Musicians, what does C5, D6, etc. mean? Which notes/octaves do they represent?

Question

I know what middle C is and that's about it. I don't really get what people are referring to when they use this system.

When I describe my range, I say things like two octaves above middle C or the G below middle C.

Someone help me out please.

=]

Answer 1

C4 is generally middle C, but I think one company (Yamaha?) always used C3...

Answer 2

http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/...

Answer 3

They are both Chords

C5 is a "Power chord" used mostly in rock and metal

This is C5 in guitar tab form

_____8________________________________...

_____10_______________________________...

_____10_______________________________...

______________________________________...

______________________________________...

______________________________________...

you take your LEFT INDEX FINGER & put it on the 8th fret on the 6th string....& you put your LEFT RINGFINGER and your LEFT PINKY on both the 10 frets  on the 5th and 4th strings.

You have to press all the notes on the strings at the same time to make a "C5" chord....then strum it....

I dont know where a D6 chord is....hope this helps...

Answer 4

A standard piano has 88 keys (36 black, 52 white) and covers a little over 7 octaves... what the number means when referring to "C4" would be "the 4th C" from the bottom.

Most pianos start a minor 3rd below "C", so they start on an "A0"... then "B0"... this is where it gets tricky...

Some systems refer to the first "C" on the keyboard as "C0"... the next "C" is "C1"... this puts middle C at "C3"...

Other systems number it as "A0", "B0", then "C1"... this puts middle C at "C4".  This is the more common way of notating it, because it denotes where the FULL octaves are.  

So, "C5" would be one octave above middle C, or the C of the 5th FULL octave... D6 is the D of the 6th octave.

Generally, for beginners or people without piano or composition experience, I describe notes similar to how you do...  for example "first line of treble clef E" or "A, the ledger line above the staff"... this helps them visualize it AND leaves no question as to which note or octave I am trying to convey.

Hope this helped!

Answer 5

middle C is generally C4, but can vary depending on the system used

basically, the letter is the note name, and the number is the octave; therefore C5 would be the C an octave above middle C