18.1 · The Grand Staff

The bass clef

Low notes would drown the treble staff in ledger lines, so the left hand gets its own staff with its own clef. The bass clef is an old letter F: its two dots hug the second line from the top, naming it F3. Anchor there and count.

The lines: G B D F A

Bottom to top: "Good Boys Deserve Fudge Always." Every one sounds below middle C.

The spaces: "All Cows Eat Grass"

A C E G, bottom space to top. Between them and the lines, every low note has a named home.

Write on it

Tap lines and spaces; each note names itself and plays. Notice the top ledger note is middle C, the treble staff's bottom ledger. Same key on the keyboard.

𝄢

Tap any line or space to write a note and hear where it lives.

Game · Find the note

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Tap G on the staff. If it lives on both a line and a space, either counts.

𝄢

Tap a line or space. The note sounds as it lands.

Quiz

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The bass clef's two dots hug the line of…

Score 100% on every quiz and game to complete this lesson. A perfect run sticks: a later miss never undoes it.The grand staff →