Free Beginner Piano Lessons, 4 – Treble, Bass Clef and Staff. Grand Staff.

Free Beginner piano lessons

Welcome to part four of our free beginner piano lessons. In this lesson we will learn about the grand staff, bass staff, treble staff, bass clef, treble clef and left hand c position.

Treble clef

A symbol indicating that the second line from the bottom of a staff represents the pitch of G above middle C. Also called G clef. This is the most common clef used today, and the only G-clef still in use. For this reason, the terms G-clef and treble clef are often seen as synonymous. It was formerly also known as the “violin clef”. The treble clef was historically used to mark a treble, or pre-pubescent, voice part.

A Treble Clef:

A Treble Staff:

The lines on the treble clef staff correspond to the letters E G B D F, and can be remembered with the help of such phrases as “Every Green Bus Drives Fast”, “Every Good Boy Does Fine”, “Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge”, or “Every Good Band Does Fine”. The spaces on the treble clef staff, from bottom to top, correspond to the letters F A C E or “face”.

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Reading notes on the Treble Clef and Bass Clef

Bass Clef

A symbol indicating that the fourth line from the bottom of a staff represents the pitch of F below middle C. This is the only F-clef used today, so that the terms “F-clef” and “bass clef” are often regarded as synonymous.

The lines on the bass clef staff (bottom to top) correspond to the notes G B D F A, and can be remembered with the help of the phrase “Good Boys Do Fair Always,” or “Good Burritos Don’t Fall Apart”. The spaces on the bass clef staff correspond (bottom to top) to the notes A C E G.

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A Bass Clef:

A Bass Staff:

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Grand staff

The bass staff and treble staff when joined together with a brace make up the grand staff. The treble staff is placed on top of the bass staff. Middle C (C4) occupies the single ledger linebetween the staves: right in the middle. On piano, the upper staff is normally played with the right hand and the lower staff with the left hand. Staff is more common in American English, stave in British English.

A Grand Staff:

Watch This Lesson: How to Read Piano Notes on the Grand Staff

Left Hand C Position

Next, in our free piano lessons, we talk about the left hand C position on a piano. Place the left hand on the piano keyboard so that the 5th finger falls on the C to the left of middle C. Let the remaining fingers fall naturally on the next white keys. Keep your fingers curved and relaxed. Finger 5 (pinky finger) on C, finger 4 (ring finger) on D, 3 (middle finger) on E, finger 2 (index finger) on F, and finger 1 (thumb) on G.

Now keep each finger on the keys and play the following numbered pattern one finger at a time. 5 4 3 2 1, 5 4 3 2 1, 1 2 3 4 5, 1 2 3 4 5, 5 4 3 2 1, 1 2 3 4 5.

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