6.4.1 Clef

The clef indicates which lines of the staff correspond to which pitches. The clef is set with the \clef command

     
     { c''2 \clef alto g'2 }

Supported clefs include

Clef	Position
treble, violin, G, G2	G clef on 2nd line
alto, C	C clef on 3rd line
tenor	C clef on 4th line.
bass, F	F clef on 4th line
french	G clef on 1st line, so-called French violin clef
soprano	C clef on 1st line
mezzosoprano	C clef on 2nd line
baritone	C clef on 5th line
varbaritone	F clef on 3rd line
subbass	F clef on 5th line
percussion	percussion clef
tab	tablature clef

By adding _8 or ^8 to the clef name, the clef is transposed one octave down or up, respectively, and _15 and ^15 transposes by two octaves. The argument clefname must be enclosed in quotes when it contains underscores or digits. For example,

     
     \clef "G_8" c4

Commonly tweaked properties

The command \clef "treble_8" is equivalent to setting clefGlyph, clefPosition (which controls the Y position of the clef), middleCPosition and clefOctavation. A clef is printed when any of these properties are changed. The following example shows possibilities when setting properties manually.

     
     {
       \set Staff.clefGlyph = #"clefs.F"
       \set Staff.clefPosition = #2
       c'4
       \set Staff.clefGlyph = #"clefs.G"
       c'4
       \set Staff.clefGlyph = #"clefs.C"
       c'4
       \set Staff.clefOctavation = #7
       c'4
       \set Staff.clefOctavation = #0
       \set Staff.clefPosition = #0
       c'4
       \clef "bass"
       c'4
       \set Staff.middleCPosition = #4
       c'4
     }

See also

Manual: Grace notes.

Program reference: Clef.

Other languages: French.