Bass clef
The bass clef or F clef is placed at the beginning of a staff for low registers. Its two dots enclose the fourth line from the bottom and fix it as F3. From there all the other lines and spaces can be read off.
- Other name
- F clef
- Marks
- the fourth line from the bottom: F3
- Register
- low
- Typical instruments
- cello, double bass, trombone, bassoon, left hand on the piano
- Counterpart
- treble clef
The fourth line is F
The name F clef comes from the note it fixes: the two dots of the bass clef sit above and below the fourth line from the bottom, and this line is the F. From this one fixing all the other notes follow by counting the lines and spaces. The treble clef works on the same principle, only it marks the second line from the bottom as G4.
The page Reading music explains that the same note head means a quite different note depending on the clef. That is why the clef comes first and applies to the whole line.
| Treble clef | Bass clef | |
|---|---|---|
| Other name | G clef | F clef |
| Marked line | second from the bottom: G4 | fourth from the bottom: F3 |
| Register | high | low |
| Instruments | voice, violin, flute, trumpet, right hand on the piano | cello, double bass, trombone, bassoon, left hand on the piano |
| Lines from the bottom | E G B D F | G B D F A |
| Spaces from the bottom | F A C E | A C E G |
Mnemonics for the bass clef
Two mnemonics are common for the bass clef:
- Lines from the bottom, G B D F A: “Good Boys Do Fine Always.”
- Spaces from the bottom, A C E G: “All Cows Eat Grass.”
The sayings are only scaffolding for the start. With a little practice you will soon recognise the notes without a mnemonic, just as you read letters.
Middle C links both clefs
On the piano the treble and bass clefs sit one above the other and form the grand staff. Between the two staves lies exactly one ledger line, and on it sits middle C, C4. In the treble clef this is the first ledger line below the staff, in the bass clef the first ledger line above. If you know this C4 securely, you can count from there into both clefs and do not lose the thread when changing between the staves. That is how the exercise page on note reading describes it.
How many other clefs there are is shown by the page Notation symbols. Besides the treble and bass clefs it names, among others, the alto, tenor, soprano, mezzo-soprano and baritone clefs, as well as octave variants such as the bass clef with the 8 below, and the percussion clef.
Common mistakes
- Overlooking the clef: If you read the bass clef like a treble clef, every note comes out wrong. Always check the clef first.
- Putting the bass clef off: It is readily postponed and then stays unreliable. The exercise page advises practising it alongside the treble clef, even if it feels slower at first.
- Mixing up the mnemonics: The lines in the bass clef are G B D F A, in the treble clef E G B D F. The same line carries a different note in the two clefs.
Continue on Maikstrings
Related terms
Treble clefClefLedger lineOctaveStaff linesPianoC clef
Editor: Maik Krohm · reviewed on 3 October 2026
← Back to the glossary