# Bass sounds an octave lower

*Module 3 · Lesson 3: Reading music for bass · BazzLow*

> Understand why written bass music sounds one octave below its written pitch.

Before this lesson: [3.2 The staff and the bass clef](https://bazzlow.com/en/reading-music/staff-and-bass-clef/)

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.

> **Diagram:** The open E string: written as E2 on the first ledger line below the staff, sounding E1.

## 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.

## Try it

Play the note written on the middle line of the bass clef. It is D: your open D string, sounding D2.

## New terms

- octave transposition
- transposing instrument
- concert pitch (sounding pitch)

Page: https://bazzlow.com/en/reading-music/octave-transposition/