I'm currently working with the tenor clef, but in truth I don't read it very well. I play the piano, so I know the treble clef well. When reading music in tenor clef I always think, "just lower the notes downward a 2nd and play it like you do in playing the treble clef, but an octave lower." The thing is, transposing this way is slow and I still can't know instantly what this note is on the tenor clef. Do you have any suggestions for learning it?

I don't have any particular hints other than to say once upon a time you would have had to learn to read treble and bass clefs - you didn't do that by thinking about another clef and transposing it presumably? You probably learnt by repetition and getting familiar with what it all meant - I think that will be the case with Tenor Clef now.

I used to play the Viola and found much the same stress learning Alto clef - but I got there in the end and I can still remember it well, although I hardly play these days. (Jokes about viola players probably not needed at this point......)

Just keep at it, trying to recognise the notes for what they are called, not by some difficult transposing method and you'll get there eventually, but it's hard and takes time.

Best of luck

Hi I find the easiest way to learn the tenor clef is to count up five from the bass. Good luck cello player

Sorry I was a bit to quick-I meant for example where G is written in the bass clef on the top space-this would therefore be the d above middle c when written in the tenor clef.

Tenor clef is simple really, you just use the same fingering as you would in the bass clef, just play them on the next string up.....
Hope that is not too confusing!

Surely you just learn it. How does someone learn their first clef then?

well, usually if you are a cello player, u just take to bass clef.
Tenor clef is just like bass clef just a string higher
Simple really...