bass clef
1
5.6
- noun
- /bæs klɛf/
- Specialized
:
clave de fa
- Clarinetists must learn to read from the viola part and actually read it as the bass clef up an octave, adding two sharps (this works best with clarinetists who also play the piano).
Examples
-
Boys especially need help and encouragement at this time, and a chance to become acquainted with their new voices, and to read music in the bass clef.
Academic text (2008) -
We need to proactively include bass clef instruction during the upper elementary years.
Academic text (2007) -
It plays mainly in the bass clef.
Academic text (1995) -
I've put it in the key, what's called the bass Clef here, and it's in a major key.
-
In some cases, a boy might drop to the low bass, stay there for six months, then begin to add tones in the upper bass clef again.
Academic text (2008) -
The tenor basses and basses read only in the bass clef.
Academic text (1995) -
In all cases, adolescent boys confront the challenge of their changing voices simultaneously with the presentation of choral music notated in the bass clef.
Academic text (2007) -
Without advance preparation, a young adolescent boy may assume that all pitches notated at the top of the staff are at the upper reaches of his vocal range, which is not true for bass clef.
Academic text (2007) -
The basses in the choir read their music in the bass clef for the lower vocal parts.
-
For lower-pitched instruments like the cello, music is often written in the bass clef.
Synonyms
A symbol on the staff that marks the F below middle C for low voices and instruments
How Low
- Specialized
1
5.6
- Specialized
- Specialized
- Specialized
1
6.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the clef used for lower-pitched instruments/voices' is directly and compositionally derived from 'bass' (low pitch) modifying 'clef' (symbol indicating pitch on the staff). This simple modifier + noun pattern is cross-linguistically common and therefore a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Bass clef gets its name from bass, which means 'low' sound, and clef, a sign that shows note names on the music staff. The clef symbol marks the note 'F', so it became the standard sign for low voices and instruments and today bass clef tells musicians to read lower notes.