How to read the bass clef

A beginner's guide to the bass clef: the F line, the notes on the lines and spaces, the middle line D and where Middle C sits.

The bass clef is used for lower notes: a pianist's left hand, bass guitar, cello, trombone, and the tenor and bass parts in a choir. It is also called the F clef, because its two dots sit either side of the line for F — the F below Middle C.

Lines and spaces

From the bottom line up, the lines are G, B, D, F, A — Great Big Dogs From America. The spaces, from the bottom up, are A, C, E, G — All Cows Eat Grass.

The middle line is D

The middle line of the bass clef is D. This matters when you write notes: stems go up for notes below D and down for notes above D.

Where is Middle C?

Middle C sits on a short ledger line just above the bass clef stave — the same note as the ledger line just below the treble clef. That shared note is what joins the two staves together on the piano's grand staff.