Reading music · Alto clef
Alto clef notes
The alto clef is a C clef: the line through its middle is middle C, and here that's the middle (third) line. It's the clef of the viola, which reads it almost all the time, and the alto trombone. Here's every note on it, labelled: tap any note to hear it and see where it is on the piano.
Tap any note to hear it. The buttons light up the lines, the spaces, and middle C.
How the alto clef works
A clef tells you which line is which note. The treble clef curls round G; the bass clef's dots sit either side of F. The C clef's two curves meet on middle C, the C nearest the middle of the piano. In the alto clef that's the middle (third) line, so the notes count up and down from there.
A viola's range sits right across middle C: in treble clef its low notes would need a forest of ledger lines below, in bass clef its high notes a forest above. Centre the staff on middle C and almost everything fits on the five lines.
The lines: F A C E G
From the bottom line up, the alto clef's lines are F, A, C, E, G. One way to remember them: Fat Alley Cats Eat Garbage.
The spaces: G B D F
The spaces, bottom to top, are G, B, D, F: Green Birds Don't Fly.
Reading it if you know treble or bass clef
If you read treble clef, every alto clef note is one letter higher than it looks, and an octave lower: the bottom line is F3 where treble says E4. From bass clef, it's one letter lower and an octave higher: bass says G2, alto says F3. Most people find it quicker to read from middle C outwards, step by step, than to translate from a clef they already know.
Practise: name that note
Name that note
Start with middle C and the notes either side of it; within a few sessions the rest follow.
Learning to read? Ivory listens to you play and tells you what's off: a note that's missing, a hand that lands late, a rhythm that's off. Then it shows you how it should go.
Questions people ask
What are the notes of the alto clef lines?
From the bottom up: F, A, C, E, G. One way to remember them: Fat Alley Cats Eat Garbage.
What are the notes of the alto clef spaces?
From the bottom up: G, B, D, F. One way to remember them: Green Birds Don't Fly.
Where is middle C in the alto clef?
On the middle (third) line of the staff: the line the clef's two curves point to.
Which instruments use the alto clef?
Mainly the viola, which reads it almost all the time, and the alto trombone.
Why is it called a C clef?
Because it marks where middle C is. The same sign can sit on different lines: on the middle line it's the alto clef, on the fourth line the tenor clef. Wherever it sits, the line through its centre is middle C.
Do pianists need to read the alto clef?
Piano music is written in treble and bass clef, so not to play the piano. You'll meet it if you accompany a violist, read an orchestral score, or play from one at the keyboard.