Troubles with Middle C - Teaching Students to Read Music

I often ask my students this question:

“Why is it called Middle C?”

They always have a quick answer for this, “Because it’s in the middle of the piano!”

Technically, this is true. Middle C is indeed in the middle of the piano, but that isn’t the reason why it’s called that. Middle C is actually called so because it is between the Treble Stave and the Bass Stave. This is a unique and significantly different way of looking at it because it places importance on the clefs themselves and prevents the too often misconception that ‘Treble Clef is Right hand’ and ‘Bass Clef is Left Hand’.

When we understand that the function of each clef is to represent different registers and allow for ease of reading, there is no longer any confusion about Middle C and its pesky ledger line.

As always, music notes should not be taught in a vacuum. Instead, musical sound is best understood in relation to other musical sounds. The stave and the clefs are tools to help us notate musical sound. It is flexible and should make things easier not more complicated!

In the PianoForte Printable Membership you will find two wonderful worksheets to help students quickly recognise Middle C and never again confuse it with other ledger lines!