Middle C: where it is on the piano

Middle C is the C closest to the center of the keyboard. To spot it, find the pair of black keys nearest the middle: middle C is the white key immediately to their left. On a standard 88-key piano it is key 40, the fourth C counting up from the bottom, and its name in scientific pitch notation is C4. It sounds at about 261.63 Hz, and in sheet music it sits on a short ledger line between the treble and bass staves. Because it is easy to find and sits between the two hands, it is a common reference point for naming other notes and placing the hands.

On the keyboard above, middle C is the one lit key. The two black keys just to its right, C#4/Db4 and D#4/Eb4, are the landmark to look for on any instrument.

The diagram marks middle C and shows the Cs an octave below and above it, C3 and C5. All three Cs look alike; only their place on the keyboard tells them apart.

Where middle C is on each keyboard size

Middle C is always a C, and always just left of a group of two black keys. What changes from one keyboard size to the next is which C it is. Ranges vary a little by model; these are the most common.

A piano has more keys above middle C than below it, so on a full-size instrument middle C sits a little left of center. On a 49-key or 25-key keyboard that runs from C to C, middle C is the exact center key.

Keyboards with octave buttons can move it: one press of Octave + makes that key sound C5, and one press of Octave − makes it sound C3. If a note sounds in the wrong octave, check that no octave shift is active; the guide to piano octaves explains how the shift works.

Middle C is C4, but some keyboards call it C3

In scientific pitch notation, also called American standard pitch notation, the octave number goes up at every C, and middle C is C4 because it is the fourth C on an 88-key piano. This is the naming used throughout this site: the lowest key is A0 and the highest is C8.

Electronic instruments also number notes. In MIDI, the standard that keyboards, apps and computers use to send notes to each other, middle C is note number 60 on every instrument, and the A above it is note 69. What MIDI does not fix is the octave number printed next to the letter, and makers differ:

• Yamaha's manuals call middle C "C3". The manual for its 88-key P-115 digital piano labels the keys from A-1 at the bottom to C7 at the top, and its portable keyboard manuals mark key 60 as C3.
• Apple's Logic Pro has a setting, Display Middle C As, with two choices: C3, labeled Yamaha, and C4, labeled Roland.
• Occasionally middle C is even labeled "C5".

The key and its sound are the same in every case: note 60, about 261.63 Hz. Only the label moves, so when a manual, app or MIDI chart says C3, check whether it means note 60.

Middle C on the staff

Piano music is written on two staves at once, and middle C lives in the gap between them. It is written on its own short line, a ledger line, either just below the treble staff or just above the bass staff; both mean the same key. The staff it is written on usually shows which hand plays it, because the upper staff is normally for the right hand and the lower staff for the left. The staff diagram shows middle C on its ledger line with every line and space of both staves.

The two clefs are anchored a fifth away from middle C on either side. The treble clef, or G clef, curls around its second line to mark G4, the G a fifth above middle C. The bass clef, or F clef, puts its two dots around its fourth line to mark F3, the F a fifth below it. The grand staff guide walks through every note between them, and the treble clef and bass clef pages give each staff note by note.

Middle C and the hands

Two common first hand positions are built on middle C. In C position, the right thumb starts on middle C and the right hand spans five white keys up to G4, while the left little finger rests on C3, the C below. In middle C position, both thumbs share middle C, and the left hand covers F3 to C4 just below it. The finger numbers guide shows which finger goes on which key.

Middle C is also a handy anchor for pitch. At 261.63 Hz it is nine half steps below A4, the 440 Hz tuning note, and each octave doubles or halves its frequency: C5 is 523.25 Hz and C3 is 130.81 Hz. The piano notes chart lists all 88 keys with their frequencies.