How to draw a treble clef?

Many parents in the home education of their children practice developing music classes. Children learn music in different ways: they listen to it, they perform it – they play or sing, and finally, they try to learn how to record music. And, of course, at the beginning of teaching a child the basics of musical notation, things cannot do without learning the treble clef.

Today we will talk about how to draw a treble clef. It would seem that this is such a trifle, and why is it necessary to devote a separate article to this issue? Many adults will write such a sign without difficulty, but at the same time, some of them cannot explain at all how they do it. And children just need such explanations. And so we will now talk in detail about how you still need to write a treble clef, and you, dear parents of future geniuses, will then be able to convey these explanations to your child in an accessible form.

The secret of treble clef

It’s amazing how few people know about it. It is believed that the treble clef is a purely musical sign, but in fact the treble clef in its original historical form is a letter. Yes, this is the letter G of the Latin alphabet, which has changed beyond recognition over many centuries. However, an observant person with the naked eye may well detect the outlines of this letter in this musical-graphic symbol.

And what about the letter G? you say. The fact is that in music there is a system of literal designation of sounds. So, according to this system, the letter G of the Latin alphabet corresponds to the sound SALT! And the second name of the treble clef is the SALT KEY. So it is called because the treble clef indicates the position of the note SALT of the first octave on the stave (looking ahead, let’s say that this is the second line).

How to draw a treble clef?

The treble clef is located on a special musical line – a stave. The musical staff consists of five horizontal lines, which are recalculated from the bottom up, like the floors of any building. The treble clef is tied to the second line, on which, as already mentioned, the note G should be placed. You must either start drawing the treble clef from a point on the second line, or, conversely, finish writing it on this line. Thus, there are two whole ways to depict a treble clef on paper in different ways. You can apply any of them. Let’s take a closer look.

Method 1 – step by step

1. In the first way, we start drawing the treble clef from the second ruler – we put a dot on it or slightly cross it out with a stroke pointing upwards.
2. From the first point, draw a circle between the third and first rulers. It is important that your lines do not go beyond the boundaries of the specified rulers, otherwise the treble clef will turn out to be ugly. You should also avoid the other extreme – drawing a circle that is too small.
3. We do not close the drawn circle, but continue like a spiral further, but on the second turn we take the line up and slightly to the left. In this way, you need to rise a little above the fifth line.
4. Above the fifth line, a turn is made to the right. When moving in the opposite direction, that is, down, you should get a loop when crossing the lines. Such loops in writing are common, for example, when we write a small letter B in a notebook.
5. Then we go down in a straight or oblique line, as if piercing our treble clef in the middle. When we have already “pierced” the finished key and the line has gone down just below the first line, then you can wrap it up – it turns out a hook. You don’t need to wrap it tightly – just one bend in the shape of a small semicircle is enough (as when writing capital letters F, A, etc.).

IMPORTANT! You need to show the child several times, and each time the detail of the explanation should decrease. First, everything is told, then only the key points are noted (CIRCLE, LOOP, HOOK). The last few impressions should be smooth, that is, all the individual elements should be connected in a single line, the pencil should slide over the paper without breaking away from it and without stopping.

MOMENT 1. If it is difficult for a child to repeat the graphic combination immediately on paper, then you can work with him in the following ways. First, you can draw giant treble clefs in the air. The child can repeat the movements that adults will show him. At first, you can even take his hand and smoothly draw the whole combination several times, when the baby remembers the movement, let him work on his own.

MOMENT 2. Secondly, you can use another good way – drawing large treble clefs with chalk on the board. An adult can write a treble clef and ask the child to circle the outline of the sign several times, you can use multi-colored crayons. The thickened treble clef can then be erased from the board, and the child can be given the task of drawing everything on their own.

Method 2 – the other way around

The second way of drawing is easier than the first, but the first is considered traditional, and this one is exotic. But usually, when drawing from a hook, the treble clef turns out to be more rounded, beautiful.

1. We start drawing the treble clef from the bottom, from the hook. We rise in a straight or slightly inclined line upwards, above the fifth line.
2. Above the fifth line, we begin to draw an ordinary figure eight (number eight), but we do not finish this business.
3. Our figure eight does not close, does not return to its original point, but in the right place it simply wraps around to the second line. Remember yes, that circle between the first and third ruler?

Thus, now we are finishing the image of the treble clef on the second line. Once again, we emphasize the exceptional importance of binding the key to the second line. At this place of the stave, the note SALT is written, which is a kind of reference point for all other notes of the treble clef.

Drawing treble clefs is usually very exciting for children. For greater strength and for better quality, the writing of this musical sign can be practiced several times – on the board, in an album, in a music book, as well as in musical copybooks.

We offer you pages of G. Kalinina’s musical recipes for homework, which are just dedicated to the treble and bass clefs. A student who has worked through this material, as a rule, never again experiences any difficulties when he needs to put the key at the beginning of the staff.

Download a selection of tasks – DOWNLOAD

Of course, in music, in addition to the treble clef, others are used – bass, alto and tenor clef. But they are introduced into practice a little later, so there are no problems with writing them.

Dear friends, if you still have questions for which you have been looking for answers for a long time, ask them in the comments to this material. We will also be happy to hear from you suggestions on the topics of our future releases.

And now, we offer tired adults and energetic children to take a musical break in their lives. Today we have musical humor. Listen to A. Barto’s poem “Chatterbox” familiar from childhood with music by composer S. Prokofiev. We hope that you will get a lot of positive emotions from viewing this issue.