Extreme Basics: Clefs.

[jente]

I Can't read notes the way I want them to read, especially the Bass Clef. I Want to practice them but I'm wondering what's the best way to do this? Just play pieces? It's just to long since I had musical theory. When I'm playing a new piece a lot of my time goes to 'counting the notes'.

Really basic .

[mikeowski]

Try composing. The note names will burn into your brain, bass and treble clef alike. I'm using musescore for it, mostly just playing around and I think it's fun, but helped me to internalize the note names really well.
But don't substitute that for actual note reading, because later on recognizing and reading groups is what will let you sight read efficiently, and that can only be learned by the real deal. Also important: hand coordination and reading ahead of where you are! Just in case you didn't already know.

[keypeg]

Take the time to learn your bass clef.  You have some "key notes" - C below middle C, the clef itself highlights F below middle C (the fat dot that starts the symbol), and you have middle C.  I worked on 5 notes at a time using an introductory Czerny that introduced them that way, naming the notes while I played them, and staying aware of which piano keys they were.  Btw, Czerny wrote a series of letters to a young student whom he was advising at a distance: she had a daily teacher as well.  He basically told her that learning the notes was a pain in the neck and the sooner she got it behind her, the easier it would be for her.  He had her write out what she had played every day, so that the notes would stick.  I've never tried it myself.

[jente]

Thank you very much for these tips/this information guys! Wish me luck!

[nystul]

I think the intellectual aspect of it is pretty easy.  It just requires a ton of practice because the associations have to be automatic.  It's like learning addition and subtraction tables and taking timed tests over and over again.  You need to read one note at a time until you don't have to count or think about them.  There are also multiple associations in play here.  There is the pitch class association where we give each pitch class a letter name.  And then there is the association with the keys on the piano (and eventually being able to hit those keys without looking, etc.).

An interesting thought would be to work from other starting points than the score also.  You could write down a bunch of seemingly random note names, then try to write them out on the bass clef, then try to play it.  Or screw around and play a little melody by ear, and write it out both on the clef and as letters.