Reading “any score”
To read music for other instruments you need one more clef. Piano uses two staves (treble on top, bass below). Bass guitar, cello, trombone and bassoon use the bass clef (also called F clef).
The bass clef
The clef’s dot and its two dots sit around the 4th line: that’s where F lives. Lines from the bottom up: G B D F A, “Good Boys Do Fine Always”. Spaces: A C E G, “All Cows Eat Grass”.
Bass clef lines
Bass clef spaces
The C on one ledger line below the treble clef is the same C on one ledger line above the bass clef. In piano music it sits right between the two staves.
Playing another instrument’s music
- Voice, flute, violin, piano right hand (treble clef without the 8): play it as if it were treble clef with the 8. It will sound an octave lower than the original, which is normal and sounds fine. If the melody climbs too high, drop it an octave.
- Bass clef (bass, piano left hand): this is the real pitch. In standard tuning, the open 6th string (E) is the note just below the 1st ledger line under the bass clef staff. Anything lower doesn’t fit on the neck without retuning.
- Watch out for transposing instruments: saxophone, trumpet and clarinet are written at a different pitch from how they sound. If the score is for one of them, look for the “concert pitch” (in C) version or transpose it.
Quick check
Get every answer right to finish. Mistakes are part of it: read the explanation and try again.
1. In bass clef, which line is F?
2. A flute melody in treble clef, played on the neck:
3. The piano's left hand is usually written in: