Printable chart
Bass clef notes
Every note name on the bass clef staff — lines, spaces and ledger lines — with a printable chart and the mnemonics teachers use to remember them.
Prints on one page. Choose “Background graphics” off to save ink.
The five lines
GBDFA
Bottom to top. Common mnemonic: Good Boys Do Fine Always
The four spaces
ACEG
Bottom to top. Common mnemonic: All Cows Eat Grass
Every note, with its place on the staff
Octave numbers use scientific pitch notation, where middle C is C4.
| Note | Where it sits |
|---|---|
| E2 | First ledger line below the staff |
| F2 | Space below the bottom line |
| G2 | Bottom line (line 1) |
| A2 | Space 1 |
| B2 | Line 2 |
| C3 | Space 2 |
| D3 | Line 3 (middle line) |
| E3 | Space 3 |
| F3 | Line 4 — the line the two dots of the clef sit either side of |
| G3 | Space 4 |
| A3 | Top line (line 5) |
| B3 | Space above the top line |
| C4 | First ledger line above the staff — middle C |
What the bass clef is#
The bass clef is the F clef. Its two dots sit either side of the fourth line from the bottom, and that line is the F below middle C (F3). Everything else on the staff is counted from there.
It is the clef for low pitches: the left hand of piano music, and parts for cello, double bass, bassoon, trombone, euphonium and tuba.
How it joins up with the treble clef#
Middle C (C4) is the first ledger line above the bass staff and the first ledger line below the treble staff. That shared note is how the two staves of a piano score connect into one continuous range.
Reading tips#
- Learn the lines and spaces as two short sets (G B D F A and A C E G) rather than all thirteen names at once.
- Anchor yourself on F3, the line between the clef’s dots, then count up or down from it.
- Ledger lines extend the staff in exactly the same pattern: skip a letter for each line or space.
Sources: Wikipedia: Clef, Wikipedia: Ledger line, Wikipedia: Scientific pitch notation.