Keyboard: Get to know the piano keyboard
The keyboard is more than just a collection of white and black keys in a gigantic instrument. It’s your personal toolbox for expressing yourself musically. You could say: the piano keyboard is what every pianist needs for their craft – playing the piano. And each piano key is an individual tool from this treasure trove.
SHARE:
Gordon November
Gordon November
Navigation
Every standard keyboard has exactly 88 piano keys. With a few exceptions, which I will of course introduce to you in this article. You will also learn in this article:
- how the classic keyboard is structured.
- how the keyboards of e-pianos and the like are different.
- how you can bring more expression to your songs with the help of the keyboard.
Sounds good? Then let’s get started right away.
Keyboard labeled: 12 notes on 88 keys
88 keys on the piano don’t mean you have to learn 88 notes. Take a look at the following piano keyboard.
Have you noticed that the note names repeat after 12 notes? The keyboard is therefore divided into six groups of 12 notes each, each group consisting of seven white and five black keys.
If you want to orient yourself on your keyboard, it’s best to start on a C. If you go up or down 12 notes from the C on the keyboard, you’ll end up in front of the next C. So there are 12 keys between one C and the next C. That’s an octave, by the way. You can find out more about octaves in my article on intervals.
The white and black piano keys
Now you know where the C is on your piano keyboard. Let’s take a look at the remaining white keys. If you go up the white keys from C, you play
C – D – E – F – G – A – B – C
But what about the black keys?
If you go from C to the black key above it, that’s a semitone. If you go from this black key to the D, that’s also a semitone. The distance between a white key and the black key next to it is therefore always a semitone. But there are also white keys that are a semitone apart. For example, the E and the F.
Why 88 keys anyway?
Have you ever counted the keys on your piano? I remember exactly how I sat next to my piano teacher at the grand piano as a child and he said to me: “Let’s count the keys on the keyboard”.
Excitedly, I tapped each key and counted diligently. In the end, I looked at him and proudly said “87”. Ha! Miscounted. My piano teacher was sure that his grand piano had 88 keys. So counted again. Oh yes, he was right.
Since then, this number has never left my head. I proudly told my friends in the choir that every keyboard has 88 keys. And then this: we counted the keys on our choir director’s piano – and there were fewer. Don’t ask me what the exact number was, but there weren’t 88 keys.
Shocked, I looked at my choir director: How can that be? He then explained to me: The keyboard can be different on really old pianos and grand pianos.
Wow, I had to let that sink in first. But through this experience I knew from then on:
Modern pianos and grand pianos have 88 keys. But exceptions prove the rule.
Keyboard: The range and key layout
88 keys that mean the world to me. And soon to you too. Because: Once you have felt the magic of your piano, you will never want to miss it again. How can you feel this magic? By freeing yourself from all the rules. Understanding the keyboard as your playground. And just play as if you were speaking.
The magic words for this are “intuitive piano playing“. If you leave sheet music and song tutorials behind, you can freely discover and use all the keys on your keyboard. A whole 7 1/4 octaves are available to you. Starting with a very low A to an extremely high C.
On the way between this low A and the super high C you will encounter a total of 52 white and 36 black keys. That is the structure of a classic keyboard.
Attention: Keyboards are the exception
Honestly: If you want to play the piano, you can also start on a keyboard. Yes, some piano teachers will now throw their hands up in horror. And yes, there are also reasons against starting on the keyboard. But I think to myself: It’s better to start first than to keep putting off the dream of playing the piano.
But why the discussion about the keyboard anyway? It doesn’t look that dissimilar to the piano. Especially the keyboard with its white and black keys is a common criterion of piano and keyboard.
I’ll tell you the differences between the two instruments.
Fewer keys. More mobility.
Probably the biggest difference between a piano and a keyboard is the number of keys. If you’ve read this far, then you already know that all common pianos and grand pianos have 88 keys. This is not always the case with a keyboard.
Not always? There are keyboards with 88 keys. But keyboards with 76 and 61 keys are at least as common. The version with 61 keys is particularly popular. The instrument is nice and compact due to the smaller keyboard. This makes the small keyboard a mobile all-rounder among keyboard instruments.
All a question of touch
If you’ve ever run your fingers over the keyboard of a piano or grand piano, then you know this special feeling. The feeling of touch. If you play the keyboard with strong key pressure, the notes sound louder. With gentle key pressure, quieter.
This touch sensitivity is a wonderful way for you to control every single note in its expression. And to pack your personal feeling into a song. Great. Because that’s how you notice how you can give every piece, every song, every tune your own expression. Just through the power of touch. Crazy, isn’t it?
Note: If you switch between loud and quiet in a song, you can convey different feelings and emotions in just one song. You are practically telling your own story on the keyboard. Just by using different volumes.
The miracle of touch sensitivity
Okok, let’s agree on this: the touch sensitivity of a real piano is mega. But what about the keyboard?
I would argue that the lack of touch sensitivity in keyboards is the main reason why the keyboard instrument is so hated among many pianists and piano players.
Imagine: You are sitting at the keyboard of a keyboard. You press a key. Ding. Next key. Ding. Next key. Ding. All notes sound exactly the same in their volume – no matter how hard or gently you press the key.
That somehow takes the spice out of your song. But…nowadays there are keyboards with touch sensitivity. Instrument manufacturers such as Yamaha or Casio have developed keyboards whose keyboard is modeled on the classic piano in terms of touch.
Understanding semitones and whole tones
Play Piano by Intuition
If there is no other key between two keys on your piano, it is ALWAYS a semitone. If there is a key in between, it is a whole tone.
If you jump from F to G, for example, you play a whole tone on your keyboard, as there is a black key in between. The black key in between is only played when the F is raised or the G is lowered. You can find more about raised and lowered notes and the corresponding accidentals here.
Depending on whether the note from our example is raised or lowered, it is an F sharp or a G flat. If you were to label your piano, you would have the following situation:
In this piano labeling it becomes clear that the white keys always have a fixed designation. The black keys, on the other hand, always have two – depending on whether it is a raised or lowered note.
Tip: If you are just starting to play the piano and are still familiarizing yourself with the keyboard, I recommend that you print out the piano keyboard with labels.
Become an Intuinaut on all keyboard instruments
Great. After you’ve worked through this article, you’ll know how the keyboard is structured and what’s possible with it. Can I tell you a secret? You can get everything out of the keyboard if you play intuitively. You can learn how to do this in the Masterclass Intuition. Feel free to stop by and find out what incredible power lies within you and your keyboard.
Master Keys Without Sheet Music
With the new turbo training, you'll be proficient in every musical key within a few weeks.
(no sheet music knowledge required)
Share this post:
More topics for you:
Play Piano by Intuition
Master Keys Without Sheet Music
With the new turbo training, you'll be proficient in every key signature within just a few weeks.
(no knowledge of sheet music required)
