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'''C''' or '''Do''' is the first note of the fixed-Do [[solfège]].

In [[Western music]], the expression "'''Middle C'''" refers to the [[musical note|note]] "'''C'''" located exactly between the two [[staff (music)|staves]] of the [[grand staff]].  This note resonates at a frequency of 261.626 [[hertz]], and is near the top of the [[Bass (vocal range)|bass]] [[vocal range]] and near the bottom of the [[soprano]] range.<ref name=Apel>{{cite book 
|title= Harvard Dictionary of Music: Second Edition
|last= Apel
|first= Willi
|year= 1968
|publisher= Belknap Press
|isbn= 978-0674375017}}</ref>  The note is designated C4 in [[scientific pitch notation]] (also known as note-octave notation), so named because of the note's position as the fourth C key on a standard 88-key [[piano]] keyboard.  While other pitch notation systems (including those used by some manufacturers of digital music keyboards) may refer to "Middle C" with a different designation, the C4 designation is the most commonly recognized in auditory science and most frequently used in musical studies.

While the expression "Middle C" is generally clear across instruments and clefs, some musicians tend to use the term to refer to the C note in the middle of their specific instrument's range.  For example, C4 may be called "Low C" by someone playing a [[Western concert flute]] (which has a higher and narrower [[playing range]] than a piano), while C5 (523.251 Hz) would be "Middle C".  This technically inaccurate practice has led some pedagogues to encourage standardizing on C4 as the definitive "Middle C" in instructional materials across all instruments.<ref name=Large>{{cite journal 
|last=Large
|first= John
|year= 1981
|month= February
|title= Theory in Practice: Building a Firm Foundation
|journal= Music Educators Journal
|volume= 32
|pages= 30–35}}</ref>

Within vocal music the term '''Soprano C''', sometimes called '''High C''', is the C two [[octave]]s above Middle C.  It is named because it is considered the defining note of the soprano [[voice type]].  It is also called '''C6''' in scientific pitch notation. In Helmholtz notation, it is '''c′″'''. The term '''Tenor C''' is sometimes used in vocal music to refer to C5 as it is the highest required note in the standard Tenor repertoire. The term tenor C can also refer to an [[organ (musical instrument)]] [[List of pipe organ builders|builder's]] term for small C or C3, the note one [[octave]] below Middle C.  In [[List of pipe organs|stoplists]] it usually means that a [[Organ stop|rank]] is not full compass, omitting the bottom octave.<ref>{{cite news | first=Daniel J. | last=Wakin | coauthors= | title=The Note That Makes Us Weep | date=2007-09-09 | publisher= | url =http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/09/weekinreview/09wakin.html | work =New York Times | pages = | accessdate = 2007-12-12 | language = }}</ref>

When calculated in [[equal temperament]] with a reference of A above middle C as 440 [[hertz|Hz]], the [[frequency]] of the middle C note is approximately 261.626 Hz. See [[pitch (music)]] for a discussion of historical variations in frequency.

For the frequency of each note on a standard piano, see [[piano key frequencies]].

==Designation by octave==
{|class="wikitable"
![[Scientific pitch notation|Scientific]] Designation
![[Helmholtz pitch notation|Helmholtz]] Designation
![[Bilinear Music Notation]]
!Octave Name
!Frequency (Hz)
|-
|C-1
|Cˌˌˌ
|(-uC)
|Subsubcontra
|8.176
|-
|C0
|Cˌˌ
|(-vC)
|Subcontra
|16.352
|-
|C1
|Cˌ
|(-wC)
|Contra
|32.703
|-
|C2
|C
|(-xC)
|Great
|65.406
|-
|C3
|c
|(-yC)
|Small
|130.813
|-
|C4   :Middle C
|c′   :Middle C
|(zC)   :Middle C
|One-lined
|261.626
|-
|C5
|c′′
|(yC)
|Two-lined
|523.251
|-
|C6
|c′′′
|(xC)
|Three-lined
|1046.502
|-
|C7
|c′′′′
|(wC)
|Four-lined
|2093.005
|-
|C8
|c′′′′′
|(vC)
|Five-lined
|4186.009
|-
|C9
|c′′′′′′
|(uC)
|Six-lined
|8372.018
|}

==Graphic presentation==
[[Image:Middle C in four clefs.svg|centre|600px|thumb|Middle C in four [[clef]]s]]
[[Image:MiddleC-Keyboard.svg|thumb|600px|centre|Position of Middle C on an 88-key [[musical keyboard|keyboard]]]]

==See also==   
* [[Piano key frequencies]] 

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Semitones}}

{{music-theory-stub}}

[[es:Do (nota musical)]]
[[et:C (muusika)]]
[[fr:Ut (note)]]
[[gl:Dó (música)]]
[[it:Do (nota)]]
[[he:דו]]
[[ka:დო (ნოტი)]]
[[lv:Do (nots)]]
[[nah:Do]]
[[ja:中央ハ]]
[[pl:C (dźwięk)]]
[[pt:Dó]]
[[ru:До (нота)]]
[[simple:Middle C]]
[[fi:Keski-C]]
[[uk:До (нота)]]
[[zh:中央C]]


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