Comments on: Just how do you draw a Treble Clef?

By: Dave Morgan

Dave Morgan — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:29:13 +0000

Get a good book on engraving and look at the Breikroft or LeDuc editions of pieces. Using a caligraphy pen with real ink begin by circling the second line. The pen will naturally draw the ink thicked in the fat part of each curve. Sweep in one continuous motion-around-up-down, the blob at the end of the line is the release.

Dave in NYC (an old school pen and ink copyist for years)

By: Mary

Mary — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:06:03 +0000

Use a large sized cut out clef.
Trace with the finger. Start in the middle on the “G” line saying….

“Start in the middle,
Wiggly round…
Up to the top…
Down to the ground..
and around…”

Feel it first!

By: Emma

Emma — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:31:40 +0000

For my little ones I do this: Concemtrate on 5 words: DOT, CURL, SWISH, ZOOM, CURL.

1. start with a ‘blob’ or ‘dot’ on the g line.
2. curl to the right all the way round your dot.
3.’swish’ up to the top,
4.’zooom’ down the middle and
5. curl at the bottom.

They think it’s great fun especially if you make ‘swish’ & ‘zoom’ sounds as you draw it. Kids learn great if you put actions to the sounds so get away from the piano or put your instrument down to teach the order of the words ‘zooming’ round the room!
It may seem a bit extreme, but the little ones love it.

By: Linda

Linda — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:22:28 +0000

I always make a ‘bullseye’ around the G line, moving clockwise, and then back up in a slight curve, then straight down at a very slight angle, with a hook to the left, last. Works for me.

By: Sherryl

Sherryl — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 21:06:19 +0000

I tell my students there are 4 easy steps. !. Draw a line downward with a monkey tail. 2. D at the top. Where the D stopped make a C at the side. 4. Where the C left off, draw a curly-Q up and around to the left.

By: Carol

Carol — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:51:34 +0000

I draw if from the bottom up in one continuous motion. I agree with Debbie’s explanation – that the ‘snail’ centers around the sol (G) line, just like the big dot on the “f” bass clef is on the fa line with the two little dots on either side of it!

By: Robbie

Robbie — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 04:10:21 +0000

What a great question! Actually, I learned something about this in my first College Theory class. The G-Clef is more or less a fancy-looking G. It started as a G, and the top part (which looks like an S) was probably added to reference Sol (in fixed Do) for countries that use Solfage systems instead of letter systems. In the classical period, the design was probably finalized, although everyone draws them differently. My opinion: as long as the circle of the clef circles what G is supposed to be, it’s okay!

By: Jennifer Henry

Jennifer Henry — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:24:02 +0000

It’s great to hear all of these ideas about how to teach the drawing of the illusive G clef. Of course, we all want our students to be able to identify one and know what it means; I’ll be that drawing it, using any technique, helps students remember. When I teach treble clef, I use my brand of teaching it (using a straight line down, making a half-cirlce here, a letter c there…., kind of like what Chris suggests), and then have students rotate their paper in any fashion they desire to camouflage the clef by turning it into any type of drawing they wish (Gary the Snail is pretty fun!). It’s serious and important, but it’s gotta live, too! A G-clef by any other design is still a G-clef?

By: Chris Wolf

Chris Wolf — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:52:11 +0000

For the very young, I teach it with 3 letters, P, G and J. Capital P first, then a G where the hump of the P met the pole, and the tail of the P needs a little J hook at the bottom. It isn’t stylized as the books but we all know what it is supposed to resemble as we write. hope it helps!

By: Piano Lessons by QM

Piano Lessons by QM — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 04:45:06 +0000

Great post. Will have to share this with my students!