Bass Clef Refresher?

Question

I already know how to read bass clef from taking piano, but I haven't used it in about a year, so I am extremely rusty. I am switching to trombone and I need a way to easily remember bass clef other than the "all cars eat gas" for spaces and "great big dogs fight animals" because I can't exactly take the time to do that on a marching field. Any suggestions will be a great help!

Answer 1

I too am a trombone player.  During college there were times that I had to read alto and tenor clef in addition to bass clef.  In order to "freshen" up my knowledge of the other clefs, I used this wonderful site:

http://www.musictheory.net

Select the "trainers" drop down menu and click on "Note Trainer."

After this screen loads, click on "Settings" on the right side of the screen.  After that, click on the treble clef to disable that, and then click on the bass clef to enable that.  You can also drag and drop the notes in order to keep the notes within a specific range.  

This is a wonderful tool because it lets you go at your own pace, and tells you immediately when you miss a note.  There are also many other very useful tools on this website if you ever find a need for them.

Answer 2

Basically, the bass clef is composed as follows.

If you know very well how to read the treble clef, just go down one space, and that's the same note on the bass clef.

For example, a B (third line) on treble clef is the second line on the bass clef.

This is how I remember these things, because all instruments I play use treble clef, however I'm required to know the bass clef as well.

Hope this helped.

Answer 3

I would say it's all in practicing. I don't believe in the memory-helpers. I learned the different clefs by studying the theory of music notation. The deal is, it's all A-G (speaking of non-accidentals), each octave. So, if the bottom "space" is F, then go up in notes from there. Count. At first it may be a bit difficult and slow-going ,but when you get it, you'll know that you really know it and didn't just use a memory tool to figure it out. Plus, then you will be able to switch between all clefs easily by knowing the scales comfortably and where the notation is going. Eventually you could even learn the Alto, Soprano and Tenor clefs...! Now THOSE are crazy and exciting!