What Exactly Does ‘Middle C’ Refer To?

— Daily Journal Entry 014 —

I used to think that the term, Middle C, only referred to piano. As in, the physical spot for the C note that is in the middle of the keyboard. But that’s not the case at all. It’s actually the C note right between where the treble clef and bass clef meet in a piece of sheet music. Think of it as the line where every note below Middle C is part of the bass clef, while everything above it is a treble clef note.

I don’t spend a lot time reading music these days, so please forgive me if a didn’t explain that exactly right. I’m primarily pointing out that it’s not necessarily just a physical keyboard position. AND… it’s not just for piano. It refers to music theory in general.

Though, the C note is definitely the best physical reference point on the piano. Any C note (the white key directly to the left of any two black keys). Its just prepares you (or, at least me) for what I will attempt to play. I use that note to orient myself to the keyboard. Now, this could be because I’m not a veteran piano player. Maybe using C to familiarize myself with the rest of the keyboard is a beginner thing? If it is, oh well. It works…

I only know a handful of chords anyway, as far as being able to name them as I’m playing them goes. I know C, A, F, and G Major. Actually, the A Major might not be a Major chord. I’m referring to the chords in the age-old song, “Heart-N-Soul,” which is pretty much the first song I ever learned to play on any instrument. But, I don know that the songs starts off with a resounding, “C.”…

Until Next Time,

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Featured Image: My parents’ old Wurlitzer Piano that belonged to my Grandparents on my Father’s side. As of the writing of this post, it’s still staying (mostly) in tune. View on Flikr.

Note: These “Daily Journal Entries” are part of a mini blog within the main blog where I make every effort to publish a 250+ word post per day on top of the regular, longer posts. The idea is to just create a daily habit of publishing written content. And also, to try and become a better overall writer… We’ll see…

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