The discussion on how important it is for students to know the Bass clef mademerealise how much things must have changed since my day.

When I went for tests and interviews at Magdalen College Oxford I was expected to sight read at the piano a passage written on three staves,two of which were the  mezzo-soprano clef and the tenor clef. Owing to nervousness (several people  were walking about the room talking) and lack of experience at playing the piano ,I misread the mezzo-soprano for an alto clef. The person who had set me the test leaned over and very cruelly,I thought,banged out a few discords to demonstrate my mistake. 

I always rememnber this when I see him described toay as a much loved figure,and think how sad it was that he should choose to give me this lasting impression of him and his university. Presumably the thought as I was only a schoolboy I wasn't worth being polite to. I suppose in a way it was a lesson in life if not in music.

smittims, music business make people irritable. One should not enter music degree if one is too sensitive. A musician of international standing said exactly this phrase to me.
Where do sensitive people should go, business school? This has nothing to do with cleffs.
I only know two cleffs and I was not expected to know more because I was a pianist. I was expected to practice all free time.

Pianists know two cleffs. Violinists know one (I suppose).
But on the whole I found many musicians (professional) have very narrow interests. The young aspiring musicians (performers) has to practice like slaves.
I was never aspiring musician and I am very narrow (in my knowledge of music).

I seem to remember hearing that it was a mis-transcription from soprano clef which lead to the introduction fo the high-phrase at the end of "Silent Night", the tune as sung in the UK and USA is not what is known in Germany and Austria.

reiner, when reading Bb parts as tenor clef, you must also remember to adjust key signature and accidentals appropriately.  A similar trick also works fro reading Eb parts as bass clef, as when at school the trombone parts of something we were doing had disappeared so the music teacher gave me the baritone sax version of the part instead.

Following on from tp's comment on the number of clefs different instrumentalists may require fluency in, trombonists of a reasonable standard need bass, tenor and (occassionally) alto - either to play alto trombone parts on the tenor or because some composers e.g. Shostakovich wrote the first trombone part in alto clef for reasons best known to themselves - and some acquaintance with playing from Bb treble clef parts also comes in handy from time to time.  Fortunately the only time I really needed the alto clef, I noticed that it wasn't actually in tenor clef during my own private practie, rather than during the first orchestral rehearsal...

Cellists I suppose need bass, tenor and treble.

I have never understood why, of ll bras band instrumetns, the bass trombone plays from bass clef at concert pitch?