Clefts and Notes

• 1
  Treble cleft.musical notes a treble image by Alexandr Shebanov from Fotolia.com
  
  Take a sheet of manuscript paper and write F-A-C-E in the spaces between the lines of one staff (or group of five lines on manuscript paper), from bottom to top. These are the names of the notes in treble cleft. Leave about a half inch of space and to the right of this write on the lines write E-G-B-D-F, from bottom to top. These are the names of the lined notes on the treble cleft. Note that treble cleft is used for many instruments like the violin, soprano voice, and the right hand of the piano. An effective mnemonic device to remember the lined notes is "Every Good Boy Does Fine."
  
  
• 2). Write the alto cleft symbol, which consists of a double bar and a swiggle on the right of it, at the start of a staff. Write the letters G-B-D-F in the spaces of the staff, from bottom to top. A mnemonic device similar to the one use for treble cleft--"Good Boy Does Fine"--may be used to remember the name of the notes in the spaces. Write the letters F-A-C-E-G, from bottom to top, for the lines notes on the alto cleft. The names of these notes can be easily remembered, since they spell the word "face" with a "g" at the end. Note that the alto cleft is used most consistently with viola music. Some music for the bassoon, trombone, and English horn are written in alto cleft as well.
  
  
• 3). Write the bass cleft sign, which is roughly a rounded seven with a colon to the right of it, at the start of a staff. Note that the upper curve of the bass cleft should touch the top line of the staff, which is note A. Then write the letters A-C-E-G in the spaces, from bottom to top. A mnemonic device to help remember these notes is "All Cows Eat Grass." For the lined notes write the letters G-B-D-F-A, from bottom to top. A mnemonic device for these notes is "Good Boys Do Fine Always," a variation on the devices used for the alto and treble clefts. The left hand of the piano is written in this cleft, as is music for the cello, tuba, and bass.
  
  
• 4). Write out the notes according to their length. Music notation uses divisions of four. A whole note has four beats, typically. A whole notes look like a small "o." The half note is held for half the time of a whole note, or two beats. It looks like a whole note with a stem, or stick, attached to it.
  
  The quarter note is held for half the time of a half note, or one beat. It typically looks like a half note with the "o" filled in.
  
  An eighth note, is half the beat of a quarter note. It is looks like a quarter note that has a shortened stem with a flag on top.
  
  The 16th, 32nd, and 64th notes are one-fourth, one-eighth and one-sixteen the length of a quarter note, respectively. They are symbolized by a quarter note with a shortened stem, with two flags for the 16th note, three flags for the 32nd note, and four flags for the 64th note.
  
  
• 5). Reinforce what you learn by playing the notes on the piano. This can be done for the treble and bass cleft. For the alto cleft you may have to simply practice writing the notes on manuscript paper to recognize them, unless you know how to play the viola.