Middle C frequency
Middle C is C4, 261.63 Hz in standard tuning, with A4 at 440 Hz. It is the fourth C from the bottom of an 88-key piano, near the middle of the keyboard, and MIDI note 60.
Where middle C is
On a piano it is the white key just left of a pair of black keys, the fourth C from the bottom and the 40th key of 88. In written music it sits on the short line below the treble staff, which is the same as the short line above the bass staff.
C4, C3 or C5?
This chart uses scientific pitch notation, where middle C is C4 and each octave’s number starts on C. Some music apps count differently: Ableton Live, Logic Pro and Cubase call MIDI note 60 C3, and FL Studio calls it C5.
It is the same key and the same 261.63 Hz; only the number changes. The Prodverse editor calls it C4.
Middle C in other tunings
With A4 at 432 Hz middle C is 256.87 Hz; at 442 Hz, the pitch many orchestras in Europe use, it is 262.81 Hz. Scientific pitch, a tuning that puts every C on a power of two, sets it to exactly 256 Hz, with A4 at about 430.54 Hz.
Every C’s frequency
Each C is twice the frequency of the one below it.
| Note | Frequency |
|---|---|
| C0 | 16.35 Hz |
| C1 | 32.7 Hz |
| C2 | 65.41 Hz |
| C3 | 130.81 Hz |
| C4 (middle C) | 261.63 Hz |
| C5 | 523.25 Hz |
| C6 | 1,046.5 Hz |
| C7 | 2,093 Hz |
| C8 | 4,186.01 Hz |
Any note’s frequency
Pick a note and an octave, or type a frequency for its note. Every note is on the note frequency chart.
Equal temperament, the tuning of a piano and of almost all music: each note is the twelfth root of two higher than the one below.
Questions
What frequency is middle C?
261.63 Hz, with A4 tuned to 440 Hz. Its sound wave repeats about 262 times a second.
Is middle C 256 Hz?
Only in scientific pitch, a tuning that sets each C to a power of two. In standard tuning, with A4 at 440 Hz, it is 261.63 Hz.
What are the C above and below middle C?
C5, 523.25 Hz, twice middle C’s frequency, and C3, 130.81 Hz, half of it.
What MIDI note is middle C?
60. Each semitone is one number: C♯4 is 61 and A4 is 69.
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