I'm not a choirmaster, but an opera and orchestra conductor. There's a simple and rational explanation for the tenors being assigned to treble clef (with or without the 8 attached at the bottom).
The question: WHY is this treble "8" clef used in printed music today when it used to be printed in bass clef most of the time. There are two answers: 1) it's used in printed music today because it's been done that way since the late 19th century, particularly in English choral music (where much of American choral tradition derives) and 2) it was never "printed in bass clef most of the time" in any period or choral tradition. The shorthand of combining tenor and bass on the same staff was simply a matter of convenience. Clefs were originally chosen to eliminate ledger lines and keep the music within the confines of the staff as much as possible. Historically there were three clefs: C clefs, G clefs and F clefs. By its placement on the staff, each identifies that note for which it is named. Originally, all three were movable. Today, only the C clefs are mobile. Middle C in the soprano clef is on the second staff line from the bottom; today it is only found in older choral editions. Alto clef, used for violas and some older trombone writing, places middle C on the middle line. Tenor clef, used in cello, trombone and bassoon literature, places it on the fourth line. Until roughly the latter 19th century, choral music was notated using three C clefs and one F clef: soprano, alto, tenor and bass clef. (Incidentally, the movable clefs are useful in learning to read transposing instrumental parts at sight. Use soprano clef for instruments in A, tenor clef for instruments in B flat, alto clef for instruments in D, bass clef for treble clef instruments in E or E flat, and baritone clef for F transpositions. You're on your own for Horn in G). The tenor voice is analogous to the soprano voice in its range, and their common written literature is called "high voice" and used treble clef. Tenor singers study voice formally and use the same Italian vocal studies (Concone, Vaccai, Bordogni, etc.). Opera scores from the late baroque onward inevitably notate tenor roles in treble clef. The treble clef, or G clef, was originally called the Violin clef, because it was extensively used for instrumental music. During the early baroque, it began to be used often for keyboard music also, and the tradition stuck. Because much of the soprano voice's material is found in the top staff of the accompaniment, it became common for the soprano part to use the treble clef instead of the soprano clef. Optimization (shrinking) of printed score pages meant that soprano and alto parts were often notated on the same staff; likewise, tenor and bass were combined in the bass clef. I'm not aware of any time or place that notated the tenor part in bass clef when using a separate staff. You're not going to change the tradition of notating tenor in the treble clef, and frankly I don't think it would be a good idea. High tenor parts would be a nightmare of ledger lines. My suggestion is to get comfortable with the notation by learning to read open score more easily. There are several good books teaching Score Reading at the Piano, the first of which that comes to mind is Morris & Ferguson. They drill you in reading all the clefs, starting on two lines and leading up to a full score. When you can sightread four-part Bach chorales written in soprano, alto, tenor and bass clefs, you feel close to God. Steve Larsen -----Original Message----- From: Patrick Sheehan [mailto:patricksheehanmu...@gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2011 9:40 AM To: finale@shsu.edu Subject: [Finale] Clefs for Tenors in Choir To All Choirmasters out there: Part of my work for the past 10+ years has been accompanying for high school choirs, where at times we will perform a mix classic and new serious literature as well as some of the popular alternative choices that are in the catalogs today. What bothers me in reading, is that now 75% of the time in the printed music of today, the tenor staff (part) is in treble clef (with or without the 8 below the clef). I personally think that that clef is absolutely unpractical, and should never be used. When I play part summaries in rehearsal (no accompaniment, just al the parts) in rehearsal, it bugs the absolute hell out of me that the tenor part is in treble "8" clef, because I expect to see two staves in treble (soprano, alto) and two in bass (tenor and bass). My question is: WHY is this treble "8" clef used in printed music today when it used to be printed in bass clef most of the time. And, does this bother anyone else, and do you agree that it should be abolished? Patrick J. M. Sheehan Music Director, Instructor: Woodlawn Arts Academy P. S. Music <mailto:patricksheehanmu...@gmail.com> patricksheehanmu...@gmail.com _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
