clef

«clef» in Mova's school dictionary: A sign at the start of a line of written music that shows… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (a clef, clefs)

meaning for a pupil

A sign at the start of a line of written music that shows how high or low the notes are: the treble clef for higher notes and the bass clef for lower ones. tree →

sense in the lessons

In music lessons the treble clef (curly, like a fancy G) is used for recorder, violin and right hand on the piano; the bass clef for low instruments and the left hand. Phrases: «treble clef», «bass clef», «G clef», «F clef».

examples

• Draw a treble clef at the start of the stave. tree →
• The bass clef is used for the cello and the tuba. tree →
• Piano music has a treble clef on top and a bass clef underneath. tree →
• The treble clef curls round the line for G. tree →
• In the bass clef, the notes have different names on the same lines. tree →

note

Countable: clefs. Say «clef» like «cleff». In French «clef» means «key». «Bass» clef sounds like «base», not like the fish «bass».

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «clef» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.