Notes on the Piano

About This Lesson

What are the Notes on the Piano?
You can tell which note is which on the piano by looking at the groups of black notes.  Notice how there are alternating groups of two black notes and three black notes.

The Group of Two Black Notes
To the left of the two black notes is the white note C.
The middle white is D.
The right white is E.

The Group of Three Black Notes
To the far left is of the three black notes is the white note F.
The middle left white is G.
The middle right white is A.
The far right white is B.

Sharps (#) and Flats (b)
If you go up (to the right) from a white note to a black note then you must take the name of the white note and add a sharp. Example: If you are at a C note and go up to the black note above it you are playing a C#.

If you go down (to the left) from a white note to a black note then you must take the name of the white note and add a flat. Example: If you are at a D note and go down to the black note below it you are playing a Db.

*Notice that that black note can have two names, C# or Db.

White Notes that are Sharp (#) and Flat (b)
You can even call certain white notes a sharp or flat.

Go down (to the left) from C to the next white note and you can call it Cb.
Go up (to the right) from B to the next white and you can call it B#.
Go down from F to the next white note and you can call it Fb.
Go up from E to the next white note and you can call it E#.

But why would you every want to do that? It has to do with music theory…and that’s all I’m going to say about it right now.

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