[Trombone-l] Alto Clef

[Bill Dinwiddie]

Mike Irwin said:

"But I have never seen or heard of an alto clef."

Mike, the alto clef is one of a group of clefs called "C Clefs". That is, 
the line where the two parts of the clef meet is always the note C. The two 
most common C clefs are: the Tenor clef (where the line that would be the D 
line in treble clef) is middle C on the piano. The other common C clef is 
the Alto clef (where the line that would be the B line in treble clef) is 
middle C. There are other C clefs too: mezzo-soprano clef, and I forget the 
other ones. Hopefully, neither of us will ever see another C clef other than 
the ones I have just talked about.
Alto clef is sometimes used for the 1st trombone part in a symphony 
orchestra parts and Tenor clef is often used for the 2nd trombone. The bass 
clef that we are used to seeing is actually part of the "F clef" system, 
where the two dots tell us what line is the note F. I believe there is a an 
F clef called the baritone clef. Maybe we can ask one of our 
orchestra-oriented brethren to expand upon the clef system and why we need 
to use it anyway.

Hope this helps,

Bill Dinwiddie
billdin at comcast.net