How to Read Clef Music for a Cello
- 1). Study the notes of the bass clef first because you'll encounter it most often when playing the cello. There are several mnemonic devices you can use to help you remember the notes. For example, the lines, from bottom to top, are G, B, D, F and A ("Good Boys Do Fine Always"), while the spaces are A, C, E and G ("All Cows Eat Grass"). If you get stuck, remember that the dots on the bass clef surround the note F, and count from there.
- 2). Find some music written in the tenor clef. Note that the tenor clef (so called because its range, D3 to E4, aligns with the range of a vocal tenor) is a fifth higher than the bass clef. The line it centers on, Middle C, would be the F below Middle C in the bass clef. This makes tenor clef easy to read for cellists because all you need to remember is to play the note you would typically read in the bass clef on the next string higher. What would normally be second finger F on the D string (in bass clef) becomes second finger C on the A string (in tenor clef).
- 3). Find some music written in the treble clef (if you can't find music written specifically for cello, look at the top staff of piano music or some music for violin). Since there are no easy patterns to remember, as with tenor clef, you'll have to memorize the notes by rote again. Remember that the curl of the treble clef goes around the note G. The lines of the treble clef, from bottom to top, are E, G, B, D and F ("Every Good Boy Does Fine"), while the spaces spell FACE.
