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A video I saw said the C note above middle C (octave) is called Treble C. Below middle C is called Bass C. He didn't mention other notes. Would the same be true referring to the D note on the treble staff as treble D? I assume ALL the treble notes E thru F are called treble notes and same for bass notes. Is that the correct music terminology? And any notes above the treble staff are called high C, high D and below the bass staff is low C, low D, etc.? Something isn't right because there are 2 D notes above middle C. They wouldn't both be treble D.

omega0401
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    Care to share the video? The concept is flawed - there are two E notes on the treble clef- I assume that's where the naming comes from, and two A notes on the bass clef. So the idea isn't too safe, and probably erroneous. Other notes are doubled too, and would the D above middle c be called middle D - in fact, on piano, there's a lot of logic to that being the case! – Tim Jul 20 '19 at 19:12
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    Whoever made that video I think made things confusing for you. I’ve never hear the terms “treble C” or “treble D” or “bass F” or anything like that. I think the video maker just invented that and it’s not a very good naming system. I suggest a solid textbook on music theory instead of questionable YouTube videos. – Todd Wilcox Jul 20 '19 at 19:49
  • FWIW, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C_(musical_note) mentions "Treble C", and https://music.stackexchange.com/a/69568/18896 mentions "Bass C" - whatever this video is, it doesn't seem to be the only place to use these terms... – Нет войне Jul 21 '19 at 05:39
  • I always thought the C above Middle C was "High C" and the C below Middle C was "Low C". – Dekkadeci Jul 21 '19 at 06:10
  • Faber piano books use treble C and bass C as well. I find it useful because C's then function as landmark notes to make finding other notes easier. – Jacob Smolowe Jul 21 '19 at 14:13
  • I would recommend avoiding this terminology, especially if you are playing an instrument from the saxophone family (for which all notes are in the treble clef, even for the contrabass saxophone). It's much better to refer to those notes as Middle C, Low C and High C, like @Dekkadeci suggested. – Pyromonk Jul 22 '19 at 07:17

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The only way to really be clear about what pitch is intended is to use a system that indicates the octave like Helmholtz or Scientific Pitch Notation.

'Names' can be unclear. 'Middle C' has a clear meaning, it's C4. But names like 'high C' aren't clear. For a soprano a high C is C6, but for a tenor it is C5.

This wiki chart shows a combination of octave naming.

Michael Curtis
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  • I've read on this website that some keyboard systems use C3 for Middle C instead of C4. – Dekkadeci Jul 22 '19 at 17:25
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    @Dekkadeci, is that an electronic versus acoustic thing? (Either way it reinforces the main point.) – Michael Curtis Jul 22 '19 at 17:31
  • The note name + octave number system isn't perfect either. Some systems start at -1, some - at 0, and some start at 1... That's particularly noticeable with certain DAW's (like Renoise) and VST's. For the saxophone "Middle C" is a term used to refer to what is in effect a "median" C. 3 different C's can be played within the instrument's formal range, the 1st one is called "Low C", the 2nd one is called "Middle C" and the 3rd one - "High C". This is probably similar to what you tried to explain referring to human vocal ranges. – Pyromonk Jul 24 '19 at 03:41