middle C
Piano's reference tone
Middle C is the C note near the center of a piano keyboard, serving as a reference point for reading music.
It sits on a ledger line between the treble and bass clefs, marking where the two staves meet.
Musicians use it to orient themselves on an instrument or when sight-reading: Start from middle C and count up four notes.
- CThird alphabet letter
- octaveEight-note interval
- pianoKeyed percussion instrument
- ivory keysTraditional piano surface material
- tuning forkVibrating standard for pitch
standard tuning · music · music theory · piano lesson · keyboard · ear training · solfège · tonic · frequency · clef · beginner exercises · reading notes · B · C4 · A · interval · staff · bass clef
- piano lessonspiano, piano teacher, piano bench, lesson book, practice
- music fundamentalsdo, re, mi, fa, sol
- musical notesA, B, C, D, E
- piano basicshand position, curved fingers, white keys, black keys, hand shape
- piano partsivories, dampers, white keys, hammers, black keys
- pitch termshigh pitch, soprano, alto, tenor, bass
accidentals
middle CC sharp
Semitone below D
black keys · sharps and flats · sharps · flats · accidentals
- middle nameGiven but not primary
- in the middleAt the center point
- middle schoolGrades 6-8 institution
- middle ageLife's middle decades
- in the middle ofLocated centrally within
- middle of nowhereExtremely remote location