Which keys are which on a piano

Starting in , acrylic plastic began to be used on keys, and in the sixties an embargo was put on ivory. As Bach himself complained about the touch of his keyboards, most pianists today look for a touch that suits them. One of the ways this was done was with weighted keys to provide the right resistance to touch, and are more sensitive to speed, pressure and lightness for a range of soft and loud dynamics.

Unless your piano is an antique with ivory keys, a little vinegar, water and a soft cloth are all you need to buff up dirty keys. Try not to use a colored cloth. Be careful not to drip water between the keys; keep the moisture just damp on the cloth.

And follow with a dry cloth to buff. Ivory keys usually have visible lines shaped like semi circles, which are the natural grains of the ivory.

Plastic keys are uniformly white. With ivory keys, know that they tend to yellow with age and that a typical cleaning will not restore them to white. Ivories should be cleaned with a soft cloth and a very mild solution of dishwashing detergent. It may be possible to whiten them placing them in the sun for a few hours. Before you go this route, be sure to speak with a piano technician who has experience with ivories. The main thing to remember is that piano keys should be cleaned regularly for health reasons.

Little and big fingers are magnets for dirt and germs! A Brief History of Piano Keys. Standard keyboard layout on a modern Upright Piano. Mother of Pearl antique Steinway grand piano keyboard.

At times the fronts of the naturals were beautifully carved. Digital Piano Weighted Keys. On an acoustic piano it is repeated over 7 times. Take a look at the piano keyboard chart below. It consists of the 12 notes of a piano or music keyboard. You will also notice that the note C always comes before the group of 2 flats or sharps , while F always comes before the group of 3 flats or sharps.

If you have an 88 key piano find diagram here , look at your piano keyboard layout and find middle C. Middle C lies towards the center of your keyboard. The location of this note is very important to remember when learning to play the piano.

This is the point where they cross and meet on the Grand Staff. It is known as Middle C. The following is the layout of notes on a 49 key piano keyboard. The following is the layout of notes on a 61 key piano keyboard. Go here for 32, 36, 37, 49, 54, 61 and 76 key keyboard layouts.

Learn to play piano with Rocket Piano lessons. Click here. Return from Piano Keyboard Diagram Layout to home page. The lowest note on a key keyboard is C and the highest is C. The lowest note on a key keyboard is E and the highest is G. The lowest note on an key piano is A and the highest is C. Comments comments. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. This mechanism has a certain weight and feel to it that gives the piano its character.

But, all acoustic pianos operate on this premise. On the other hand, electric pianos and digital keyboards are made with a range of different weights and actions. If you read digital piano reviews , you will find that some digital pianos with weighted keys use a hammer action system that is designed to emulate the feeling of an authentic acoustic piano. These digital pianos are often less expensive than acoustic pianos and take up less room, which makes them an attractive choice.

Other digital pianos have semi-weighted keys. On semi-weighted keys, the action is controlled via spring, rather than hammer. But because they are easier to play, they are a good choice for a beginner. Some electric pianos have unweighted keys, also known as waterfall keys or synth keys. These keys have no weight to the action and require minimal effort to depress, making them a great choice for younger children with small hands. It is important to understand these differences when you are deciding between a digital piano vs keyboard.

These keys are also favored by organists and synthesizer players because the low action allows for fast glissando passages that create dazzling waves of sound. Have you ever looked at the piano keyboard and wondered how anyone could possibly remember the names of all the notes on a keyboard piano with 88 keys? Lucky for you, there are a few tricks to remembering all the notes on the piano key names.

The first trick is to learn the patterns of the black and white piano keys. If you look at the keyboard, you will notice there is a repeating pattern of groups of 2 and 3 black keys. You can use this pattern to orient yourself in the different piano scales on the keyboard. The note C is on the outside-left of the group of 2 black keys:. After that, just follow the musical alphabet up the keys until you reach C again, one octave higher! Now you know the names of all the white keys on piano.