What is the DO key
Since music can be considered a language in itselfAs a communication system, it has its own signs and symbols that are a formal part of it and are necessary to be able to read and interpret musical works correctly. That is why it is important that we learn to recognize them, know how they are drawn and understand what they are for in musical writing. In this lesson from a TEACHER you will learn more about the types of musical keys. Specifically about what is the C clef and how to draw it on the staff.
The musical keysserve to indicate the read the notes, thanks to its height and thus being able to read them on the staff. There are other musical keys and they are used depending on the instrument. The other musical clefs currently used are the treble clef and the bass clef, which also have their own symbols to identify them.
Based on the key name, this is how we get the main reference note. For example, in this case, the key of C tells us where the musical note “C” is located on the staff and thus we recognize the rest of the notes.
exist 4 types of C clef, depending on the line number on the staff on which the clef is placed:
- C key in first
- Key of C in second
- Key of C in third
- Key of C in fourth
The most used are the last two: the key of C in third and the key of C in fourth.
Key of C in third
It is also called the alto clef, since it corresponds to said musical register (the tessitura of an instrument, which is in short the note pitch it can produce from the lowest to the lowest acute). Some instruments that use the clef of C alto are: the viola, the alto trombone, and sometimes the oboe, and the recorder. It can also be found in early music scores, for instruments such as the viola da gamba or vocal music.
Key of C in fourth
Due again to tessitura, it is called a tenor clef. Some instruments that use the tenor key occasionally are the bassoon, cello, tenor trombone, euphonium, and it is also found in early vocal music.
The symbol used to draw the key of C is represented by two letters "C" in a stylized version, since in alphabetical musical notation, this letter represents the note C. This symbol is placed at the beginning of the staff like all clefs, to know how to read the score of a work musical. In relation to the clef you can know one of the notes and thus recognize the rest on the staff.
Remember that to know the number of lines and spaces in the musical staff you must count from bottom to top.
Since in music there is a wide range of sounds the use of a musical key depends on 2 factors in principle:
- The tessitura of the instrument.
- The comfort Reading.
According to the tessitura of the instrument
Since each instrument reaches different notes depending on its pitch (bass, middle and treble), an appropriate musical key should be used according to these capacity notes.
For reading comfort
Even for the same instrument, sometimes the range is so wide that it can be uncomfortable to read in a single musical key. The staff only has 5 lines so when the notes start to get out of them we must use “additional lines” (lines that are drawn outside the staff, above and below). This can be impractical for the musician, so that is when we change the musical key and thus also change the register.
I hope you have learned about the C clef and now have time to practice drawing it. We have included some printable exercises with their solutions so that you can practice the spelling of the treble clef.
