middle C
noun
: the note designated by the first ledger line below the treble staff and the first above the bass staff
Examples of middle C in a Sentence
the note above middle C
Recent Examples on the Web
Unlike the rich, powerful qualities of a dramatic soprano, or the warm, singing tone of a lyric soprano, the coloratura soprano possesses a high range (to the second C above middle C and higher) and extreme agility.
—
René Ostberg,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
26 May 2026
To my great delight, what emanated from the clarinet was a clear middle C that must have been echoed by the angels on high.
—
Robert Klose,
Christian Science Monitor,
10 Oct. 2025
During a fifty-one-note melismatic passage on the first syllables, the line gyrates between the C above middle C and the G below middle C—deep in the contralto register.
—
Alex Ross,
The New Yorker,
30 Jan. 2023
But humans couldn’t hear that note because its frequency was too low - the equivalent to a B-flat, some 57 octaves below the middle C note of a piano, according to NASA.
—
Annabelle Timsit,
Anchorage Daily News,
23 Aug. 2022
But humans couldn’t hear that note because its frequency was too low — the equivalent to a B-flat, some 57 octaves below the middle C note of a piano, according to NASA.
—
Annabelle Timsit,
Washington Post,
21 Aug. 2022
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René Ostberg,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
26 May 2026
To my great delight, what emanated from the clarinet was a clear middle C that must have been echoed by the angels on high.
—
Robert Klose,
Christian Science Monitor,
10 Oct. 2025
During a fifty-one-note melismatic passage on the first syllables, the line gyrates between the C above middle C and the G below middle C—deep in the contralto register.
—
Alex Ross,
The New Yorker,
30 Jan. 2023
But humans couldn’t hear that note because its frequency was too low - the equivalent to a B-flat, some 57 octaves below the middle C note of a piano, according to NASA.
—
Annabelle Timsit,
Anchorage Daily News,
23 Aug. 2022
But humans couldn’t hear that note because its frequency was too low — the equivalent to a B-flat, some 57 octaves below the middle C note of a piano, according to NASA.
—
Annabelle Timsit,
Washington Post,
21 Aug. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Middle C.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/middle%20C. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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