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Views from the Choir Loft

Lesson 3: Do Clef and Fa Clef

You are probably wondering, “How can one know where the half steps and whole steps occur?” The answer is that the “clef” tells you. Clef means “key,” and it truly is the key to discovering the melody. There are two kinds of clefs: a “Do Clef” and a “Fa Clef.” The Do clef tells you where Do is. The Fa Clef tells you where Fa is.

As you can probably guess, the placement of the clef makes a tremendous difference to the way the piece sounds. In the following video demonstration, notice how different a little tune can sound when the clef is moved:

The following is another example which illustrates how the clef really is the key to how Gregorian chant sounds. When the clef is changed, see if you can hear how different the piece sounds. It is all because changing the clef changes the location of the half steps and whole steps:

Finding the clef always works, no matter what ancient MS one is studying. However, sometimes the clefs are not easy to spot. Can you find the clef in this MS? To help, I’ve also included the Vaticana version for reference:

Sometimes the Vaticana pieces move the clef “mid-piece” (i.e. in the middle of the song) to make sure all the notes can fit on the staff. This was also done in the Mediæval MSS, for example at “adesse regum”:

Notice that the custos made this transition seamless. The custos (“guide” or “sentinel”) appears at the end of every line of chant. It is not a note, but a visual cue for the first pitch on the next line:

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Quick Thoughts

    Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
    Once, after Mass, my pastor said he really loved the hymn we did. I said: “Father, that's Holy God, We Praise Thy Name—you never heard it before?” He replied: “But the way you did it was terrific. For once, it didn't sound like a funeral dirge!” Last Sunday, our volunteer choir sang that hymn. I think the tempo was just about right … but what do you think?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Don’t You Agree About These?
    If you want to make Jeff Ostrowski really happy, send him an email with effusive praise about the individual voice recordings for hymn #296. [Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass] They came out dazzlingly sensational, don't you agree?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Choral Vowels? Yes? No?
    Here's a live recording of one of the choral “warm-up” exercises my choir enjoys. It was taken during our rehearsal on 27 January 2023. It’s good to make sure each chord is perfectly in tune and balanced before moving to the next one. That only happens when each singer has the correct vowel. If you like, you can freely download that vocal exercise.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“It is difficult to imagine a more unjust situation than abortion, and it is very difficult to speak of obsession in a matter such as this, where we are dealing with a fundamental imperative of every good conscience—the defense of the right to life of an innocent and defenseless human being.”

— Pope St. John Paul II

Recent Posts

  • Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
  • PDF Download • Belgian Book of Gregorian Accompaniments (Official Edition)
  • Don’t You Agree About These?
  • Choral Vowels? Yes? No?
  • Crucial Tip For Choir Directors

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