Having the black keys grouped into sets of either two or three makes seeing and feeling them easier and quicker for a keyboardist.Įxample 2 shows a piano keyboard with the letter names of the white key pitches labeled, and some whole-steps bracketed: Example 2. The piano keyboard is arranged like this so that it is easier to play. This is because E to F is a half-step and B to C is also a half-step. Two pairs of white keys-E/F and B/C-do not have black keys in between them (see Example 1). One would say that this black key is a half-step above G and is simultaneously a half-step below A. In other words, the black key to the upper right of G is “in between” the notes G and A. Likewise, a half-step below a white key note (for example, the note A) is the black key to its upper left. On the piano keyboard (see Example 1) a half-step above a white key note (for example, the note G) is the black key to its upper right. The white keys some half-steps are labeled.Ī half-step is considered to be the smallest interval, or distance between two notes, in western musical notation. Half- and Whole-stepsĮxample 1 shows a piano keyboard with the letter names of the white key pitches, and some half-steps labeled: Example 1. Before we discuss the names of the black keys, however, we must first learn about half- and whole-steps. There are also black keys on the piano keyboard, which are grouped into alternating sets of two or three. In the last chapter, The Keyboard and the Grand Staff, we discussed the letter names of the white keys on the piano keyboard.

Notes have enharmonic equivalence when they are spelled differently but sound the same.

Be sure to write accidentals to the left of a note, directly across the line or space on which a note appears.A double sharp raises a note by a whole-step, while a double flat lowers a note by a whole-step.

A sharp raises a note by a half-step while a flat lowers a note by a half-step. An accidental changes the pitch of a note.

A whole-step above a key on the piano is two keys to its right, while a whole-step below a key on the piano is two keys to its left.

A half-step above a key on the piano is the key to its immediate right, while a half-step below a key on the piano is the key to its immediate left.

Fall for you piano notes