#4 - What Are Clefs, And Why Do We Need Them?

FOR PARENTS OF BEGINNERS

After your child has gained confidence in reading the notes in the right hand (also known as the Treble Clef), the next natural step is to introduce them to reading the notes played by the left hand (also known as the Bass Clef). At this stage, many students wonder why we have multiple clefs in the first place, which is a terrific question!

It is recommended that prior to answering this question, your child would be able to find Middle C on the Piano, which is included in this “Piano Orientation” blog post. Once they have completed that lesson, follow these steps to answer their wonderful question!

LESSON

1) Have the “Points of Reference” sheet in front of your child.

2) Ask your child to find Middle C on the Piano.

3) Now, point to Middle C in the Treble Clef and ask them, “would you say that this note is written low or high?”, to which the answer is low. Congratulate their correct answer!

4) Next, ask them this rhetorical question: “if this Middle C is written low, then how will we write this really low note?” and play the lowest note on the keyboard. This is designed to show them the need in having a different system, as the answer is that it would require many ledger lines (additional lines that are drawn above or below the staff, as is shown in the image above) to write that note, which would then make it difficult to read.

5) Then, point to Middle C in the Bass Clef, and ask them if it is written low or high, to which the answer is high. Congratulate their correct answer once more!

6) Finally, show them how now we have plenty of room to write the lower notes, and still have them be easy to read.

A FINAL THOUGHT

There are, of course, quite a few other clefs, all designed for the same purpose of having notes written in a legible range that will make reading them easier. A prime example for the necessity of having different clefs is the Viola, an instrument that crosses frequently between above and below Middle C, which therefore necessitates a clef that would be consistent. This is the reason why the Viola uses the Alto Clef, which has Middle C positioned right at the center of the staff and provides plenty of room to move above and below Middle C.

Now, your child knows why we have clefs in the first place! The final step would be to have them learn how to read the Bass Clef.