LESSON 4: F Clef

In lesson 3 we learned how to identify what lines and spaces in the staff get what letters in the musical alphabet by introducing the G Clef.  But the G Clef is not the only clef in music.  In this clef we'll talk about the F Clef.  Luckily, all the Clefs work the same way, they just identify different notes.  While the G clef identified the G, the F clef identifies the F.

The F Clef (see above) works just like the G clef, but identifies what line the F is on.  The two large dots on the right side of the F clef will sit on either side of the F line of the staff.  The large dot on the left side of the clef will sit on the F line.

In the above image you'll see that the two dots on the right sit on either side of line 4 of the staff and the large dot on the left sits on line 4.  In this example, line 4 would get the name "F".  When the F Clef places the F on line 4, we can call it the Bass Clef.

Once we know that the F is on line 4, we can figure out every other line and space of the staff by using our musical alphabet.  When we go up in the staff we go forward in the alphabet.  When we go down in the staff we go backwards in the alphabet.  So the space immediately above F (space 4) would be labeled G because G comes right after F in the musical alphabet.  The space immediately below F (space 3) would be labeled E because E comes immediately before F in the musical alphabet.

If you follow this process for every line and space in the staff, you should label your staff as follows: