Bass Clef

• The bass clef exists in music for instruments that play in the lower range of the musical spectrum. Sometimes the bass clef is called an F clef since the two dots are on either side of the F line on the bass clef staff. The bass clef primarily appears on music for tuba, trombone, bassoon, bass guitar and other bass instruments.
  
  

Tenor C Clef

• The tenor clef is a type of C clef in which the fourth line of the staff functions as middle C. This clef rarely appears in modern music, except for when it extends the bass clef into a higher register. Performers who play in the tenor clef have to be able to quickly change gears between bass and tenor clef.
  
  

Alto C Clef

• The alto clef is a type of C clef that looks like a backwards bracket and places middle C directly in the middle line of the staff. The viola plays in the alto clef in orchestra music. Like the tenor clef, the performer reading in alto clef must be able to read the correct pitches quickly and accurately. Unlike the tenor clef, the alto clef rarely changes to any other clef. Since alto clef begins in the middle of the staff, it is unnecessary to use another clef to keep all the notes mostly in the staff.
  
  

Moveable C Clef

• In addition to alto and tenor clefs, there are C clefs that do not have specific names. Any staff that uses a reverse bracket to determine the place of middle C functions as a C clef. The moveable C clef can be placed anywhere on the staff to move the position of middle C. These clefs exist in music to make it easier for different pitched instruments to play within the staff without going outside and requiring the use of ledger lines to extend the staff.
  
  

Comparison

• The bass clef and C clef both identify the position of a pitch by the position of the clef. The bass clef identifies where F is on the staff by the two dots. It could theoretically be moved anywhere on the staff and the F line would move with it. The main difference is in the shape of the clef and the pitch that the clef identifies. The C clef looks like a backwards bracket while the bass clef looks like a backwards C with two dots. The C clef identifies where C is on the staff, while the bass clef identifies where F is on the staff.