Forum: music.stackexchange.com
Tags: <piano><sheet-music><clefs>
Title: Can the treble clef be used instead of the bass clef in piano music?
Question: I have been learning the piano for a few months now and I am having trouble learning the bass clef. I have played other instruments that use the treble clef so I know it well. Can the bass clef be transformed to the treble clef in piano music? It seems like it would be much easier to read. Is there a compelling reason not to do this? Thanks.

Answers:
sents: text: Can the bass clef be transformed to the treble clef in piano music?
text: Yes
text: but please don't.
text: It seems like it would be much easier to read.
text: No.
text: You will be making Middle C be a line in one staff and a space in the other.
text: Bass cleff continues directly from treble with middle C being the one ledger line between them.
text: Is there a compelling reason not to do this?
text: Pretty much all piano music uses bass cleff.
text: Intentionally ensuring that you can't actually read any music from the instrument you are trying to learn seems like a bad idea.
answer_details: author: music.stackexchange.com/users/63416/Legorhin
score: 12
sents: text: It is common for piano staff to change clefs.
text: There can be passages with both hands playing G clef or passages with both hands playing F clef.
text: You really need to read both clefs, and getting familiar with C clef is a good idea too.
text: Can the bass clef be transformed to the treble clef in piano music?
text: How can you do this with printed music without re-writing it?
text: But it makes no sense to put the effort into doing that instead of learning the different clefs.
text: Is there a compelling reason not to do this?
text: Yes, readability.
text: The reason different clefs exist is so notes can fit conveniently onto a 5 line staff.
text: Below shows what happens if you take notes that fit F clef and then put on a G clef... ...
text: you get a nightmare of ledger lines.
text: Or, if you transpose up two octaves to get the notes reasonably well centered on G clef and then put an octave line under it, you get something that is kind of misleading appearing to be a scale starting on A4 rather than A2 .
text: Try to read the interval changes rather than line and space letters.
text: So this... ...should be read like
text: "ascend two thirds, no accidentals" rather than "F A C."
text: Of course you must be aware of the letters, but it's more like the clef gives you an orientation (the center of the G clef
text: tells you where G4 is then you know the space below it is an F .
text: From that orientation you then read relative changes.
answer_details: author: music.stackexchange.com/users/23919/Michael Curtis
score: 9
sents: text: Since generally speaking the bass clef is played with l.h. and treble with r.h., and the hands are different, it makes sense that music for piano is written using both clefs.
text: I imagine nearly all piano players would understand and appreciate that.
text: However, if you wanted to transcribe the bass clef notes so they sat in a treble clef
text: , you could do that.
text: A lot of work, and they'd have to be played at least an octave lower than written - no big deal there - and in the long run, more work than learning the notes in that pesky bass clef.
text: But you're probably only cofused with note names.
text: Actually, they're just two out from those in the treble clef:
text: the B that's on the middle line, treble, moves to the line below on bass, and retains its name.
text: Not the same B, obviously!
text: But B nevertheless.
text: Another way to look at it is that the bass clef continues down from where the treble leaves off - leaving a big space for middle C (on its own leger line), whether middle cC is part of the treble or bass clef.
text: So, yes, it's quite possible, but you'd be doing it for every piece for the rest of your life.
text: Is that really worth it?
answer_details: author: music.stackexchange.com/users/2808/Tim
score: 7
sents: text: If you really want to learn to read bass clef, do the opposite of what you are suggesting.
text: Rewrite the treble clef parts in the bass clef, and learn by total immersion.
text: Any music notation software can do this easily.
text: But spending time playing only the left hand parts of pieces will probably work just as well.
text: Choose pieces where the left hand has plenty of notes to read, not just a few simple chords - for example
text: Bach's two-part inventions.
answer_details: author: music.stackexchange.com/users/64478/guest
score: 7
sents: text: Actually the bass clef seamlessly fits below the violin clef, which means, you will recognize a cross-system scale easily.
text: If you are prepared to write all your scores yourself, this may be an option, but fairly few will be able to play from that.
text: The bass clef is not that difficult, and it is worth the effort to learn it.
answer_details: author: music.stackexchange.com/users/2600/guidot
score: 6
sents: text: If you had to, you could use an octave or double octave clef, like
text: the second one displayed here: The '15' indicates that symbol is to be read as 2 octaves away (a single octave is represented by an '8'); the direction of which is identified by the position of the number.
text: The second symbol here with the 15 below the treble clef would be analogous to a bass clef with the notes 2 positions higher.
text: a 'Middle C' on this clef would play as C2, or the C two ledger-lines below the bass stave.
answer_details: author: music.stackexchange.com/users/64534/BM-
score: 1

Summary of the answers:
The bass clef is not  that  difficult, and it is worth the effort to learn it. You really need to read both clefs, and getting familiar with C clef is a good idea too.  Actually the bass clef seamlessly fits below the violin clef, which means, you will recognize a cross-system scale easily.  Moreover, it is common for piano staff to change clefs. There can be passages with both hands playing G clef or passages with both hands playing F clef.
It is usual for piano staff to change clefs.