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Treble clef would be more useful to be able to play in brass bands

Tubaeuph,

I've never encountered alto clef in anything that I didn't search out myself - i.e. sitting in an ensemble, or an audition where they put alto clef out and said, "here you go..."

That said, I think it is invaluable to be able to read as much as possible. The more proficient you are at the "other clefs", then the less line-counting you'll find yourself doing.

Also, my fiancee is a bassoonist, and I find myself playing her music sometimes - and you'll see alto, tenor and bass in that music.

There is a Blazevitch Clef Studies book for trombone, which might be a bit easy for you - but a good starting point.

All the best,

Pat Stuckemeyer

There is only ONE "clef"-----and it has eleven lines. Maybe a little piano study would help us all realize this! The treble , alto, tenor, and bass "clefs" are just five line sections of the eleven-line staff.
It's just like when someone asks me for the fingerings for (name a brass instrument). The series of basic fingerings is the SAME for all standard brass instruments----they just start on different pitches.

Paul (who in the past week has played flugel, valve trombone, F horn and tuba)

LOTP wrote:There is only ONE "clef"-----and it has eleven lines. Maybe a little piano study would help us all realize this! The treble , alto, tenor, and bass "clefs" are just five line sections of the eleven-line staff.

That said, I would still say that a euph player needs to develop competency in bass, Bb treble, tenor, and C treble, in that order. From a practical standpoint, that will cover pretty much all that will ever be put in front of you. There is some nice repertoire you can steal if you know alto clef, though, and the exercise will certainly do you good.

I also recommend the Reginald Fink Introducing the Alto Clef (and Tenor Clef) as good entry points. His annotations are valuable both from the "technical" and interpretive sides.

Well of course I agree with Paul about there only being one staff.

In a week when some members of the band go off to play a charity Xmas gig at the botanical gardens, I have every intention of taking my viola and playing whatever midrange part that seems to be missing. Most likely a horn part, but a treble clef Bb part would also work fine, or an Eb clef part, or a bass clef part up an octave, or, or.....if you know what the concert pitch of the note is, and you know where the concert pitches are on the instrument, you can play any clef on any instrument whose useable range contains the pitch in question. The more clefs you can read, and the more instruments you can play, the more fun you can have!

I know a horn player with perfect pitch who wooed his wife-to-be by quietly playing along with the violin parts on his horn, to the point where she got called on the carpet by the conductor for laughing during rehearsal. She married him anyway.

MA

Oh jeez...
Talking about weird clefs...I bought a piece for Bass Tuba or Bass Trombone or even Bass Saxhorn, and in the solo part for Bass Bone or Tuba, it involves Tenor clef...
Maybe tuba players will use tenor clef...