In the same way that there are many ways to remember the notes of the treble clef, there are many ways to remember the notes of the bass stave; however, I’ve always used this older method that I learned when I was starting. Learning the notes of the bass stave is easy when you know two simple phrases.
Of course, there are many other phrases and methods for remembering the notes of the bass stave. However, this method seems relatively straightforward if you take the time to memorize these two phrases.
The bass stave consists of five lines and four spaces. The bottom space is an A, followed by the second space from the bottom, a C. The third space from the bottom is E, and the fourth space is G. So the spaces of the bass stave from the bottom up are A, C, E, and G, which can easily be remembered by this phrase: All Cows Eat Grass. The first letter of each word is the note name, so A is for All, C is for Cows, E is for Eat, and G is for Grass.
The bass stave also has five lines, with the lowest line being a G, followed by the second line from the bottom, a B, then the middle line D, the fourth line from the bottom a F, and the top line an A. The lines from the bottom of the bass stave to the top are G, B, D, F, and A, which can be remembered by the simple phrase: Grizzly Bears Don’t Fear Anything. The first letter of each word is the note name: G for Grizzly, B for Bears, D for Don’t, F for Fear, and A for Anything.
The key to this system is to remember that we say the phrases starting from the bottom of the bass stave and working our way to the top.
If you want to improve your note-reading skills even further, once you memorized the phrases for the bass stave, practice naming the notes using actual flashcards or using a downloadable app. This will help you learn the note names quickly and add some fun along the way.
