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How to read bass clef notes

Pianists read the bass clef with their left hand, and it is the home clef for cello, bassoon, trombone, tuba, bass guitar and low voices. Here is how to read it quickly, and how it connects to the treble clef.

The F clef

The bass clef is also called the F clef. Its two dots sit on either side of the fourth line from the bottom, and that line is the F below middle C (F3). Just like the treble clef, every other note follows from this one: each line and space is the next letter of the alphabet.

The five lines: G B D F A

From the bottom line to the top line: G, B, D, F, A. A common sentence for remembering them is Good Boys Do Fine Always.

The four spaces: A C E G

From the bottom space up: A, C, E, G, often remembered as All Cows Eat Grass.

Landmark notes

• G2 is the bottom line.
• C3 is in the second space. Many pianists’ left-hand pieces start around here.
• F3 is the line between the clef’s two dots.
• Middle C (C4) sits on one ledger line above the staff.

Middle C connects the two clefs

Middle C is written one ledger line below the treble staff and one ledger line above the bass staff. It is the same pitch. Put the two staves together, as in piano music, and middle C sits on the short line between them. That is why the combined staff is called the grand staff.

Ledger lines below the staff

Bass lines often go below the staff. F2 hangs just under the bottom line, E2 sits on the first ledger line below, and C2 is on the second ledger line. The cello’s lowest note, C2, is written here, and so is the open E string of a bass guitar, whose music is written an octave above how it sounds.

Try a bass line