I teach tenor clef, Bb treble clef, and usually alto clef to all my high school students. We do a little C treble, too. With some we do F horn treble, but that gets a little rebellion sometimes.
RH ----- Original Message ----- From: "David H. Bailey" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, May 14, 2004 2:55 PM Subject: Re: [Finale] Trombone clef in early music > This raises a totally tangential issue -- why aren't more clefs taught > in music lessons at an earlier point? Why is it only those who seem > destined for collegiate music study who ever are taught about clefs? > > I find my private students are usually sponges who will soak up any > information I give them and that when the issue of transposition arises > or alternate clefs, they learn them fairly easily. > > I think that by holding off and making the traditional treble/bass clef > structure truly ingrained that many people have a much harder time > mastering additional clefs. I find many adults who have been playing > bass clef all their lives are totally intimidated by the C clef. But if > they would only spend a little time each day playing simple exercises in > the different clefs they would have no problem whatsoever. > > Just an aside to the trombone clef question. > > David H. Bailey > > > > John Howell wrote: > > > At 2:19 PM -0400 5/14/04, Andrew Stiller wrote: > > > >>> What's the normal clef used for the trombone in 17th century music? > >>> Original is in C4. > >>> > >>> Thanks, > >>> > >>> Dennis > >>> > >> > >> Trombonists at that time were expected to read the C clef on every > >> line, plus bass clef and the sub-bass clef (F clef on top line). > >> Remember that a whole S A T B consort of trombones was in use at that > >> time, and that different instruments would be used according to the > >> range of the piece. > >> > >> The soprano trb. was a rarity in the 17th c (mostly doubled choral > >> sopranos). The alto trombone would typically be used for parts written > >> in alto or tenor clef, the tenor for those in tenor or bass, and the > >> bass for those in bass or subbass. > >> > >> The upshot: use alto, tenor, or bass clef depending on which best fits > >> the range of the part. No point in inflicting the subbass clef on a > >> modern trombonist... > >> > >> -- > >> Andrew Stiller > >> Kallisti Music Press > > > > > > Andrew is exactly right, and the use of alto, tenor and bass clefs for > > alto, tenor and bass trombones lasted through the end of the 19th > > century in orchestral music. A more pertinent question, however, might > > be what clefs to use for modern players. Granted, well-prepared > > symphony trombonists will be able to read anything you put in front of > > them, just as horn and trumpet players will, but Concert Band, Military > > Band, Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble players do NOT, generally > > speaking, read the C clefs. And students will typically not read tenor > > clef, either, unless they are studying with a teacher who makes sure > > they do. So it's important to identify the level of skill the players > > you are writing for will have. > > > > John > > > > > > -- > David H. Bailey > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > _______________________________________________ > Finale mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
