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What are the notes on a piano?

Piano notes: the piano keys labeled

A piano has 88 keys: 52 white and 36 black. The white keys use seven letters, A B C D E F G, which repeat in every octave. The black keys are sharps and flats, such as C# or Db. Each C sits just left of a pair of black keys, and middle C is C4.

C4DoD4ReE4MiF4FaG4SolA4LaB4SiC5DoC#DbD#EbF#GbG#AbA#Bb
One octave of the piano, from middle C (C4, in yellow) to the next C. A white key shows its name and its do re mi name. A black key shows its two names: the sharp and the flat.

How to find each note

The black keys come in groups of two and three. They are the map of the keyboard:

  • C is the white key just left of each group of two black keys.
  • D is between the two black keys, and E is just right of them.
  • F is the white key just left of each group of three black keys.
  • G and A are between the three black keys, and B is just right of them.
  • Then the pattern starts again with the next C.

The 12 notes of an octave

NotTuşAlso calledDo re mi
CBeyaz–Do
C#SiyahDbDo#
DBeyaz–Re
D#SiyahEbRe#
EBeyaz–Mi
FBeyaz–Fa
F#SiyahGbFa#
GBeyaz–Sol
G#SiyahAbSol#
ABeyaz–La
A#SiyahBbLa#
BBeyaz–Si

Sharps, flats and half steps

Each key is a half step, or semitone, from the key next to it, black or white. Twelve half steps make an octave.

A sharp, written #, raises a note by a half step: F# is the key just right of F. A flat, written b or ♭, lowers a note by a half step: Gb is the key just left of G. So F# and Gb are the same black key.

There is no black key between E and F, or between B and C, because those white keys are already a half step apart. That is why the black keys come in groups of two and three.

Octaves and middle C

An octave is the step from one note to the next note with the same name, such as C4 to C5. The higher note vibrates twice as fast, so the two sound alike.

The number after a letter is the octave. It goes up by one at every C, so B3 is the key just below C4. A full piano runs from A0 to C8, and middle C, C4, is the C nearest the middle.

C1C2C3C4C5C6C7C8
The 88 keys of a piano, with every C named. The lowest key is A0, the highest is C8, and middle C is yellow.
NotKey from the leftFrequencyNerede
A0127.5 HzThe lowest key
C1432.7 Hz–
C21665.4 Hz–
C328130.8 Hz–
C440261.6 HzMiddle C
A449440 HzThe tuning note
C552523.3 Hz–
C6641,046.5 Hz–
C7762,093 Hz–
C8884,186 HzThe highest key

On a keyboard with fewer keys, find middle C by counting the Cs from the left. On an 88-key piano it is the fourth C, key 40. On a 61-key keyboard, from C2 to C7, it is the third C, key 25.

The notes on the virtual piano

Bu virtual piano plays with the letter keys of a computer, and each key on the screen shows its letter. The bottom row of letters starts at C3, and the top row starts at C4:

NotOctave 3Octave 4Octave 5
CZQI
C#S29
DXWO
D#D30
ECEP
FVR[
F#G5=
GBT]
G#H6–
ANY–
A#J7–
BMU–

The keys , L . ; ve / on the bottom row play C4 to E4 too, so two hands can share the middle of the keyboard.

Sorular

How many keys does a piano have?

A full piano has 88 keys: 52 white keys and 36 black keys, from A0 at the bottom to C8 at the top. Many keyboards have 61 or 76 keys, and small ones have 25, 37 or 49.

What are the 12 notes on a piano?

C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A# and B: seven white keys and five black keys. Then the same 12 notes repeat, one octave higher.

Where is middle C on a piano?

Middle C is the C nearest the middle of the keyboard, and like every C it sits just left of a pair of black keys. On an 88-key piano it is the fourth C from the left, the 40th key. On a 61-key keyboard it is the third C.

Do I need 61 or 88 keys?

A 61-key keyboard is enough for most songs for beginners, and every song of our letter notes fits in the 32 notes of the computer keys of our virtual piano. Much classical music needs all 88 keys, and a full piano has weighted keys, which feel heavier to press.

Why is there no black key between E and F?

E and F are already a half step apart, the smallest step on a piano, and so are B and C. Between the other white keys there is a whole step, so a black key sits in the middle.

What is the difference between a sharp and a flat?

A sharp (#) raises a note to the next key on the right, and a flat (b) lowers it to the next key on the left. So the black key between C and D is both C# and Db.

What does A4 = 440 Hz mean?

It is the tuning note: the A above middle C vibrates 440 times a second. Orchestras and pianos tune to it, and our virtual piano does too.

What are do, re and mi on the piano?

In fixed do, as in Spanish, French and Italian, C is Do, D is Re, E is Mi, F is Fa, G is Sol, A is La and B is Si. In English lessons, do is often the first note of the key, so it moves with the song.

What is H in German notes?

In German, H is the white key B, and B means B flat (Bb). The other letters are the same as in English.

Practice with a song

These songs stay on the white keys around middle C. Each one shows its notes line by line.

All easy piano songsVirtual piano