Bass Clef Fluency Options

[Chris H]

I find it so interesting that other people have the same problems as me with the bass clef. I thought I was just bad at playing the piano. I instantly recognize notes in the treble clef and can name them without thinking about them, but I can't remember the names of the bass notes, I just seem to remember their positions on the keyboard. I've been doing exercises with a basic piano tutor book, where you have to name a bass clef note within so many seconds, as I think this might help me. I also have terrible problems with ledger lines - I just guess the notes, and most of the time they seem to be right. Perhaps there's some subconscious part of the brain that helps with this, and that the more you play, the easier it gets.

[upbeat]

What about doing lots of note naming with the bass clef? The following website is good for this:

http://www.musictheory.net/trainers/html/id82_en.html

(sorry don't know how to make it a link)

[SueHM]

Well you did! (make it a link that is)

That's really useful. I'm going to recommend it for my students. Might use it myself for alto and tenor clefs.

[upbeat]

Well you did! (make it a link that is)

Yes, not quite sure how it happened! Must have been automatic.

Here's a couple more:

http://www.practicespot.com/theory/?t=92

http://www.metronimo.com/uk/software/index.php?page=tetris

[Wobby]

I find it so interesting that other people have the same problems as me with the bass clef. I thought I was just bad at playing the piano. I instantly recognize notes in the treble clef and can name them without thinking about them, but I can't remember the names of the bass notes, I just seem to remember their positions on the keyboard. I've been doing exercises with a basic piano tutor book, where you have to name a bass clef note within so many seconds, as I think this might help me. I also have terrible problems with ledger lines - I just guess the notes, and most of the time they seem to be right. Perhaps there's some subconscious part of the brain that helps with this, and that the more you play, the easier it gets.

I'm presuming you were another type of instrumentalist before picking up piano then, thus why you picked up treble clef faster (i.e. you already knew it)! It's funny really, as us first-instrument-being-piano-pianists only know the treble and the bass clef played together, so by the time we've learnt one, we've learnt both. I guess the way we can see it from the non-first-instrument-being-piano-pianists' point of view is by trying to read from the alto or tenor clef! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

I guess the only way you can cover knowing all the clefs fluently is by being a piano, viola and bassoon player - or some sort of singer with a tremendous span from bass to treble that can sing all parts of SATB simultaneously - that is providing they are using the old style scores, and not the ones that are just written in treble and bass clef! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)


~Wobby~

[maggiemay]

I've mentioned this before, but in case there is anyone newer to the forums who doesn't yet know about it

Oxford Piano Time has pieces online that you can download. I think it's in Piano Time 2 there is extra help for the bass clef.

http://www.oup.co.uk/music/pianotime/pieces/PT2pieces/

[HelenVJ]

Also, there is a book called, helpfully, 'The Bass Clef Book' by Maisie Aldridge, which goes from easy 5-finger tunes through folk songs to quite advanced stuuf. Last time I checked, it was still available.

[The Old Lady]

I had the same problem, and almost wrote the letter names on the bass clef. BUT, keep playing and it gets better.
Bev.

[Chris H]

I'm presuming you were another type of instrumentalist before picking up piano then, thus why you picked up treble clef faster (i.e. you already knew it)! It's funny really, as us first-instrument-being-piano-pianists only know the treble and the bass clef played together, so by the time we've learnt one, we've learnt both. I guess the way we can see it from the non-first-instrument-being-piano-pianists' point of view is by trying to read from the alto or tenor clef! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

~Wobby~

Not at all! Piano was my first instrument at the age of eight (second insrument was violin) - I've just always found the treble clef much easier. My son's piano teacher explained my difficulty with the bass clef as being caused by the fact that the bass clef goes backwards and the treble clef goes forwards (if you see what I mean).

The links are very useful - I'm going to try them.

[maggiemay]

My son's piano teacher explained my difficulty with the bass clef as being caused by the fact that the bass clef goes backwards and the treble clef goes forwards (if you see what I mean).

Do you mean the note-names (ie the alphabet) go backwards? That is one way of looking at it, it's true,

If that is the problem, have you tried ignoring note names and hopping down the bass lines from middle C?
Don't know if this will help - some find it useful. One hop (next but one note) gets you to the top line, two hops second line down etc.

If you need a space, hop down to the line above the space and then one note on for the space. if you see what I mean.

[nic]

Could someone please explain the backwards/forwards idea? I can't for the life of my work out how the alphabet goes backwards in the bass clef, unless you read from the top of the stave down - which is like reading this post starting from right to left (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

[maggiemay]

Could someone please explain the backwards/forwards idea? I can't for the life of my work out how the alphabet goes backwards in the bass clef, unless you read from the top of the stave down - which is like reading this post starting from right to left (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

I guessed that was what ChrisH meant - thinking from the top down. If you are working from the centre out.

[nic]

Thanks for clarifying Maggie. I had never thought of reading music like that! (And consequently have never taught my students to read like that). Which makes me wonder if there is a convention to reading music from bottom to top, or if that was merely the way I was taught so that's the way I teach. Very interesting!

[maggiemay]

Thanks for clarifying Maggie. I had never thought of reading music like that! (And consequently have never taught my students to read like that). Which makes me wonder if there is a convention to reading music from bottom to top, or if that was merely the way I was taught so that's the way I teach. Very interesting!

I have no way of being sure if that was what ChrisH was thinking - but "middle-out" is a natural starting point for some keyboard players. Theory books on the other hand tend always to work "up" from the bottom of each stave.

[nic]

Even when I teach sing methods that start in middle C position, I always teach reading from the lowest note on the stave. So if the book is only using 3 notes, we read from A in the bass, B, middle C, then right hand D, E, etc. My students are aware of the concept that if the music is going up, the alphabet runs forwards, and if it is going down, the alphabet runs backwards (I like to challenge them to recite the alphabet from A-G backwards as fast as they can, the little ones love it!) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif) However, they usually read by interval, and we only learn letter names of notes so that they can communicate with other musicians later in life ("can we go from the D in bar 3").


Apologies to the original poster for moving slightly (IMG:style_emoticons/default/offTopic.gif)