Finding Notes on the Keyboard

A piano keyboard has a  number of black and white keys, running left to right.  The left end of the keyboard is  the bass end, for low frequency pitches, and the right end is the treble end, for high frequency pitches.  The standard piano has 88 keys.  Electronic keyboards differ in their number of keys: some have 49, some 61, some 76, and some have 88.

The keys on a keyboard are arranged in a repeating twelve key pattern.  Twelve keys make up one octave.  Each octave has seven white keys and five black keys.  The seven white keys in each octave are labelled with lettera A through G, although we usually think of the pattern as starting at letter C. From low to high, the pattern is follows:

1. C
2. black
3. D
4. black
5. E
6. F
7. black
8. G
9. black
10. A
11. black
12. B

The black keys in the pattern are referred to as  sharp or flat relative to a neighboring white key. For example, key number four would be called either D-sharp or E-flat.

The relationship between any pair of consecutive keys is always the same over the entire keyboard. It's called a half-step or minor second.  Two half steps in a row add up to  a whole step.  Twelve half-steps in a row add up to an octave. 

Middle C

Middle C on an 88 key keyboard whose first note is an A is the fourth C up from the bass end.  However, on a 61 key keyboard, whose first note is an A, middle C is the third C up from the bass end.

Keyboard Basics