Bass Clef Research Paper

Music has been around for over 100 years and dates all the way back to the most famous music composer named Beethoven. Music theory is complex, although most people believe that all music notes are identical and all musicians’ play in the same clef this is not true. Many people fail to realize that not all music is written the same and that different instruments need different clefs and different notes such as flute music is not written with the same notes tuba music would be written in. When developing music the composer must know whether he needs to compose in treble clef or bass clef. The differences between treble clef and bass clef are the known names, the clef symbol, the clef pitches, the musical instruments each clef requires, the different
meaning each musical note has, and where musical note middle C is located on the staff line for each clef. Treble clef, or also known as G clef, is one of the most common clefs in the music area. The treble clef sign is always placed at the beginning of each music piece on the first staff to the left. A staff is a group of five horizontal lines and four spaces that each symbolizes a different musical note. For example, a note named middle C is located below the first ledger line of the staff, which means it is an imaginary line below the first line of the five. An important thing to realize, the treble clef sign is drawn by beginning with a circle in the middle of the staff, then rising up, rounding it to the left, drawing a slanted vertical line, and hooking the tail to the left at the end. Once the clef is drawn the musician can visually see where the name G clef originated from and that is because the staff line passes through a G note. Not to mention, any notes that are higher in pitch will be composed using G clef, which explains why only woodwind instruments use this clef. In a full size band about only half play in treble clef such as piccolo, flutes, clarinets, violins, oboes, saxophones, while the other half play in other clefs. As a matter of fact, when formulating music for woodwind instruments it is obligatory to compose the music in treble clef, if not the musicians playing woodwind instruments will not be able to read this style of music because different instruments require different clefs. As has been mentioned, bass clef has a completely different meaning in the music field.
Unlike G clef, bass clef is known as F clef because when the bass clef symbol is drawn the symbol line ends on the line of an F note. To draw the bass clef first start by drawing a curve on the fourth to the second line on the staff. Once complete, draw two dots on the third and fourth spaces on the outside right of the curve. Another key point, bass clef is always used for lower pitched notes. Any lower pitched notes are composed in bass clef because mainly brass instruments read this style of music. Brass instruments mainly play the lower notes in a full size band, while the other instruments play in higher clefs. Brass instruments that use F clef include trombone, baritone, french horn, tenor horn, tenor tuba, and tuba. Not to forget, middle C in bass clef is located differently on the staff line. Middle C is on the sixth imaginary line or first ledger line that is above the original five horizontal lines that make up a staff. With all this in mind, treble clef and bass clef contrast in every single way. Treble clef and bass clef are two separate symbols with a variety of differences between them. The main differences are the pitches, the instruments, the names, the symbol drawing, and the location of the same musical notes. The various dissimilarities of these two clefs are what makes each clef unique to the part each instrument plays and how the end result comes all
together.