The Note C

C is the foundation of Western music theory — the C major scale uses all white keys on the piano with no sharps or flats, making it the first scale most musicians learn. C major sounds plain, clear, and open — the neutral ground every other key is measured against — while C minor is stormy and serious, the key of Beethoven's Fifth. Its reference octave pitch is 261.63 Hz (MIDI note 60). The major triad on C is C Major (C – E – G), and the minor triad is C Minor (C – Eb – G).