Alto clef: how to read notes in the C clef

The alto clef is the clef violists read all day. It looks odd at first, a kind of two-sided bracket with a pointed middle. But the idea is simple: the point of the clef marks the line for middle C. In the alto clef that is the middle line. Once you know that one fact, every other note is a matter of counting up or down from it.

What is the alto clef?

The alto clef belongs to the family of C clefs. All C clefs have the same shape, and the center of the symbol (the point where its two curves meet) sits on the line that is middle C. Move the clef to a different line and you get a different clef: on the middle line it is the alto clef, on the fourth line it is the tenor clef. The C clef is the reason the pitch is called C: the sign is a fancy letter C.

What are the lines and spaces of the alto clef?

Start at the middle line, middle C, and count outward. The lines from the bottom are F, A, C, E and G. The spaces from the bottom are G, B, D and F. Notice that the same letters on the bass clef are a different distance from middle C, so do not carry bass clef habits over. Use middle C as your home base and count from it, and you will not mix the clefs up.

How do alto clef notes compare with treble and bass clef?

The alto clef sits halfway between the treble clef and the bass clef. Imagine the grand staff, with middle C in the middle on its ledger line. The alto clef takes five lines centered on that C. Treble clef reads the notes above, and bass clef reads the notes below. This is the reason violas, which sound between violins and cellos, use it: the middle of their range sits right on the middle of the staff, so they need few ledger lines.

Who reads the alto clef?

The viola is the main alto clef instrument. Violists mostly read alto clef and move to treble clef for higher passages. The alto trombone also uses it, and so do some older vocal parts: in early choral scores, the alto voice line was written in this clef, which is where its name comes from. Today modern choir scores print alto parts in treble clef instead.

How can I learn to read alto clef quickly?

Don't convert notes to treble or bass in your head, which is slow and error-prone. Instead learn the staff directly. Begin with the center line, then learn the notes one line or space up and down. A good order is C, then B and D, then A and E, then the rest. Play simple songs written in alto clef and say the names out loud.

1. Find the center of the clef: that line is middle C.
2. Count up one step at a time: the space above is D, the next line is E, then F, then G.
3. Count down one step at a time: the space below is B, the next line is A, then G, then F.
4. Read an easy melody, such as a scale, and say each note out loud.

How does it look on the piano?

Middle C is the same key whatever clef it is written in. If you play piano and want to see how alto clef matches the keys, look at the keyboard figure below. Notes from F below middle C up to G above it make up the alto staff's lines.

Some players find it useful to practice alto clef with a familiar tune. Take a melody you already know, like a folk song, write it out with alto clef, and read it slowly. Because you know how it should sound, your ear tells you when you have read a note wrong, and this builds the link between the symbol and the sound faster than drills do.

If you also read tenor clef, you will see that it is almost the same idea with the clef moved one line up. For the whole map of the staff see the grand staff page.

Alto clef note chart

Check yourself

Related pages

• Tenor clef: how to read it, with a note chart
• Treble clef notes and how to read them
• Bass clef notes and how to read them
• Where is middle C on the piano and staff?
• The grand staff: treble and bass clef together
• The music staff: lines, spaces and clefs