
The cool thing about this is that once you know the formula you can play any Major scale. If you play all the white keys from C to C, you will have played a C Major scale.Īs you can see, the C Major scale is made up of 2 whole steps, a half step, 3 whole steps, and another half step. Going back to our piano keys chart, take a look at the white keys starting with C. This is because scales and keys make up the foundations of music theory and help us understand how music is written. No matter what instrument you choose to play (and this includes voice!) scales will be an important part of your learning and practice routine.
#PIANO KEYS NOTES SERIES#
Scales and KeysĪ scale is made up of a series of half and whole steps that span an octave. Scales come in many different variations but for now we’ll just stick with major scales to keep things easy. The key a piece is written in will determine which notes are sharp or flat, and keys are based on their corresponding scales. The reason for this is because music is written in keys. Notes that sound the same but have two different names are known as enharmonic notes. You probably also noticed that some keys have more than one note name. The first notes are a half step (specifically C to D#) and the second notes are a whole step (specifically C to D). Therefore, the space between those two sets of notes is also a half step. Normally this is a black key to a while key, but between E and F and between B and C there is no black key. Sharps and flats raise or lower a note by a half step respectively, and the space between notes that are next to each other on the keyboard is a half step.

When talking about steps, especially in relation to scales, we talk about half steps and whole steps. Music moves in steps going up or down in pitch. The b represents flat notes and the # represents sharp notes. You may have noticed that some notes have a b or a # next to the letter name.

Once you know the note names for the 12 keys shown above you’ve learned the entire keyboard!
#PIANO KEYS NOTES FULL#
On the full keyboard this pattern repeats seven times, hence the seven octaves. Notice that there are five black keys, broken into a set of two and a set of three. On the piano keys chart above, we’ve pulled out a section of the keyboard and labeled all the keys with their letter names. The distance between a note and the next time that note repeats on the keyboard is called an octave. While every pitch will sound different, the notes repeat in a series ranging from A-G.
#PIANO KEYS NOTES PLUS#
Use this piano keys chart to learn the note names and their corresponding places on the staff and you’ll be on your way to playing piano in no time! Piano Keys Chart: The KeyboardĪ full piano keyboard consists of 88 keys spanning seven octaves plus a minor third. That’s not to say that becoming a proficient piano player is quick and easy, but it does make the beginning stages of learning a bit easier.

Unlike other instruments that take time to learn all the various positions and embouchure techniques for different notes, the piano keys are all there in front of you waiting to be played. Sharp means that the note is a semitone higher, while flat means that it's a semitone lower.One of the best things about beginning to learn piano is that the keys are easily laid out for you. C sharp and D flat are enharmonic equivalents because while they are played by the same key, they have different note names. There's a term used to describe this and it's called enharmonics.

But isn't this the same key? Why do they have different names, you might ask. On piano, this is the black key to the immediate left of D. The note which is one semitone lower than D is D flat. On piano, this is the black key to the immediate right of C. The note which is one semitone higher than C is C sharp. The distance between D and D Flat is also a semitone. For example, the distance between C and C sharp is a semitone. It is the distance between two notes which are next to each other in pitch. A semitone is also called a half step or half tone and is the smallest interval in Western music. What does sharp and flat really mean? To help you understand this better let's talk for a moment about what is known as a semitone. Piano keyboard diagram, layout of keys and notes.
