Section 4: Tenor clef

Now that you better understand how the Treble and Bass clefs are defined, we will now introduce the third clef commonly used in music composition, the Tenor clef. If the Treble clef is defined by its position of the G line above Middle C, and the Bass clef is defined by its position of the F line below Middle C, what defines the Tenor clef? Look closely at Figure E.

Figure E (Tenor clef)

The Tenor clef is defined by the position of Middle C on the fourth line of the staff, and is also called the C clef. Look at the Tenor staff in Figure E. From the bottom of the Tenor Staff, the fourth line up is the C line, (or Middle C).

Notice the symbol for the Tenor clef. Much like the Treble and Bass clefs, it is also very different. It resembles a backwards letter "E" with reversed closing bar lines before it.

The notes on the Tenor staff are named in this manner. The five lines from the bottom to the top represent the notes D, F, A, C, and E, and can be easily remembered by the word "deface." The four spaces between the lines represent the notes E, G, B, and D, and can be remembered with another catch phrase, "Every Girl Buys Diamonds".

NOTE: Please make sure you are familiar with, and can recognize the Tenor clef easily before continuing the next section, (Understanding Relationships).