Piano Basics · Chapter 2 of 9
Finding C and the Musical Alphabet
The white keys have names, and there are only seven of them. Find C, and the rest fall into place.
Music uses the first seven letters of the alphabet: A B C D E F G. That’s all. After G, the names start over at A. This is the musical alphabet, and it runs along the white keys from left to right.
Find C
Most lessons start with C, because it’s easy to find: C is the white key just to the left of each group of two black keys.
The other white keys
From C, the names go up in alphabet order, one white key at a time: C, D, E, F, G, A, B. Then the next C begins the pattern again. Each name has its own spot next to the black keys:
| Key | Where to find it |
|---|---|
| C | just left of the two black keys |
| D | between the two black keys |
| E | just right of the two black keys |
| F | just left of the three black keys |
| G and A | between the three black keys (G first, then A) |
| B | just right of the three black keys |
Turn on Letter names whenever you want to check yourself. Try to need them less and less.
Octaves
Play a C, then the next C to its right. They sound alike, like the same note sung by a lower voice and a higher voice. The distance from one C to the next C is called an octave. Oct means eight: count the white keys from C up to C, counting both, and you get eight.
Every letter works this way. Any key and the next key with the same name are an octave apart.
Middle C
The C closest to the middle of the keyboard is called middle C. On a full 88-key piano it’s the fourth C from the left. You’ll use it as home base: you sit in front of it, and much of the music you’ll learn first sits around it. On the keys on this site, middle C has a small gold dot.
Musicians also number the octaves, so every key has its own name. The octave that starts on middle C is number 4, so middle C is C4, the D next to it is D4, and so on up to B4. The next C is C5. The C below middle C is C3.
Remember
- The white keys are named A B C D E F G, over and over.
- C is just left of the two black keys. F is just left of the three.
- From one key to the next key with the same name is an octave.
- Middle C (C4) is your home base, near the middle of the keyboard.