- The symbol to determine the relative position of notes on the musical staff, placed normally at the beginning of each line, or whenever a different clef temporarily replaces the starting clef (to make notes fit more easily on the staff). There are many possible clefs (e.g. treble, bass, alto and tenor) chosen to accomodate the range of various instruments or voices. In piano music, the double staff (a staff for each hand) uses treble or bass clefs.?