Reading Music: Bass Clef
Last month I wrote an article about reading music notes on the staff and using the Treble Clef. If you have any interest in that, you can see that article here:
For instruments and voices that use a lower range, we use the Bass Clef, sometimes called the F Clef. The Bass Clef is used for instruments such as the Double Bass, Bass Guitar, Cello, Piano (left hand), and also for male voices in a choir such as the Tenor, Baritone, Bass.
The symbol at the beginning of the staff below is a Bass Clef.
Below is an example of a short melody written in Bass Clef. This melody can be sung or played by a low-pitched voice or instrument. If you are a Bass Clef singer or play an instrument that uses the Bass Clef, you can try to sing or play this melody. It is based on the A Minor Pentatonic Scale.
Each note inside the staff has a name, a letter name, using the first seven letters of our alphabet: A, B, C, D, E, F, G. Memorize the letter names of the space notes and the line notes below:
Using the answer key above, try to name each space note on the staff below:
Check your answers below:
Using the answer key above, try to name each line note on the staff below:
Check your answers below:
The notes on the staff below are space notes and line notes, mixed together. Using the answer key above (or you can ty this without looking at the answer key) name each note on the staff:
Check your answers below:
The song below is and excerpt from Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. The notes in this example have been adapted (written in a different key) to help keep things simple for you.
If you do not play a musical instrument, you can just name each note in the score and then sing the tune. If you do play a musical instrument, you will have to know the fingering for the following notes, in order to play the song: G, A, B, C, D.
Here is the score without the letters at the bottom:
And here is the score with the letters at the bottom:
You are now ready to explore basic music scores that use the Treble Clef. Keep in mind that notes can move outside of the staff. I did not cover those notes in this post and will cover the topic at a later date. Look for a post titled “Reading Music: Ledger Lines”.
Click Here To Buy A Staff Paper Notebook
Watch the video below for a detailed explanation from me. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments section below or in the comments section of the video.
