The key of a particular piece of music—not to be confused with the keys on a piano keyboard—defines the specific notes and types of chords (groups of notes played simultaneously) contained in the musical piece. There are 30 different keys.
- Each key is named after a particular note that the music emphasizes. For instance, music in the key of C likely begins and ends on C and contains many C notes and chords throughout.
- Each key specifies which notes to play as sharps and which to play as flats. For instance, a key might specify that any F note must be played as F#. Any note not specified as sharp or flat in a key should be played as a natural note.
Major and Minor Keys
A key can be either major or minor.
- Major keys: These contain anywhere from zero to seven flats or sharps but are often referred to solely by their main starting note. For instance, C major is often called simply “the key of C.” Music played in major keys typically sounds bright and cheerful, such as the main melody in Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.”
- Minor keys: Each major key has an equivalent minor key (in terms of the notes that you must play as flat or sharp), but a different main note. For instance, the key of A minor is the minor equivalent to the key of C major. These equivalent major and minor keys have the same set of notes to choose from, but within that set each emphasizes different notes or chords. For instance, music written in A minor will contain the same notes as music in the key of C major, but will likely begin and end on A notes and use many A minor chords throughout. Music played in minor keys typically sounds dark and ominous, such as the theme from the movie The Godfather.
The table below lists the 15 major keys and their 15 relative minor equivalents, plus the specific sharps or flats for each key. Most piano music is written in one of these 30 keys.
| Major Key | Minor Key | Sharps or Flats | ||
| C | A | none | ||
| G | E | 1 sharp (F#) | ||
| D | B | 2 sharps (F#, C#) | ||
| A | F# | 3 sharps (F#, C#, G#) | ||
| E | C# | 4 sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#) | ||
| B | G# | 5 sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#) | ||
| F# | D# | 6 sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#) | ||
| C# | A# | 7 sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B#) | ||
| F | D | 1 flat (Bb) | ||
| Bb | G | 2 flats (Bb, Eb) | ||
| Eb | C | 3 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab) | ||
| Ab | F | 4 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db) | ||
| Db | Bb | 5 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb) | ||
| Gb | Eb | 6 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb) | ||
| Cb | Ab | 7 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb) |
Piano Scales
A scale is a set of notes usually played in a progression that proceeds upward or downward in pitch by half steps or whole steps.
Diatonic Scales
The most popular scales are called diatonic scales. The notes of each diatonic scale are based on the notes contained within each of the 30 major and relative minor keys. For example, the C major scale contains no sharps and flats, just like key of C major. Similarly, the E minor scale contains only one sharp (F#), just like the key of E minor.
The Framework of Diatonic Scales
Each diatonic scale consists of eight notes and contains five whole steps and two half steps. The first and last notes of each diatonic scale are the same note but differ in pitch—the second will always be higher than the first. The term octave is used to refer to these two notes, or to the entire span of notes between the notes that start and end the scale.
Why Piano Players Learn and Play Scales
Complete scales are rarely played from start to finish in actual piano pieces. Instead, piano players learn scales primarily to warm up, practice fingering technique, and improvise.
- Warming up: Players of all levels start most practice sessions by playing a series of scales before playing an actual piece.
- Practicing fingering technique: Learning to play scales is a great way for piano players to practice using the correct fingers on the correct keys (for more on fingering technique, see Piano Fingering).
- Improvising: Knowing the notes that make up each scale enables pianists to improvise, or play “off the cuff,” over any piece of music. For example, to play a piano solo in a rock song in the key of G major, you need to know (and play) the notes of the G major scale. If you play the wrong notes, such as an F natural instead of an F#, your solo will sound unpleasant and won’t mesh with the rest of the music.
Introduction
The key to learning to play the piano is being able to recognize patterns.
Let’s take a look at our piano.
Do you see a pattern?
There are 3 black keys, a space, then 2 black keys,
a space, then
3 black keys, then a space, then 2 black keys and so on…
Now, in the middle of your piano locate 2 black keys. Place your right thumb on the white key that is to the left of the first black key.
Your right thumb now rests on the middle “C” key.
Piano keys are arranged in sets of 8, also called octaves, in order from A to G and then it begins to repeat.
Sharps & Flats
The black keys represent a sharp (♯) or flat (♭) key.
Moving in the right direction, the black keys become sharp notes.
For example, locate the black key in between the “C” and “D” keys.
Starting at middle C and moving towards the right, this key becomes C ♯.
Starting at D and moving towards the left, this key becomes D♭.
Whether the black key is flat or sharp depends on what scale you are playing in.
Scales
A scale is a series of notes that are played in ascending or descending order. There are 12 major scales that form the foundation for all other scales. Each key of the major scale begins and ends with its root note.
For example, the key of C begins and ends with the “C” note.
Major scales will contain either sharps or flats but not both at the same time. Many people use what is called the “Circle of Fifths” to help them remember what keys have flats or sharps.
Here, going clockwise you can see that the key of C has no sharps or flats. The key of G has 1 sharp (♯). “D” has 2 sharps. “A” has 3 sharps. “E” has 4 sharps. “B” has 5 sharps and “F♯” has 6 sharps. Going counter-clockwise you can see that the key of F has 1 flat (♭). “B♭” has 2 flats. “E♭” has 3 flats. “A♭” has 4 flats. “D♭” has 5 flats. “G♭” has 6 flats.
Sharps & Flats Playing Order
Now that you know how many sharps and flats each major scale has, let’s learn the order in which they are played.
Here is the order in which sharp notes are played.
Notice that E♯ is also the same as the F key. Here’s why . . .
You may have often heard of the formula that many use to determine the notes in a scale.
Whole step
Whole step
Half step
Whole step
Whole step
Whole step
Half step
For example, the F♯ major scale looks like this using this formula:
Whole steps follow the same rules as in math.
Therefore, 2 half steps will equal to 1 whole step.
1 whole = 2 half steps
Example: From C to D is equal to 1 whole step or 2 half steps.
From D to E is also equal to 1 whole step. From C♯ to D♯ is also a whole step.
However, from C to C♯ is equal to 1 half step. From C♯ to D is another half step.
Two consecutive notes equal 1 half step.
Remember, two half steps equal 1 whole step. Therefore, from F to G is a whole step. A to B is a whole step. Where do you end up after 1 whole step up from B?
Since there are no black keys between B and C, from B to C is a half step. We need one more half step to create a whole step. One more half step up from C takes us to C♯ or D♭depending upon the key (scale) that you are playing in.
To play E♯ in the F♯ scale, you move 1 half step up from E. Since there aren’t any black keys available, the F key becomes E♯.
This is because each scale contains all 8 alphabetic notes (the scale root key note is played twice). No two notes (except the root note) are repeated.
For example, take the F♯ scale.
Going in order of the alphabet from F you would have . . .
F G A B C D E F
Remember that in music, the scale begins to repeat after G.
The scale key of F♯ has 6 sharps: F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯, E♯
Instead of the looking like this . . .
F♯ G♯ A♯ B C♯ D♯ F F♯
The F♯ scale will look like this . . .
F♯ G♯ A♯ B C♯ D♯ E♯ F♯
Learning to play the piano doesn’t mean you have to be born with talent nor do you have to be as young as your niece or grandchild. Anyone who has normal mental and physical abilities can teach himself to learn to play piano easily and succeed. Piano playing is as much a learned skill as it is a talent. If you can teach yourself the skill, you’re halfway there. Hope you learned.