The musical clef indicates the pitch of the music that is written on a staff.
Before entering fully into the definition of the term musical key , we are going to try to establish the etymological origin of the two words that give it shape:
-Clave is a noun that derives from the Latin "clavis", which can be translated as "key".
-Musical, on the other hand, comes from Greek. Specifically, it is the result of the sum of two clearly differentiated elements: "musike", which means "music", and the suffix "-al", which is used to indicate "relative to".
A key can be a sign that is used to make something work or a code that makes it possible to transmit private or secret messages. Musical , for its part, is that linked to music : the combination of sounds with harmony, rhythm and melody.
What is a musical key
The musical clef is used to specify the pitch of music that appears detailed on a staff . It should be noted that pitch is a quality dependent on the frequency of the sound , which allows us to differentiate between a low sound and a high sound.
Through the musical key a certain note is assigned to one of the lines of the staff . This note is taken as a reference for the notes that will appear below. Although the musical key is included at the beginning of the staff, it can be changed during the course of the composition.
Its functions
In the same way, the musical key is also responsible for carrying out other functions such as the following:
-Differentiate the name of the notes with respect to the different spaces and even the lines that shape the staff.
-In addition, it also serves to indicate the musical instrument to which that staff is directed. And many keys are associated with a specific instrument.
-Of course, we must not overlook that they come to associate what the figures of the staff are with the note itself.
The musical key should be located at the beginning of the staff.
The appearance of musical keys is linked to the history of music itself. At first, music was transmitted orally, although later it was decided to write it down to facilitate said transmission. In the evolution of notation systems, musical signs and musical keys emerged. Already in the 11th century, musical keys began to be used at the beginning of notations.
Types of musical clef
Three kinds of musical clefs are currently used: the C clef , the bass clef , and the treble clef . The clef of C is the oldest musical clef. Then the bass clef was created and finally the treble clef. The signs of the three keys derive from the letters used in the original notation: C (do), F (fa) and G (sol).
The C clef is also called the Alto clef. It is used to proceed to record middle sounds and can be of various types, highlighting the C clef in the fourth line or the C clef in the third line.
The bass clef, depending on the position, can be on the fourth line or on the third line.
For its part, the treble clef is also called soprano clef.