Tenor clef
Which note sits on which line in the tenor clef: the five lines are D3 · F3 · A3 · C4 · E4, the four spaces E3 · G3 · B3 · D4. With the ledger lines and where middle C falls.
The whole staff
A clef does exactly one thing: it puts one particular note on one particular line. The tenor clef is also called the C clef on the fourth line, because its sign places C4 on the 4th line. Everything else follows by itself: lines and spaces are a ladder without gaps, and every step up is the next letter.
Line by line
| Position | Note |
|---|---|
| 5th line | E4 |
| 4th space | D4 |
| 4th line | C4 |
| 3rd space | B3 |
| 3rd line | A3 |
| 2nd space | G3 |
| 2nd line | F3 |
| 1st space | E3 |
| 1st line | D3 |
How to remember it
The same sign as the alto clef, set one line higher — middle C lies on the second line from the top.
Above and below the staff
Anything higher or lower than the staff gets short ledger lines. They are not an exception but the same ladder, counted on.
Where middle C sits
In the tenor clef middle C sits here: 4th line — in the middle of the staff. That is unusual; in the two common clefs it lies outside.
Who reads it
The high registers of cello, bassoon and trombone. Rather than many ledger lines in the bass clef, the clef is switched mid-piece.
The other clefs
Anotona does this for you
Photograph a page of sheet music or play the melody — Anotona finds the key, engraves the notes and transposes them into any other. Free.
See AnotonaEvery note on this page is computed, not typed in — following the rule that also makes F# major spell its seventh degree E#, not F.