Alto clef



 Lynn Atchison Beech
Alto clef

When the C-clef is placed on the third line of the stave, it is called the alto clef. As with all C-clefs, this line indicates the position of middle C.

This clef (sometimes called the viola clef) is currently used for the viola, the viola da gamba, the alto trombone, and the mandala. It is also associated with the countertenor voice and therefore called the counter-tenor (or countertenor) clef, and is used also for the alto voice and for instruments playing a middle part (such as oboes and recorders).[citation needed] A vestige of this survives in Sergei Prokofiev's use of the clef for the English horn, as in his symphonies. It occasionally turns up in keyboard music to the present day (Brahms's Organ chorales, John Cage's Dream for piano).

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