Reading Music: Notation

Music for bass can be written in tablature or notation. We will focus primarily on notation in this blog, but we'll also include tablature where may be needed. Let's start by reviewing the basics of notation ...

Notation for the bass is written in bass clef. The clef is a symbol which indicates the tone of a specific line of the staff. The bass clef represents F, and the two dots on the clef surround the line on which the note F is placed;

Each line and space of the staff is assigned a specific pitch based on the alphabetical sequence of the seven notes of the system; A B C D E F G. The clef gives you a reference point.

The strings of the bass are tuned to four specific pitches; E, A, D, G. These notes are written on the staff as shown below;

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The gray letters between the notes on the staff are shown for reference. 
Notice that there is a span of four notes from one string to the next, this span of for is known as an 'interval of a 4th.' 
Also notice that the notes are positioned line-space-line-space from bottom to top on the staff.

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The strings are also numbered, with the highest pitched string (G) being string 1, the next lower pitched string (D) – string 2, etc. In this blog, we'll generally refer to strings by their numerical names rather than their note names.

Study the diagrams on this page and memorize the names/notes of the four strings.

Next; Tablature.