Bass Clef - 7 Tips on How to Read Piano Sheet Music in the Bass Clef

Great Review Bass Clef - 7 Tips on How to Read Piano Sheet Music in the Bass Clef

The bass clef is used to notate the notes for the left hand in piano sheet music. These notes are on the left hand side of the piano and have a low sound (pitch). Here are 7 great tips on How to Read Piano Sheet Music in the Bass Clef.

Tip 1 - Music is notated onto a staff (a series of 5 parallel lines).
The left hand reads from the lower staff in piano music. The bass clef is written at the beginning of this staff.

Tip 2 - The bass clef looks like a comma with 2 dots. It is also called the F Clef.

Tip 3 - It is called the F Clef because it fixes the pitch of the 4th line of the staff.
This 4th line is F.

Tip 4 - But which F? There are 7 of them on a standard piano!
The fixed F is directly below Middle C. The Bass Clef (or F Clef) is the "You Are Here" sign for the low-pitched notes in piano music!

Tip 5 - From this exact reference point, all the other notes can be named. The 1st line is G. The 1st space is A. The 2nd line is B. The 2nd space is C and so on.

Tip 6 - Here is a mnemonic for the 5 line notes in the bass clef:
G B D F A - "Great Band Deserves Fame Always"
Find G and play every other white key on the piano.

Tip 7 - An easy way to remember the bottom 3 space notes in the bass clef is:
"The bottom 3 spaces spell ACE."
Find A and play every other white key on the piano.