The choice has been made - right or wrong, bad or good, it's (8ba) treble clef for tenors when on a separate stave, bass clef when sharing the staff with basses, even in the same work. Tenors learn to bounce back and forth. pianists adjust also.
I do recall a small publishing company (name forgotten) in the 1980's that put out some SATB church anthems printed with Treb,Treb,Bs,Bs clefs, and it WAS particularly easy to play those on piano (these particular anthems had conservative ranges, so the leger lines were not excessive) but those publications would be considered an aberration in any case. I think the main reason I was sympathizing with the original poster is that I remember reading some late letters of Arnold Schoenberg written during the time he was composing his final (and unfinished) opera "Moses und Aron." He complained about the (new) 8ba treble clef, said that he found it distracting to try to write in it and said he would have to write the tenor part initially in the traditional tenor clef and change it later. (I am paraphrasing after reading this in 1975, but I think I have it for the most part). Raymond Horton Bass Trombonist, Louisville Orchestra Minister of Music, Edwardsville (IN) UMC Composer, Arranger VISIT US AT rayhortonmusic.com On Wed, Sep 14, 2011 at 11:22 PM, Bruce Kau <[email protected]> wrote: > I would agree. As a tenor, the treble cleff has less ledger lines, and > is generally easier to sight read, although I don't really think that it > makes a huge difference for me: I tend to sight sing by intervals, not > by absolute pitch. Where the note "falls in your throat" sometimes > throws me off, but generally it doesn't matter. Even the traditional C > clef doesn't really bother me, once I get my bearings. > > I also do a fair amount of notating for choirs, and find I get less > complaints when using the 8vb treble clef. Because of publishing house > requirements, I notice that they may want you to use as few staves as > possible, to save paper. Personally, as a tenor I find this maddening, > because I have to keep switching clefs. I'd rather just stick to one > clef, since a lot of what I do is performing with very few rehearsals. > > From a composition point of view, I prefer to notate depending on the > music. Music that is polyphonic - I prefer to notate all four parts > (with tenor on the 8vb treble), but otherwise prefer two clefs because > it's easier to proof the harmonies. But again, it generally doesn't > matter that much to me. I think as a composer, you need to consider how > your piece will be performed, and make it easier for the performer to > understand, whether or not they are reading for sight-singing or not. > The less time spent explaining everything, the better for the director. > > And certainly, reading multiple clefs should not be a problem. Our > director (of an amateur choir) frequently has us reading parts meant for > other singers (e.g., alto reading the bass and singing it an octave > higher), and it has been beneficial, in my opinion. > > Just my 2 cents. > > On 9/14/2011 4:13 PM, Scott wrote: > > Being a tenor, and singing in a wide variety groups, etc., over the > years, > > this is what I've found with modern printing / editing practices. When a > > four part piece is written on four separate staves (S-A-T-B), the "treble > 8" > > clef is used for the tenor. If the piece is written on two staves > (SA-TB), or > > sometimes even three (S-A-TB), the tenor shares the bass clef with the > > basses and baritones. I've have seen a few variations from this, but > they > > are too rare to even be considered. > > > > As for my personal tastes, having performed pieces ranging from the > > medieval to the modern, my first choice would of course be the tenor > clef. > > But, when forced to make a choice between the bass clef and the "treble > 8" > > clef, I very much prefer reading the treble clef. I think most tenors > would > > agree with me. > > > > Scott Holland > > > > > > Tenor - Westminster Choir College '94/'98 > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Finale mailing list > > [email protected] > > http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale > > > _______________________________________________ > Finale mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale > _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
