How to Learn the Notes of a Musical Keyboard

Learning where the notes are on the musical keyboard is not difficult.

Learning the notes of a musical keyboard is a skill that will come with daily practice. While it's easier if you have a background in music, that's not a requirement. Until you get the hang of it, writing each note on a piece of masking tape and attaching it to the keyboard is useful to work on learning where each note is on the keyboard. Start by labeling all of the white keys in the key of C.

Things You'll Need

• Masking tape
• Pen

Instructions

1. Find middle C on the keyboard and press down on it. Middle C will be the 15th white key, counting from left to right, if your keyboard has 49 or 61 notes. If you have a keyboard that has 88 keys, middle C will be the 24th white key.

2. Tear off a piece of masking tape and write the letter C on it. Stick it on the middle C key. The rest of the notes will be to the right of the middle C. The notes are as follows, white keys only: D, E, F, G, A, B and C again at the top.

3. Label the rest of your keyboard keys with the corresponding note names written on a piece of masking tape.

4. Practice playing up and down the C major scale, saying each note out loud as you strike the key. As you go along in your practicing, start to take the tape off the keys. Then practice going up and down the scale saying each note name out loud without the labels on the keys.

References

• Free Online Piano Lessons: Identifying Piano Notes
• Gary Ewer's Easy Music Theory: Lesson 3 -- The Keyboard
• Get Piano Lessons: The Secret to Understanding the Layout of Piano Keys

Resources

• Free Online Piano Lessons: Learning Piano Notes