Bass Clef Notes

Every note on the bass staff

Here is every note from the F below the staff up to middle C. These twelve notes are the same ones Trebly’s Training uses on the bass clef, and they cover most beginner left-hand piano parts:

Note	Where it sits	Also written
F	In the space just below the bottom line	F2
G	Bottom line	G2
A	First space	A2
B	Second line	B2
C	Second space	C3
D	Middle line	D3
E	Third space	E3
F	Fourth line, between the clef’s dots	F3
G	Top space	G3
A	Top line	A3
B	In the space just above the top line	B3
C	On a ledger line above the staff (middle C)	C4

Each step up, from a line to the space above it or from a space to the line above it, moves one letter forward in the musical alphabet. After G, the letters start again at A.

What the numbers mean

The number after a letter tells you which octave the note is in. Middle C is C4, and the number goes up by one at every C. So on the bass staff, the C in the second space is C3, an octave below middle C, and every note from there up to the B above the staff is a “3”. Below that C, the notes are “2”s.

That’s why some letters appear twice. The G on the bottom line (G2) and the G in the top space (G3) are both G, an octave apart. The A in the bottom space and the A on the top line work the same way.

Notes on the lines

The five lines, from bottom to top, are G, B, D, F and A. Many people remember them with “Good Boys Do Fine Always.”

The bass clef lines page has more ways to learn them.

Notes in the spaces

The four spaces, from bottom to top, are A, C, E and G: “All Cows Eat Grass.”

See bass clef spaces for more.

Notes above and below the staff

Music often goes a step or two past the five lines, and the notes there follow the same pattern:

• B sits in the space just above the top line.
• Middle C sits on a ledger line above that. It’s the note where the bass and treble staffs meet.
• F hangs in the space just below the bottom line.

Going further, each new ledger line adds another line note: the E below the bottom-space F sits on a ledger line, and so does the E above middle C. Trebly’s Training stops at middle C and F, which is plenty for most early music.

Landmark notes: F and middle C

Fluent readers don’t count up from the bottom line. They know a few landmark notes on sight and step from there. On the bass staff, the two best landmarks are:

• F, the line between the clef’s two dots. That’s why the bass clef is also called the F clef.
• Middle C, on its own ledger line just above the staff.

If you already read the treble clef, here’s a shortcut: a bass clef note is two letters later than the treble note in the same position. The treble bottom line is E, so the bass bottom line is G. The treble top space is E, so the bass top space is G. Use it while you learn, then let it go once the notes come on sight.

Practice identifying bass clef notes

Practice them on the bass clef practice page. Level 1 covers the seven notes from the C in the second space up to the B above the staff; Level 2 adds the notes down to F and up to middle C. Trebly keeps a separate record of your bass notes and brings back the ones you miss more often, so your practice goes where you need it.

Learning both clefs? Set Clef to Both, and each note arrives in either clef, as it does in piano music. For the treble side, see treble clef notes.