For instruments that are pitched so that they are most comfortable (viola and such), C-clefs are still useful, but they are uncommon, and becoming increasingly so with the vast majority of the music field getting more and more simplified.
Ouch, this sounds like exactly what the world is complaining about... globalization based on the american standard!!!!
After that inflamatory statement, I am an american who has passed the majority of his working career in Europe. In france you will find ALL musicians have learned ALL the clefs and are proficient in sightreading. Where the clefs really come in handy is for quick transposition. Eg. Name a horn player who can't read all clefs and transpose on sight from one tonality to another.
The clefs are an indispensible tool of the trade. Our problem is our colleagues who do the dishonor of NOT teaching the tools needed to the future musicians.
Perhaps there are some out there who will say that clefs are passe, but in that train of thought, so is the orchestra and the instruments whose origins are more than a couple of years.
It is like Louis XIV furniture. Perhaps it is a bit demode for contemporary standards, but it sure can be beautiful.
Gregory _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
