CLEF • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Clef

Add this Dictionary
to your website!
See more options...

Listen

noun

Clef n. (Mus.) A character used in musical notation to determine the position and pitch of the scale as represented on the staff. Note: The clefs are three in number, called the C, F, and G clefs, and are probably corruptions or modifications of these letters. They indicate that the letters of absolute pitch belonging to the lines upon which they are placed, are respectively C, F, and G. The F or bass clef, and the G or treble clef, are fixed in their positions upon the staff. The C clef may have three positions. It may be placed upon the first or lower line of the staff, in which case it is called soprano clef, upon the third line, in which case it called alto clef, or upon the fourth line, in which case tenor clef. It rarely or never is placed upon the second line, except in ancient music. See other forms of C clef under C, 2.

Alto clef, Bass clef. See under Alto, Bass.

See images of 'Clef'

Etymology of 'Clef'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

Share |

"Clef" Quotes from Famous Books

... pun which occasioned the French translator of the present work an unlucky blunder: puzzled, no doubt, by my facetiously, he translates "mettant, comme on l'a tres-judicieusement fait observer, l'entendement humain sous la clef." The great work and the great author alluded to, having quite ...

— Curiosities of Literature, Vol. 1 (of 3) • Isaac D'Israeli

... extravagant terms of praise. Mme. Pasta was then laying the foundation of one of the most dazzling reputations ever gained by prima donna. By sheer industry she had extended the range of her voice to two octaves and a half—from A above the bass clef note to C flat, and even to D in alt. Her tones had become rich and sweet, except when she attempted to force them beyond their limits; her intonation was, however, never quite perfect, being occasionally a little flat. Her singing was pure and totally divested of all spurious finery; she added ...

— Great Singers, First Series - Faustina Bordoni To Henrietta Sontag • George T. Ferris

... applicable. For (1) two such series cannot be said to vary together, since the qualitative variations are heterogeneous: 512: 576 is a definite ratio; but the corresponding notes, C, D, in the treble clef, present only a difference. Hence (2) the correspondence of each note with each number is a distinct fact. Each octave even is a distinct fact; there is a difference between C 64 and C 128 that could never have been anticipated without the appropriate experience. There ...

— Logic - Deductive and Inductive • Carveth Read

... last cluster, Good-By my Fancy follows suit, and yet with a difference. The clef is here changed to its lowest, and the little book is a lot of tremolos about old age, death, and faith. The physical just lingers, but almost vanishes. The book is garrulous, irascible (like old Lear) and has various breaks and even tricks to avoid monotony. It will have to be ciphered ...

— Complete Prose Works - Specimen Days and Collect, November Boughs and Goodbye My Fancy • Walt Whitman

Words linked to "Clef" : roman a clef, viola clef, soprano clef, G clef, C clef, treble staff, F clef, bass clef, alto clef, musical notation, treble clef