Where is middle C on the piano and staff?

Middle C is the best known note on the piano. It is the note most piano lessons start with, and it works as a landmark for finding every other note. It is also the note that links the treble clef and the bass clef: it can be written under one staff or over the other. This page shows where it is on the keyboard, how it looks on the staff in every clef, and why some software gives it a different number.

Where is middle C on the piano?

Look at the black keys. They come in groups of two and three. Find a group of two black keys near the center of the keyboard. The white key immediately to the left of the two black keys is a C. On a full-size piano with 88 keys, the C closest to the center is middle C. It is the fortieth key from the left end, and a little left of the true center of the keyboard. Many pianos have a name plate right above the middle of the keyboard, which gives a helpful guide.

1. Look at the black keys and find a group of two.
2. Put a finger on the white key to the left of the two black keys: that is C.
3. Choose the C nearest the center of the piano. That is middle C.
4. Count up to the next C: it is eight white keys away if you count both ends, and it is C5, one octave higher.

Where is middle C on the staff?

Middle C sits on a short ledger line. In the treble clef, it is the first ledger line below the staff. In the bass clef, it is the first ledger line above the staff. On the grand staff these two positions are the same single line between the staves. The right hand usually plays it when it is written in the treble staff, and the left hand plays it when it is in the bass staff, though many players choose whichever hand is nearer.

Where is middle C in the alto and tenor clefs?

In the C clefs, the clef itself points at middle C. In the alto clef it is on the middle line of the staff. In the tenor clef it is on the fourth line from the bottom. This is why the clefs are called C clefs: the sign is a decorated letter C that marks the place of middle C, wherever it is drawn.

Is middle C called C4 or C3?

In scientific pitch notation, which is the standard used in this site, middle C is C4. Octaves are numbered from C, so C4 starts at middle C and runs up to B4. The lowest key on a piano is A0 and the highest is C8. Some music software and keyboards number octaves differently, and call middle C by another number, usually C3 (some systems also use C5). When you are using a program, check how it labels middle C so you do not play the wrong octave. In MIDI, middle C is note number 60.

What is the frequency of middle C?

Middle C vibrates about 261.63 times per second (261.63 Hz) when the piano is tuned the usual way, with the A above middle C (A4) at 440 Hz. Its octave above, C5, is about 523.25 Hz. Each octave doubles the frequency. Singers often find middle C comfortable, since it falls in the speaking range for many voices.

Why do beginners start on middle C?

Middle C is easy to find and it sits in the middle of the grand staff. Many method books place both thumbs on it. From there, each hand covers five white keys. The right hand goes C D E F G and the left hand goes C B A G F going down, so the two hands are mirror images. When you move the hands out from this position, you can name every note by counting from middle C. If you want to try this, the piano notes page shows how the keys match the staff.

Learning where middle C lives on the keys, on the staff and in each clef is the single most useful first step in reading music. After that, try the ledger lines page to see how notes continue beyond the staff.

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Related pages

• Piano keys labeled: every note on the keyboard
• Piano notes: how the keys match the staff
• The grand staff: treble and bass clef together
• Ledger lines: notes above and below the staff
• Treble clef notes and how to read them
• Bass clef notes and how to read them
• Alto clef: how to read notes in the C clef