You now know the keys of the piano. But there is more to learn.

The Grand staff, made up of the treble clef and the bass (pronounced base) clef. Treble clef usually has the melody or tune of a song written on it. The bass clef has the notes or chords that give the melody support or substance.

There are five lines and four spaces on each staff. Each line and space has a letter name that corresponds to a particular note or key on the piano. Each note can only be played one place. When those places are learned, they will NEVER change around. That is reassuring.

The treble clef is also known as a G clef because it looks like a fancy G. The treble clef circles the second line of the musical staff to tell you that it is G. All other notes fall on the other lines and spaces accordingly.

The bass clef handles the lower range of notes. It is also called an F clef because it came from an old fashion F symbol that looks like an F. The bass clef marks the fourth line of the musical staff as F. All other notes fall on the other lines and spaces accordingly.

TREBLE CLEF
ALWAYS FROM BOTTOM TO TOP
Lines are E G B D F
Spaces are F A C E

BASS CLEF
ALWAYS FROM
BOTTOM TO TOP
Lines G B D F A
Spaces A C E G

Use your fingers to help you learn them:

LEFT HAND PLAYS BASS CLEF (usually)
Pinky finger G
Ring finger B
Middle finger D
Pointer finger F
Thumb A

RIGHT HAND PLAYS TREBLE CLEF (usually)
Pinky finger E
Ring finger G
Middle finger B
Pointer finger D
Thumb F

An exercise helps you learn them: First find the G that is two Gs below Middle C. Start on Middle C, Left of C is B, left of B is A, continue left key by key G F E D C B A G. This is the G where the bass clef begins.

Pinky finger G
Ring finger B
Middle finger D
Pointer finger F
Thumb A

RIGHT HAND
Thumb E
Pointer finger G
Middle finger B
Ring finger D
Pinky finger F

Play each key with the finger indicated. If it is not possible to stretch your hand enough to do this, play each note by moving your hand to accomplish it. Smoothness is less important than the correct fingering.

Category: Lessons

The two clefs that are used when playing the piano are the treble clef and the bass clef. In music, a clef is used to define the location of notes on the staff. These symbols form the basic infrastructure of piano sheet music.

Staff

The staff is the most basic element of Western music notation. It consists of 5 horizontal lines with 4 spaces between them. These are the lines (and spaces) upon which notes are written to indicate their pitch.

The Treble Clef

The treble clef, also called the G clef, is the clef commonly used for the right-hand in piano sheet music. The word ‘treble’ means soprano, or having a high range or tone. Therefore the treble clef is usually used to express the notes about or above middle C.

When the treble clef is used, the G above middle C is located on the second line of the staff. An easy way to remember this is to notice that the treble clef symbol encircles the second line, indicating it is the G line. Any note that falls on that line will be a G.

The Bass Clef

The bass clef can be used to express notes about or below middle C. It is used for instruments that have a lower pitch, such as trombone, tuba, and bass guitar. In piano sheet music, it is used for the left hand. The bass clef is also called the F-clef. Can you guess where the F note would fall on the staff? If you guessed that the F falls on the 4th line, you would be right.