Bass sounds an octave lower

There is one surprise in bass notation, and it is good to know it before you read your first part: the bass sounds lower than it is written.

One octave down

Bass parts are written one octave higher than they sound. The open E string sounds E1 (about 41 Hz) but is written as E2, on the first ledger line below the bass clef staff. Without this convention, most bass notes would need many ledger lines. The double bass uses the same convention.

What it means in practice

Because the shift is exactly one octave, the note names you read are the note names you play. In practice the bass is treated as a “non-transposing” instrument. Some musicians classify it as a transposing instrument instead: both views exist. What matters is that the written pitch and the sounding pitch (also called concert pitch) differ by one octave.

When you read a piano part (bass clef, left hand), the same written note sounds an octave higher on the piano than on the bass. Matching a piano’s written bass line on the bass gives the same note names an octave lower, which is usually what is wanted.