- Details
- Written by: Jamin Coller
- Category: Note Names
- Hits: 94
Hear the difference between higher and lower pitches, then find the same movement on a piano keyboard.
Move toward the sound you hear
Find two notes far apart
Play a note on the left side of the piano and one on the right. Listen before naming which sound is higher.
Move a little at a time
Play a short sequence toward the right, then toward the left. Notice how the pitch rises or falls as you move.
Try it without looking
Ask someone to play two notes, or use the higher-or-lower exercise in Ear Training. Decide whether the second sound moved up or down.
Higher pitch is different from louder sound. You can play a low note loudly or a high note quietly. Listen for the direction of the pitch rather than how forcefully the key was played.
- Details
- Written by: Jamin Coller
- Category: Note Names
- Hits: 71
Use the repeating groups of two and three black keys to find your way around the piano.
Find the repeating pattern
Find a group of two black keys
Look for two neighboring black keys with a gap on either side. Find that group in more than one place.
Find a group of three
Now find three neighboring black keys. Alternate between finding groups of two and groups of three.
Find C from the pattern
C is the white key immediately to the left of a group of two black keys. Find several Cs without counting from the end of the keyboard.
The pattern repeats across the keyboard. Some keyboards begin or end partway through a group, so use a complete group near the middle while learning. Black keys are part of the same musical system as white keys, not a separate advanced instrument.
- Details
- Written by: Jamin Coller
- Category: Note Names
- Hits: 75
Learn the seven letter names that repeat across the piano, using the black-key pattern as your guide.
Give the keys their names
Find C
Look immediately to the left of a group of two black keys. That white key is C.
Walk through the letters
Moving right from C, play C D E F G A B, then C again. The letter sequence starts over after G.
Find the same note elsewhere
Choose one letter and find it in several octaves. Use the nearby black-key groups instead of counting every key.
The same letter name appears in different registers. Those notes share a name but sound higher or lower. Add sharps and flats after you can confidently locate the natural letter names.
- Details
- Written by: Jamin Coller
- Category: Note Names
- Hits: 64
See and hear the smallest neighboring-key movement on the piano, then combine two half steps into a whole step.
Count every key
Move to the closest key
From any piano key, move to the very next key to the right or left, whether it is black or white. That is a half step.
Find the white-key neighbors
E to F and B to C are half steps even though both keys are white. There is no black key between them.
Combine two half steps
From C, move to C-sharp, then D. C to D is one whole step because it spans two half steps.
Counting only white keys can hide the real distance. A whole step may connect two white keys, two black keys, or a black and a white key. Count neighboring keys to check the interval.