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Reading Bass cleff

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Dviper

Aug 24, 2004
63
0
38
New York, USA
#1
Im 16 years old and have been playing bass self tought for about 2 years now. I've been playing trumpet since i was 8 so i am VERY used to the Treble cleff. i can name any note in the treble cleff in an instant. but when it comes to reading bass cleff...im just like uuuhhhhh...?

So heres my question.

What is a fast and easy way to learn to read the bass cleff better?
 
#2
I feel you- I played trumpet all through high-school and got really used to the treble clef, and then I bought a bass and thigns changed forever. I not longer play trumpet.. haha!

Long story short: There is no fast, easy way- just playing it and getting yourself adjusted to it. However, thigns to keep in mind:

The only difference between bass and treble clef is that what would normally be the bottom "E" line is now a "G" and teh first space is now an "A", not an "F". When you look at the clef, just think treble clef +2. If you just knock every line up two steps then it is easier to handle- eventually you will get used to it. after nearly 3 years bass clef still isn't first nature to me, so you are not alone. :)

BTW- wrong forum ;)
 
#3
i played tenor sax for a few years in high school- i read treble clef and then switched to bass clef when i started reading stage band music on bass-
thankfully, i do not remember it being a huge dilemma.. but i do remember that i put treble clef away for a LONG time.
i bought myself the fabled Real Book in bass clef so i could read along with the "heads"- ( melodies) - i can sill read treble clef, but it is much more of a struggle than bass clef at this point.
if you can afford to, put away your treble clef music and FORCE yourself to read bass clef music- just like reading music itself and learning to recognize rhythms and remember key signatures, the more you do it , the more naturally it will come... and remember this...






THERE IS NO EASY WAY..

:)
 
#5
you, see .. it's funny- it's about what you're used to.
when i switched to 5 string a million years ago, i also had to mentally add those extra 5 low notes...it's only 5 , but it took a minute.
Now, reading ledger lines above the staff- that screws me up. As soon as it starts to go higher than say, a G, it gets so confusing i wish it was written down an octave with a 8va. Add to that key signature.. and you can have yourself a challenge.
I am the sub bassist for the Vegas production of Queen's " We Will Rock You"- and the is a tune where the bass is playing these little melodies up there on the neck and reading it is a real b***. I have to actually learn it to get it to flow and sound like it is not being read.
All that makes me want to give it up to the Philharmic concert violinists, cellists, wind players , etc... that have to read ridiculously difficult stuff... and on fretless instruments !
we are so spoiled !
 
#6
I use the rhymes

Spaces: All Cows Eat Grass
Lines: Great Bassists Don't Fear Anything

The first letter of each represents the notes on that particular line or space from the bottom line to the top.

A bit childish I know but I love my rhyme for the lines.

Hope this helps
 
#7
Dviper said:
Im 16 years old and have been playing bass self tought for about 2 years now. I've been playing trumpet since i was 8 so i am VERY used to the Treble cleff. i can name any note in the treble cleff in an instant. but when it comes to reading bass cleff...im just like uuuhhhhh...?

So heres my question.

What is a fast and easy way to learn to read the bass cleff better?
Click to expand...

Whatever you do, don't approach it by trying to relate it to the treble clef. You won't get anywhere by thinking "on the treble clef that would be a C, so on the bass clef it's an E."

A good thing to do is to draw the notes on small squares of paper and pull them out of a bag randomly and name them.
 
#8
Practise. For example, when playing scales spend some time working with the music (in bass clef) in front of you rather than just running patterns up and down the neck.

I found that transcribing tunes has also helped my reading; it takes some time to get my head round how to write down some of the gnarly rhythms I come across but that effort means it's easier to recognise them when I come across them in another piece of music. If identifying the notes is what you're struggling with, I'm sure you'll get a similar benefit as you put the work into transcribing notes into the right places.

Wulf
 
#10
Sometimes it's helpful to sit there with a sheet of blank score paper and *write* notes down. No melody or anything, just think of a note name and write it down. It sort of reverses the reading process and completes the circle; instead of seeing a note, comprehending what it is and then playing it (external, internal, external), you're thinking of a note and then writing it down (internal, external) and it makes a quicker connection the next time you see it on a page. It sort of bridges the gap between the visual and the comprehension components.

Then, like everyone else says, practice. :)

That C clef though: man I'm glad I never had to learn that :)
 
#11
Reading bass clef is pretty easy, don't sweat it. You have to learn a new location for notes, but the fundementals of flats, sharps, ledger lines, half/whole steps, etc are exactly the same as what you learned with treble clef. Bass with bass clef is actually easier to read than treble (notation wise) because you don't need to worry about funky transpositions either. An A is an A is an A, not an Eb.

:eek:

But then I also had to learn to play/read alto and tenor clef (trombone - orchestra) so I may be a glutton for punishment...
 
#19
5stringDNA said:
When you look at the clef, just think treble clef +2. If you just knock every line up two steps then it is easier to handle- eventually you will get used to it.
Click to expand...
No! Don't do this - I think it's a big mistake!
I did this when I learned to play the piano about 30 years ago and so never really learned the bass clef on an "internal" level.

I now try to force myself to just think of the bass clef notes rather than "translating" them to the treble clef - but it's very hard going.

I think doing the +2 trick is equivalent to trying to speak a foreign language and translating everything inside your head to English as you go along rather than directly speaking the language - it doesn't work very well!

5stringDNA said:
after nearly 3 years bass clef still isn't first nature to me, so you are not alone. :)
Click to expand...
Exactly!
 
#20
I've been playing trombone and tuba for years, so bass clef is like the back of my hand to me now. Trombone and bass share pretty much the same range (Standard tuning bass anyway). Once I enrolled in music theory I had to learn treble clef, but it was pretty easy after a week or two. Then I had to learn the accursed C clef, easy, yet not at all.
 

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