Piano Basics

In piano, there are notes, keys, and rhythms. Let's start off with keys. First, there are two types of keys. There are black keys, that are black in color, and white keys, that are white in color. There are only 7 different names for the white keys. The first white key starting from the farthest left ln the piano is the key A, and the key to the right of that is the key B, then C, then D, then E,F, and G. After the key G, the cycle repeats until the last key is C. There are 5 different black keys. These also repeat in cycles. Black keys are called sharps or flats. Sharps are one half step to the right of any key (usually a white key), and flats are one half step to the left of any key (also usually a white key).

What is a half step? A half step is the distance between any two keys. So, the black key to the right of the white key C (one half step away) would be called C#, and the black key to the left of the white key B would be B flat. This means that all the black keys would have two names , a sharp and a flat. For example, C# would be the same as D flat. And D# would be the same as E flat. Certain white keys can also be expressed as sharps or flats of other white keys because they are a half step apart. E can be called F flat, and F is also E#. Note that you can have what is called a double sharp (raising a note by two half steps ) and a double flat (lowering a note by two half steps), though these are more common in advanced pieces and otherwise aren't commonly seen. Also note that two half steps make a whole step. Most white keys are whole steps apart (with the exception of E and F, and B and C).

There is another meaning for keys besides white keys and black keys. Keys can be expressed as major or minor, and they basically consist of a set of white keys and/or black keys. This forms what is know as a scale. The key of a piece of music is named after the note a scale starts on, or the home note. (This is kind of like whether the piece of music has a happy or sad tone. These different keys are found by shifting the first note of a scale up or down a half step). Scales follow the pattern of W-W-H-W-W-W-H (Ws are for whole steps, Hs are for half steps),or W-H-W-W-H-W-W. The first is the pattern for a major key, which sounds happier and brighter. The second is for a minor key, which sounds more sad and serious. Major and minor keys can also be named after sharps and flats, too, though if a key is named after a black key, there tend to be more black keys in the corresponding scale. This also mean that some keys are the same, though they have different names (same thing like before; A flat major versus G# major, or B flat major versus A# major).

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