Piano keys labeled

How the piano keys are named

The white keys use the first seven letters of the alphabet: C D E F G A B, then C again. Each run of seven white keys plus the five black keys between them is one octave, and the pattern repeats up the whole keyboard.

A black key is named after the white key on either side of it. The black key just right of C is C♯ (C sharp), and the same key, seen from D, is D♭ (D flat). Both names are correct. Which one you see in printed music depends on the key the piece is in.

There is no black key between E and F or between B and C. Those pairs are already a half step apart.

Finding C, F and middle C

The black keys come in groups of two and three, and they are the quickest way to get your bearings. C is the white key just left of every group of two black keys. F is the white key just left of every group of three. From either one, count up the alphabet.

Middle C is the C nearest the center of the keyboard. On an 88-key piano it is the fourth C from the bottom. Its notes sit between the two staves of the grand staff: one ledger line below the treble clef or one above the bass clef.

Octave numbers

To tell the eight Cs apart, each key gets an octave number. The lowest key is A0, then B0, and the number goes up by one at every C: C1, C2, and so on. Middle C is C4, the A above it (A4) is the 440 Hz note orchestras tune to, and the top key is C8. That adds up to 52 white keys and 36 black keys.

Smaller keyboards with 61 or 76 keys drop notes from both ends, so middle C is no longer the fourth C from the left. It is still the C closest to the middle. Some makers, Yamaha among them, number middle C as C3, so check your manual if a label disagrees with this chart.

The piano notes chart

The second chart puts the grand staff above the keyboard from C3 to C5, with each written note directly over its key. The right hand usually reads the treble staff and the left hand the bass staff. Each step up the staff, from a line to the next space, is the next white key to the right. Sharps and flats in the music move you to the black key just right or just left.

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Labeling your own piano

If you want letters on the keys while you learn, use removable stickers or a printed strip that stands behind the keys instead of anything with strong adhesive, especially on an older piano with ivory keytops. Most teachers suggest taking the labels off once you can find C and F without looking. A printed chart on the music stand does the same job without marking the keys.