Bass and Treble Clef – Sheet Music’s Traffic Control

If you’re a session singer (or any kind of singer), you’ll probably have to read sheet music at some point in your career. If you’ve never done it before, it might freak you out. What are all of those weird symbols? What do they mean and what do you do with them? I’m going to focus on just two today: Bass and Treble clef.

The two shapes above are clefs (the asterisk on the left isn’t part of it but it was part of the clip art, sorry). On the left is the Treble Clef, on the right is the Bass Clef. The treble goes on the top bar, bass on the bottom. They basically tell the person reading the sheet music what hand to use (on the piano), or where the notes fall. Altos and sopranos sing the treble, tenors and bass sing the bass.

Imagine a traffic stop.

You are not sure which lane to go in. A person stops you from going down one lane and waves you toward the other. This is what the treble and bass clef do! If you are a soprano, alto, or a certain kind of instrument, you’ll follow the treble up to the top line. If you’re a tenor, bass, or another kind of instrument, follow the bass to the bottom.

Really, this isn’t something you *need* to know if you’re not writing or reading sheet music. I just included it in my book as an FYI. I really don’t think anyone has ever even asked about this or had any confusion about it, but since I already talked about several other sheet music terms I decided to throw it in.

For other music terms, check out the glossary in my book here: https://payhip.com/b/9qjd

If you need sheet music to practice on, check out Virtual Sheet Music, Inc. and I will make a few cents off of what you buy. This will support my iced tea habit and help you learn to read sheet music!

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Chorus Confusion: Taking the Guesswork Out of Songwriting The Coda: A Breakdown of a (Sometimes Tricky) Musical Symbol Chord Progressions: A Simple Explanation for Lyricists How to Turn Your Poetry into Music Lyrics