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You can play it on the 2nd string 1st fret, 3rd string 5th fret, 4th string 10th fret, 5th string 15th fret, and for the 6th string you’ll need to go all the way up to the 20th fret.Īs you can see, this particular note, with the pitch of 261.626 Hz, is nowhere to be found on the 1st, or the high E, string. Let’s start with the beginning of the fretboard. If we were to find this same exact note on the standard 6-string guitar tuned to E standard tuning, then there are four places on the fretboard where you can play it. The “C4” name also comes from this note’s position on standard 88-key pianos, being the 4th C note from the bottom. The exact frequency varies depending on different pitch standards, which have changed over the years. But before we get into that, let’s first define what exactly the middle C note is.Īlso referred to as the C4 in scientific pitch notation, it’s the note with a pitch at around 261.626 Hz in the standard A440 tuning. It requires a more elaborate explanation.Īs you may already know, most notes on the guitar can be played in more than one place on the fretboard. To make things simpler, the standard notation for this instrument is taken one octave higher.Īs a result of this, the answer concerning the location of middle C on the guitar is quite a bit more complicated.
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Technically, guitar notation should be written in bass clef. There are some pretty weird and confusing things about it, especially with the notation. While guitar might be simple to learn, it’s really difficult to master. However, the notation for guitar is always written one octave higher, so the C3 is traditionally written as C4 and C4 as C5. The middle C, or the C4 note, can be played on 2nd string 1st fret, 3rd string 5th fret, 4th string 10th fret, 5th string 15th fret, or 6th string 20th fret. Where Is Middle C On Guitar: Quick Answer 2.3 Why Guitar Music Is Written An Octave Higher.
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