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Many people read music, but it's very difficult to record it if you don't know how to draw a treble clef (also known as the G-clef). This symbol is needed for most musical voices (soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, and tenor), most woodwind instruments, stringed instruments (violin, guitar) and high brass instruments such as the trumpet. It also typically corresponds to the notes played with the right hand on the piano. This article will show you how to draw it correctly.
Steps
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Get a piece of music paper. Music paper has five lines and four spaces in between. If you don't have any music paper, just draw five evenly spaced horizontal lines with a ruler. Make sure to draw the lines neat if you don't have music paper,so it comes out right -
Draw a vertical line. Make sure it's intersecting all of the lines from the music paper. It should be a little longer, so that it hangs off both ends.Advertisement -
Make the line a "P". Draw a semi-circle at the top of the vertical line that ends at the second horizontal line down. Now it should look like a long and skinny "P".
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Continue across the vertical line and make another semi-circle. This new line should curve around the other side of the vertical line and intersect it again at the last horizontal line.
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Continue to make the previous semi-circle into a spiral. You're essentially making a semi-circle that's slightly smaller than the previous one. Make it so that the top goes a little over the third horizontal line.
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Finish the spiral. The spiral should end on the second (from the bottom) horizontal line, which indicates the note "G".
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Draw a tail at the end. Go to the end of the first line you drew, and draw a little line going off of it as shown.
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Finished.
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Community Q&A
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QuestionWhat is the difference between a treble clef and a bass clef?Community AnswerBasically, in a bass clef, notes are two whole steps down from a treble clef.
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QuestionHow do I make a song out of treble clef staff notes?Community AnswerWrite notes on the lines and spaces that follow the time signature. Practice on some kind of instrument to find the melody you want.
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QuestionWhy is the treble clef at the beginning?Community AnswerThe treble clef indicates how the piece of music should be read, so it must be introduced at the beginning of the piece.
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Tips
- Also, it may be noticed that treble clefs written in music are a bit more elegant. these can be written in one smooth motion starting on line G. First, do the swirl, then rise up to draw the top part of the clef. Then do a loop down, which strikes through the swirl you made earlier and finish by doing the .Thanks
- Usually, the tail curves up smoothly, rather than arching up.Thanks
- Notice that if you skip steps 3 and 7, you are essentially left with the numeral 6 with a line through it. Use this for shorthand notation when desired.Thanks
Tips from our Readers
The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.
- When you are composing, it really doesn’t matter what it looks like as long as it is recognizable as a treble clef.
- When making a treble clef, make the semi-circle at the top smaller than the one at the bottom.
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Warnings
- Please take the form of the treble clef as a suggestion, as you should draw it according to customs in music publishing.Thanks
- You may omit the tail if you want. The only notable characteristics that are absolutely necessary to indicate it is a G clef are the top loop going around the G space, and the bottom, big loop circling around and coming to a stop on the G line. Sometimes, the line on the big loop does not even stop on the G line. This is fine, as long as it does not look like the big loop is going around any other line (the top just hits the B line and the bottom hits the E line).Thanks
- You may find that the treble clef is often written more slanted than what is shown in the drawing, as the drawing is completely upright; so perhaps you may like to angle the top of the original "vertical line" a little toward the right.Thanks
- When drawing the treble clef, make sure it is written in pencil! Not doing so when writing a music test results in lower grades.Thanks
- Just to clarify, the symbol is called a G clef. It becomes a treble clef when it is placed on the 2nd line, making that line G. All clefs can have several possible locations on the staff lines.Thanks
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About This Article
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Reader Success Stories
- "A friend asked me to make a sterling silver bracelet with one of these. The "drawing help" will help me design that bracelet for the music teacher that has instructed her four kids for the last 15 years as they move on in life." ..." more
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"A friend asked me to make a sterling silver bracelet with one of these. The "drawing help" will help me design that bracelet for the music teacher that has instructed her four kids for the last 15 years as they move on in life."
..."
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"The easy animation which showed each individual section repeatedly, then adding another small step to the previous one until you finally are comfortable enough to draw the complete cleft with very little hesitation."
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"It's very good for beginners."
