C

musical note

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Britannica Editors

C, third note of the musical alphabet, and one which has always occupied a peculiarly distinctive position in that it is the keynote of what was once called the natural scale. Thus on the pianoforte it consists entirely of white notes and hence has come to be regarded as the simplest and most fundamental of all keys. C is further one of the three notes (F and G being the others) which have served for centuries, in conjunction with the appropriate signs, to indicate the clefs.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Michael Ray.

C

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