What Are BASS CLEF Notes? How To Use & Draw Them
Anyone who is beginning to learn sheet music reading will encounter the bass clef.
In this article, we will find out what the bass clef is used for. Additionally, we will also be discussing the notes on a bass clef’s lines and spaces. As a bonus, I will also be teaching you to draw it! Let us get started.
What is The Bass Clef Scale?
This symbol below is called an F-Clef. When illustrated, it almost seems like a flipped C or a right ear with two dots on the side.
Putting an F-Clef on staff, specifically on the fourth line from the bottom, turns it into a bass clef.
The bass clef is used to write music with a low pitch. Instruments with a low sound, such as the bassoon, the bass guitar, and cello, have their sheet music written on the bass clef. It is also used at the bottom part of a grand staff. This is to help when writing music with a lower pitch for instruments like the harp or piano.
When playing the piano or keyboard, notes on the bass clef are often played using the left hand.
What are The Notes in Bass Clef?
If you have read our handy beginner’s guide to sheet music, you will know that staff has 5 lines and 4 spaces. Each line and space of a staff contains a note that is represented by a letter. To determine the pitch of the notes in a staff, a clef is used. The most common clefs you will see are the treble clef and the bass clef.
For this section of our article, we will be studying the notes on the bass clef.
As you can see, each line and space of the bass clef is marked by a letter. The first note is on the first line from the bottom of the staff. This note is marked as G. On the first space of the staff we have A. On the second line of the staff we have B and on the second space we have C. Next, we have D on the third line and E on the third space. We then have F on the fourth line and G on the fourth space. Finally, we have A on the fifth line of the staff.
If you would like to find out how to play this scale on your piano keyboard, check out our complete piano keys diagram.
Bass Clef Notes: Lines
Some musicians find it easier to learn the notes on a bass clef by separating the notes on the lines from the notes on the spaces.
The notes on the lines of a bass clef are G, B, D, F, and A. An easier way to remember this arrangement is by using the mnemonic “Good Boys Do Fine Always”.
Bass Clef Notes: Spaces
On the other hand, we have a different set of notes that can be found on the spaces of a bass clef.
The notes on the spaces of a bass clef are A, C, E, and G. An easier way to remember this is by using the mnemonic “All Cows Eat Grass”.
Tip: An easier way to remember which line to put the head of the F-clef on to form a bass clef is to look for the F line on the staff.
How to Draw The Bass Clef?
For anyone looking to compose their own music, being able to read and write sheet music is important. Therefore, in this section, I will teach you how to draw the bass clef!
Step 1:
From the bottom of the staff, count four lines up and draw a filled circle on the left side. Make sure that the circle is in the middle of the fourth line.
Step 2:
From the side of that circle, draw a curved line going up to the left and then bring it down to the right. Make sure to curve it down the staff, almost similar to a flipped letter C or a right ear.
Step 3:
Now that you have the main body of the F-Clef drawn, you need to draw another filled circle right beside the main body. Make sure that the circle is right in the middle of the fourth space of the staff.
Step 4:
For the final step, simply draw another filled circle under the one you made beside the flipped C. This time, make sure that this filled circle is in the middle of the third space of the staff.
And that is it! You now know how to draw a bass clef. The F-Clef is a lot easier to draw than the G-Clef, is it not?
Final Words
You have now reached the end of the article!
Now you know what the difference is between a simple F-Clef and a bass clef. You also know the purpose of the bass clef when it comes to writing music as well as the notes included on its staff. Just remember our mnemonics “Good Boys Do Fine Always” for the notes on the line and “All Cows Eat Grass” for the notes on the spaces.
Learning to read sheet music can seem intimidating, but once you give it a try, you will soon understand that it is not as difficult as you think! Just remember to keep yourself inspired and keep practicing.
Learn what is treble clef notes in my other article. And, if you want to learn more, you can always opt for the best online piano tutorials!
References
What Are BASS CLEF Notes? How To Use & Draw Them