How to Name the Keys on a Piano

It is very easy to identify the names of the keys on a piano. The entire keyboard (88 keys) is just a repeating pattern comprised of 7 white keys and 5 black keys. Of course to be a good piano player you'll need to learn to identify the keys instantly. This lesson has some basic steps that will get you started.

Instructions

1. 

   Take a look at your piano or electronic keyboard, and also look at the picture at left. Notice how the black keys are arranged in alternating patterns of 2 and 3. To the left of the group of two black keys, we have a white key, which is the note C. You'll have many C's on your keyboard, with the exact number depending on whether you have a full-sized keyboard. Each white key to the left of the group of 2 black keys is a C. Each C, in a sense, is really the same note. They are separated by what is called an octave. If you had trouble singing a particular C because it was too high or too low for you, you could usually get away with singing a C an octave higher or lower.

2. 

   Take special note of the most center C on your keyboard. That is called Middle C, and has a special significance in music reading which you will learn about in another article. Your teacher will probably have you sit so that your body centered in front of Middle C.

3. For now we'll just look at the white keys. To the right of C we have D, as you would expect. You can use the two black keys as guideposts to help you find it, especially if you are keeping your eyes on your music, and aren't looking down. To the right of that we have E.

4. The next white key doesn't have any black key in between. It's an F, and you can find it by remembering that it is to the left of each group of three black keys. To the right of that is G.

5. Beginning students are sometimes unnerved to learn that the next key is not H, but is A. The musical alphabet just runs from A to G. To the right of A we have B, and then we're back to C, just an octave higher. Note that there is no black key between B and C.

6. Practice finding and naming these keys. If you want to try something advanced, practice feeling around for them without looking. Advanced pianists are able to play a brand new piece of music while looking at the music, and not down at the keys.

7. 

   Now you'll have to learn the names of the black keys. Each black key actually has two names, as you can see in the picture. The black key to the right of C could be called C# (C sharp), or it could also be called Db (D flat). The reason for this is covered in another music article, but just learn the two names. The general idea is that sharping a note makes it a half-step higher, and flatting a note makes it a half-step lower.

8. Notice how this pattern is applied to each black key. Note that the sharp sign is actually a slanted sort of #, and the flat sign is a slanted sort of "b." In typing, though, we just use # and b. Notice how they really look in the diagram.

9. Practice finding and naming the black keys just as you did with the white keys. Ideally, try to find them without looking down. Just feel the pattern of the black keys on your fingertips as you gently glide across the keyboard.

10. Play the keys as you practice naming them so that you can start to associate the sound with the name. Try playing the same keys in different octaves until you are convinced that they are effectively the same note. Welcome to the world of music! ♫