Bass clef notes and how to read them
On the bass clef the five lines, from bottom to top, are G B D F A, and the four spaces are A C E G. The two dots of the clef surround the fourth line, which is F, so it is also called the F clef. It is used for lower notes, like the left hand on piano.
The bass clef marks a staff for low-sounding notes. If you play piano, cello, trombone or tuba, or sing as a bass or baritone, you read it all the time. It looks like a treble clef's opposite, but the idea is the same: five lines, four spaces, and a rule for which letter belongs where. This page lists every bass clef note and shows how to learn them without confusing them with treble clef notes.
What are the line notes on the bass clef?
From the bottom line to the top line the notes are G, B, D, F and A. A well-known sentence for these is Good Boys Do Fine Always. Others people use are Good Burritos Don't Fall Apart or Great Big Dogs Fight Animals. The sentence only works if you say it in order from the bottom, so practice until you can count off the lines without thinking.
What are the space notes on the bass clef?
The four spaces are A, C, E and G, from bottom to top. Many students say All Cows Eat Grass. Another version is All Cars Eat Gas. Compare this with the treble clef: each bass clef note is the treble clef note two letters later. The treble bottom line is E, and the bass bottom line is G. The treble bottom space is F, and the bass bottom space is A.
Why is the bass clef called the F clef?
The bass clef is a stylized letter F. It starts on the fourth line from the bottom and its two dots sit above and below that line. That line is F, specifically the F below middle C (F3). So F is your landmark: find the two dots and the line between them is F. The F clef was once drawn on other lines too, but the fourth line is the one used today.
What are the notes above and below the bass staff?
The space just above the top line is B, and the space just below the bottom line is F. Beyond that, the music uses ledger lines. The first ledger line above the bass staff is middle C, the same pitch as the first ledger line below the treble staff. The first ledger line below the staff is E.
What landmarks help with bass clef?
The simplest landmark is the F line itself, between the two dots. Two more are middle C, one ledger line above the staff, and the low G on the bottom line. Counting from a landmark is fast: if you know the F line, then the space above it is G, the line above that is A, and the space below it is E.
- Bass F: the fourth line, between the dots of the clef.
- Middle C: one ledger line above the staff.
- Low G: the bottom line (G2).
Memory trick: To switch from treble to bass, remember that a bass clef note is two letter names later than the treble clef note in the same place. The top line is F in the treble and A in the bass.
Who uses the bass clef?
The bass clef is used for the left hand on piano and on the lower staff of the grand staff, and by cello, bassoon, trombone, euphonium, tuba and double bass (which sounds an octave lower than written). Bass and baritone voices read it. Electric bass guitar music is also written in it, sounding an octave lower than written. In orchestral music cellos and bassoons sometimes move up into the tenor clef or the treble clef when their notes get too high for the bass staff.
How do the bass clef notes look on the piano?
The bass clef covers the keys below middle C, going down for about two octaves. The picture shows the bass line notes marked on the keys. Every note you read in the bass clef is played with the left hand in most piano music, but the hands can cross in either direction when the music asks for it.
A good exercise is to write the note names above a short line of music, then play it with the names covered. Do this with simple tunes in the bass clef until the names come without counting. Singers who read bass clef should also practice it away from the piano, by naming notes while they sing.
Once you can read both clefs, try the grand staff, which puts them together exactly as piano music is printed.
Bass clef note chart
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Check yourself
1. What are the lines of the bass clef, from the bottom up?
Answer: G B D F A. Bass clef lines: G B D F A. The spaces are A C E G.
2. Which note does the bass clef circle with its two dots?
Answer: F. The dots surround the fourth line from the bottom, which is F.
3. What is this note?
Answer: C. The second space from the bottom in the bass clef is C.
4. What is this note on the first ledger line above the bass staff?
Answer: Middle C. The first ledger line above the bass staff is middle C.
5. How do bass clef notes compare to treble clef notes in the same position?
Answer: Two letters later. The bottom line is E in treble and G in bass, two letters later.