Music Theory 101 - Bass clef!

Suppose you want to write a cello part.  Or a left-handed piano part.  Or you sing bass.  What do you do about all those notes below middle C?

Well, we have a clef for that!  It's called the bass clef, and it picks up where the treble clef leaves off.  Here's a C major scale on the bass clef.

That funny-looking thing on the left that looks like a comma with two dots, that's the bass clef.  The two dots sit on either side of the line where the note F sits.  Middle C, on the bass clef, is on the ledger line above the staff.

Here's a C major scale going way down into the depths:

How low is that low C?  About this low.  Listen to the bass at 2:15.

Typically in piano music, you don't see just one staff written.  You see both staffs written together: one for the left hand, one for the right hand.  Together, they make up something called a grand staff.  Here are four octaves of C major scales, written for piano on a grand staff.

Notice how the middle C is at the top ledger line on the bass clef, and on the bottom ledger line on the treble clef.  It's the same note.  Really!  It is!

Next up: All about sharps and flats.  Stay tuned!