#Middle c bass clef full#

Remember, the standard keyboard starts at A0, shown below. Not only Busoni begins to recognize the unique features of the-afterward dubbed-Imperial Concert Grand.Ĭomposers such as Bartók, Debussy, and Ravel composed music that can only be played and interpreted at the Imperial Concert Grand.

#Middle c bass clef full#

Ludwig Bösendorfer was up for the task and created the prototype piano with eight full octaves. However, he quickly realized he needed more bass notes to emulate the organ’s 16 to 32-foot bass pipes justice. Octave division and the corresponding notes ( source)įerruccio Busoni, an Italian composer, conductor, and pianist, precisely transcribed J.S. The octave sign above the last two notes means it is played an octave higher than actually written-to avoid many ledger lines. To put all of this into perspective, look at the image below. In other words, whether you are playing a flute, trombone, violin, or singing, a C4 will always be the same note (middle C). Regardless of instrument or voice type, ASPN designations are the same. It also comprises a small portion of octaves 0 and 8.

As you can see, the piano keyboard has all seven octaves. The seven octaves divided according to ASPN ( source)ĪSPN labels are helpful for quickly locating specific notes on the piano keyboard and referring to notes when talking about them. Middle C is marked with blue, and the standard tuning A, A4 = 440, is marked in yellow. Starting with a zero (0) eliminates the need for negative numbers (more on this a bit later). On a keyboard, the octaves are divided to start on C each time.

When we need to talk about specific notes or pitches, we’ll need a system everybody understands, and ASPN gives this tool.Įvery single note that the human ear can hear is given its own “name” or number (such as A) with an octave indication in subscript (A4) to show which exact pitch is referred to. ASPN is also known as Scientific Pitch Notation (SPN for short) or International Pitch Notation (IPN). The international standard is to use American Standard Pitch Notation (ASPN). Well, it depends on how you count the notes on the keyboard. To put all of this in perspective, here is the middle C (purple) shown along with all the other C’s on a piano keyboard: Middle C on a piano keyboard ( source)īut we still have not answered the question of whether middle C C3 or C4, and we’ll delve deeper into the next section. Middle C is precisely the same note in both the treble and bass clef-in the treble clef, it uses a ledger line below the stave, and in the bass clef, it uses a ledger line above the stave, but it is still the same note. Middle C in the treble and bass clef ( source) To put it in perspective, look at the image below showing middle C in the treble and bass clef. Middle C is like a landmark in music-it gives us a specific place on the map to tell us where we are. Which C is it? The first one? The second, third, fourth, or fifth one? So it is a bit confusing if you don’t know which one exactly is being referred to.Ĭhances are, if you took music lessons, especially piano lessons, one of the first notes you had to learn was Middle C. When you look at the illustration below, there are many C-notes on the keyboard, but which one is middle C? The C notes on a piano ( source)Ī bit confusing if we cannot pinpoint, for example, D above middle C. There is nothing “middle” about “middle C” until we look at music notation.