhere, although the modern usage is restricted considerably and used only by a few instruments, not voices.
To answer the OP literally, but probably not what was intended, there are other symbols for the vocal tenor clef. A double treble clef (two side-by-side) has been used to indicate the octave transposition. I have also seen a treble clef with a tiny “8” near the tail. For modern vocal music, the standard treble clef symbol is used for the tenor voice and it is understood that transposition is implied.
I would advise you to not use a C Clef in any non-standard location today, and stay away from the C Clef entirely unless you are writing for viola, bassoon or other instruments that use it natively. It won’t be easy to read for a wide audience. It’s probably better to use a bass or treble clef with the initial notation that all sounds are actually played (or sounded) an octave up (for treble) or down (for bass) than written. An octave transposition isn’t difficult for most musicians and is commonly seen anyway.
Note the symbol for an octave up is 8va; 2 octaves up is 15ma.
Here’s a pic of the alternate bass clef. Note how the initial part of the stroke (the big dot), starts on the F line of the staff, just like the modern bass clef. (And note how the two smaller dots straddle the same line).
You don’t have to be dealing with particularly archaic music to find F & G clefs in ‘non-standard’ positions - for example, Bach would happily use a ‘French violin clef’, a G clef on the bottom line, if the part in question had greater need for notes above the treble-clef stave than below.
I’m just doing it as an exercise, since one of the requirements for a certain level of piping certification is to write out the Great Staff, with the complete sound compass for the pipes. One instructor recommended doing it with the various clefs indicated. I’m not intending to be writing any music for any other instrument, and when copying a tune for the pipes I normally don’t bother with a clef at all, since the range of the tune is defined by the instrument itself: nine melody notes.
