Reading music · Bass clef
Bass clef notes
The bass clef is where your left hand usually reads: the bass and the chords. Here's every note on it, labelled. Tap any note to hear it and see the key it belongs to.
Tap any note to hear it. Try the buttons to light up the lines, the spaces, and the landmark notes.
The lines: G B D F A
From the bottom line up, the bass clef's lines are G, B, D, F, A. The classic way to remember them: Good Boys Do Fine Always.
The spaces: A C E G
The spaces, bottom to top, are A, C, E, G: All Cows Eat Grass.
Landmark notes
Rhymes are a good start, but readers who get fast use landmarks. Learn these three until you see them instantly, then read every other note as a step or a skip from the nearest one:
- Bass C, the C below middle C, in the second space up.
- Bass F, the second line from the top: the clef's two dots sit either side of it.
- Middle C, on a ledger line just above the staff.
Ledger lines
Notes above and below the staff are written on short extra lines, ledger lines. Middle C sits on one ledger line above the bass staff; low E sits on one ledger line below, and low C on two.
Practise: name that note
Name that note
A few minutes of this a day, and within a week or two you'll name bass clef notes without thinking.
Learning to read? Ivory listens to you play and tells you what's off: a note that's missing, a hand that lands late, a rhythm that's off. Then it shows you how it should go.
Questions people ask
What are the notes of the bass clef lines?
From the bottom up: G, B, D, F, A (Good Boys Do Fine Always).
What are the notes of the bass clef spaces?
From the bottom up: A, C, E, G (All Cows Eat Grass).
Where is middle C on the bass clef?
On one ledger line just above the bass staff.
Why is it called the bass clef or F clef?
Its two dots sit either side of the line for the F below middle C, so it's also called the F clef.