Welcome friend! You’ve made the first step toward committing to a great dream, learning piano.
I know you may have some reservations about learning this instrument, whether you are cut out for this great task, or not.
I want you to know that if you commit now, and take it in stages, you can learn anything you set your mind to.
First, let’s start with these known facts about the piano.
The Keyboard is made up of black keys and white keys. When looking at the keyboard, you will notice that the black keys are in groups of two’s and three’s.
When moving to the left on the keyboard, you are moving DOWN to the lower keys. Moving to your right is considered moving UP to the higher keys.
A piano comes with a 12-note pattern. While there are many notes on a piano, it’s really 12 notes being repeated over and over. (I.e. From C to B chromatically is 12 notes repeating)
Piano Hand Fingering
In piano, every finger has a number. These numbers will help with your development when learning scales, licks, runs and other things.
Hold up your right hand. Your thumb is 1, your index finger is 2, your middle finger is 3, your ring finger is 4, and your little finger is 5.
Hold up your left hand. Your thumb is 1, your index finger is 2, your middle finger is 3, your ring finger 4, and your little finger is 5.
Piano Note Names
White Keys
Each key on the keyboard represents a specific musical note. The piano uses 7 notes of the alphabet: A-B-C-D-E-F-G. For all 88, 76, or 61 key piano instruments, these 7 letters repeat over and over. The 7 note names (A-B-C-D-E-F-G) are all on the white keys. If you are a beginner, you will want to practice finding the notes.
Black Keys
Take a look at the groups of two black keys. Let’s look at the black key on the left. Notice that it is surrounded by C and D. Because it is to the right of C, it is called C-Sharp, (written C#). It is also known as D-Flat (written Db) because it is to the left of D.
Take a look at the groups of two black keys again. Let’s look at the black key on the right. Notice that it is surrounded by D and E. Because it is to the right of D, it is called D-Sharp, (written D#). It is also known as E-Flat (written Eb) because it is to the left of E.
Take a look at the groups of three black keys. Let’s look at the black key on the left of the group of three black keys. Notice that it is surrounded by F and G. Since it is to the right of F, what is the name of this key? If you said F-Sharp (F#) you’re right! It is to the left of G, so it has another name. What is it? If you said G-Flat (written Gb) you are right again!
Let’s look at the black key in the middle. Notice that it is surrounded by G and A. Since it is to the right of G, what is it called? If you said G-Sharp (written G#) you’re right! It is to the left of A, so it has another name. What is it? If you said A-flat (written Ab) then you are right again!
Take a look at the groups of three black keys one final time. Let’s look at the black key to the right of the group of three black keys. Notice that it is surrounded by A and B. What are its two names then? If you said A-Sharp (written A#) and B-Flat (written Bb) then you are correct! This black key is called A-Sharp (written A#) because it is located to the right of A, and it is called B-Flat (written Bb) because it is located to the left of B.