The piano is the most visual of all instruments, with notes neatly laid out in order. The piano keys are organized in a regular, repeating pattern that is easy to recognize. That pattern helps aspiring piano students figure out how notes on a piano are named.
Basic Orientation to the Piano Keyboard
First things first: The notes on the left side of the piano are the low notes, and the notes on the right side are the high notes. In the case of the piano, the word's "up" and "down" don't refer to physical space, but to pitch.
Looking inside the piano reveals that the strings on the far left side are fat and long; they vibrate at a low frequency and thus make a low sound. As the pianist plays notes going "up" the keyboard ("up" meaning going to the right), each subsequent string gets thinner and shorter, and the sound gets higher.
Black Notes and White Notes on a Piano
Non-musicians sometimes have a misconception that the white notes on a piano are the basic building blocks, and the black notes are somehow ornamental or extra. In reality, all the notes are of equal importance. The regular, repeating pattern of white notes and black notes makes it easier for pianists to identify the notes.
The black notes are organized in groups of two alternating with groups of three. Piano students quickly learn that the Cs on the piano are the white notes found immediately to the left of a group of two black notes. The Fs on the piano are all found immediately to the left of the group of three black notes. All the other notes can be be found by counting up or down from a known note. For example, the white note to the right of C is a D; the next white note is an E, then an F (which will be found to the left of the group of three black notes). The next note to the right is a G.
The musical alphabet only has seven letters in it, so after G, the cycle starts again on A. A is also the lowest note on any standard 88-note piano keyboard. However digital pianos come in various sizes, and have different number of notes; not all of them start on A (For example, the lowest note on the popular 61-note digital keyboards often used by beginners is a C).
Practice identifying notes by throwing a hand down on the piano and figuring out which note you land on.
Sharps, Flats, and Black Notes on the Piano
Black notes are identified as being "sharp" or "flat" notes. This can seem a bit confusing at first, because every black note on the piano can be called either a sharp or a flat. The sign for a sharp is a sign that looks like a number sign, or a slanty tic-tac-toe board (#). The sign for a flat looks like a slanty small letter "b" (b).
A sharp simply means to go up the keyboard to the very next note. For instance, starting at middle C, to find C# sharp, simply go up to the very next black note, which is found just to the right of middle C.
Similarly, a flat means to go down the keyboard to the very next note (think of a flat tire making the car sink down). Start on the D next to middle C. Go down (left) on the keyboard to the very next black note: This is a D flat.
It shouldn't escape notice that this D flat is the very same note as C sharp. It's a bit confusing, but every black note on the piano can be both a sharp and a flat. Just as that C sharp is the same as a D flat, an F sharp is the same note as a G flat; an A sharp is the same note as a B flat, and so on.
To add even more confusion, Sharps and flats don't have to be black notes. To see how this works, find an E. Now go up to the very next note. Notice that there is no black note between E and F. That means that a the very next note -- the E sharp -- is actually an F. Similarly, an F flat is also an E.
Clear as mud, right?
The reason for all this apparent complexity is that, as confusing as it is at first, having the option to write in sharps or flats actually makes it easier to notate and read complex music. What seems senselessly confusing at first will actually make your music reading life easier -- down the road a bit. By practicing playing various black notes and white notes on the piano, and figuring out what to call them, aspiring piano students will soon learn their way around the keyboard.
Karen Berger - Karen Berger is the author of 15 books. Please click on her name to read her full bio.
