What To Use To Label A Piano Keyboard
Once you have decided to label your piano keyboard, the next step will be labeling the keys. Obviously, you dont want to damage/ruin the beautiful piano keys just by drawing them with a marker right?! Using pre-printed colored stickers is the answer.
Colored stickers can help you memorize each key placement. These stickers can be found anywhere, you can buy them in a book store, stationery store, or at our online store, check this page to learn more: ABC or 123 Piano Stickers. You can write each key name on the stickers, and once you have advanced, the stickers can be easily removed.
But It’s Hard Without The Stickers
I get it. There are a lot of new concepts you have to pick up all at once when you start playing the piano.
You have to learn where the keys are, what the keys are called, how to play them, which ones to play, in what order, how long to hold them, how hard to press them
It’s a lot.
And you have to think about all these things at the same time!
It can be very overwhelming.
And putting those stickers on your piano keys means one less thing your brain has to think about.
That right there is what this whole blog post is about!
What need are you fulfilling when you put those stickers on your piano keys? The need to have one less thing for your brain to think about.
And there is a better way to fulfill that need!
Memorize your piano keys before you start trying to play anything. Give yourself a solid week or so to really focus on just memorizing the keys.
By focusing on only one thing , you’ll give your brain a break, increase your chances of success, and speed up your progress.
If you hold off on learning to play music until after you’ve memorized your piano keys, you’ll pick things up a lot more quickly because you already have a solid foundation of excellent keyboard awareness!
Your brain will have one less thing to think about!
Tips On Labeling Your Piano Keys
Labeling your piano keys will help your piano learning greatly. In this article, we will give you a few tips on labeling your piano keys:
Miller Piano Specialists October 7, 2022 3 Min Read
Labeling your piano keys can help you in many ways if youre learning the piano. Labeling your piano will help you memorize the notes more quickly, understand the visual pattern on the piano, read piano sheet music faster, and much more! In this article, we will give you a few tips on labeling your piano keys:
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A Guide On How To Label Your Piano Keyboard
Learning to play the piano is a fun and exciting adventure. Sharing music with your friends and family and developing a creative skill like piano makes life more enjoyable and helps build confidence and satisfaction.
However, some beginning students can feel overwhelmed when they start to learn the piano keyboard. The piano keyboard layout might seem confusing, look like it makes no sense, and leave you feeling lost.
However, there is an easy strategy you can use to conquer this problem. Create labeled piano keys!
- Fall in love with the music Learn your favorite songs whether theyre classical, pop, jazz or film music, all at a level that suits you.
- Enjoy interactive piano lessons Learn with courses that help you master everything from music theory, chords, technique and more.
- Get real-time feedback Improve your practice with rich feedback as Skoove listens to your playing and highlights what went well and areas for improvement.
Labeling Some Of The Notes On The Keys
And the last sixth method is to mark only a few notes on piano keys. All the other keys can be left unmarked.
This method will be useful when learning a specific song, as well as for a more advanced level.
How to use it? For example, if you are learning a piece that only needs five notes, you can only mark those notes on your piano.
If you are no longer a beginner and are learning scales, then you can use stickers to mark the necessary keys or fingerings.
Notes for the D major scale.
Fingering in D major scale for the right hand.
Also Check: Alesis 88 Key Digital Piano
How Many Notes And Keys On A Piano Keyboard
There are 52 white and 36 black keys. The first note is A. Most digital pianos have 88 keys while other keyboards can have 49 keys, 61 keys, 76 keys and so on. It varies. But most keyboards have either 61 or 76 keys. I trust that you have a better understanding of the notes and keys on a piano keyboard.
How To Master Keyboard Awareness Without Piano Key Stickers
The good news is, there is a simple and effective way to memorize your piano keys!
The answer isFLASH CARDS!
These flash cards and their accompanying tracking sheet are just the tool you need. And the best part? They’re a 3-in-1 DEAL!
TIP: If you print them double-sided, each side provides the answer for the other side, so you can confirm your accuracy! Just make sure you do your double-sided printing manually instead of using the double-sided print feature on your printer. This ensures both sides will align properly. And it’s a good idea to double-check that the letter on each card matches the diagram on the back, just in case your printer flipped them.
TROUBLE-SHOOTING: If you’re struggling with the memorization process, try breaking it into chunks:
Using these flashcards just 10 minutes a day will quickly and dramatically improve your keyboard awareness and key recognition skills! Why every day?
Recommended Reading: Melissa And Doug Piano Songs
How To Label Piano Keys And Never Forget Them Again 2022
If youre a beginner piano player, one of the first things youll need to learn is how to label piano keys. This can seem daunting at first, but its quite simple once you know where to start. In this article, well show you how to do it so that you can start playing your favorite tunes in no time!
Label The Keys That You Need
Sometimes, when youre learning a particular piece, you need only the keys that are in that particular music. So, in such cases, you can label only those keys.
For example, if youre trying tolearn Jingle Bells, you will need C, D, G, A, and B. Therefore, mark only those keys either with colorful stickers or write on the keys with a marker.
Furthermore, some students also label the keys to learn piano scales and chords. For instance, if youre finding it hard to remember how to play D major scale on piano, you can label the keys.
D major scale: D E F# G A B C# D
Learn about Piano Major Chords and Minor Chords
Piano Chords 101: A Simple Guide
Also Check: Piano For 2 Year Olds
Removing Labels From Your Keyboard
Of course, the time will come when you want to remove your labels. Hopefully, they should peel off cleanly. If not, try using some goo gone. This cleaner works wonders on removing stuck on glue residue. If you keep your labels on for a long period of time, you may notice that the white is discolored. If its colored ink, youll have a tough time removing it. However, if its just normal yellowing, a small swab of alcohol or a magic eraser can easily buff out the oxidation.
Why You Should Not Label Keys On The Piano
The main argument for not labeling the keys on your piano is this: youll learn the right way to play the piano right from the beginning. That is, youll learn how to play without looking down at the keys frequently, and youll learn this right from the beginning. As mentioned earlier, the better you get at playing the piano, the less youll be looking down at the keyboard anyway, so this train of thought states that you might as well learn that from the very beginning and learn without labeling any of the keys.
***MuzicTribe is supported by readers. If you click one of my links, I may earn commissions. I am also participant in the Amazon affiliate program and I will also make a commission from qualifying purchases.Thank you***
Also Check: Easy Piano Pieces That Sound Hard
Mother Of Pearl Antique Steinway Grand Piano Keyboard
The white keys were once darker with the sharps white, a custom said to have started in France to better show off the players hands. Many and varied materials were used to cover keys including bone, mother-of-pearl, porcelain, tortoise-shell, silver, boxwood, cedar, ebony, pear and other rare and polished woods.
At times the fronts of the naturals were beautifully carved.
In the latter 1700s Viennese keys were most often ivory. Silbermanns keys were very thick ivory. In efforts to make cheap lines of pianos, ivory was replaced with cellulose in 1862, simulating ivory, and has been used on the cheapest pianos since then.
Starting in 1959, acrylic plastic began to be used on keys, and in the sixties an embargo was put on ivory. Different countries making pianos had different standards but by the 1970s ivory in the US was off limits for key coverings.
What Notes Do The Black Keys Represent On The Piano
Black keys on a piano are of two typessharp or flat.
While the black notes immediately to the right of the white notes are Sharp Keys, the black notes to the left are the Flat keys.
The sharp keys are denoted with a hashtag #, and the flat keys are denoted with lowercase b.
For instance, the black key to the left of C is C sharp . Not to forget, the same key can also be called D flat , as it is to the left of D.
Again, the next black key is called D sharp or E flat . Its followed by F sharp or G flat , then G sharp or A flat , and lastly, A sharp or B flat .
Lets get started with labeling the keys.
The middle C in a 76-keys Piano is the third C from the left.
Where is Middle C
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How Do You Mark A Piano Key For Beginners
For the first lessons, you only need to in the center of the piano. To do this, you need to find the middle C. Lets label it, 7 keys on the right and 7 keys on the left.
This is enough for a starting position for beginning students. I am sure that piano labeling is especially necessary for younger students.
Reason #: Labeling Your Piano Keys Actually Prevents You From Learning The Keys
Think about it. If you lost your cell phone today, how many friends and family would you be able to call? I bet you don’t know any of their phone numbers, do you?
I sure wouldn’t. And it’s because I don’t have to! My phone knows them for me!
I remember when I was a kid, I had all the important phone numbers memorized. My house, my mom’s work, my aunt, my 3 best friends. I knew them all!
Now, I know none of them.
If I got locked out of my house without my phone, I wouldn’t even be able to borrow my neighbour’s phone to call my sister-in-law for the spare keybecause I don’t know her number!
So let’s say you put those evil little stickers all over your beautiful piano keyboard. They’re all lined up perfectly, and each sticker is on the correct key. When you glance down, it’s so easy to find whichever letter you are looking for.
Then you spend a month practicing piano every single day.
Now let’s say a piano elf snuck into your house while you were sleeping and stole all your stickers.
Would you still know how to play your piano?
Odds are probably not.
Read Also: Piano Music With Letter Notes
Label The Information That You Need: Notes Notation And Numbers
While some beginners label the keys only with the notes, some like to label musical notation as well. There is also a keyboard course that teaches by labeling a particular pieces finger positions.
To label notation, buy notation stickers from sheet music stores or music shops and stick them according to your needs. If youre struggling to read sheet music , I highly recommend labelling the keys. Trust me it will help.
To label finger positions, paste 1, 2, and 3 stickers as per the instructions you received from your trainer.
To learn how to label piano keys by watching somebody do it, watch thisYouTube video.
Sticky Labels With Letter Notes
Writing the note names on sticky labels is probably the most common method for matching letter names to piano keys. You can use white dot stickers or cut-up sticky name tags to fit your keys.
Some beginners choose only to label the portion of the piano that they will be using in their pieces. This can be the starting hand position or the octaves below and above middle C.
Other students want to label all 88 keys to get the big picture.
Also Check: How Many Keys On Piano Keyboard
The Results Are Worth It
But what to do if you already have stickers on your keys? Simple: take them off. But the effort is worth it, as many of my student whove already done this have already told me. When you really know your way around your keyboard, you become a more confident and better-equipped piano learner.
If youre not sure where to start with key memorization, please check out my free 5-day workbook, And as youve probably guessed by now, the very first topic that comes up is learning the 12 keys on your piano or keyboard. I promise you can do this no stickers or Sharpies required!
Get Started For FREE!
Creator of Piano In 21 Days
You have the ability to play piano inside you.
I can help you unlock it in days not years.
Learning piano doesnt have to take years. You dont have to labor over boring practice and tedious drills. You dont have to only play songs from hundreds of years ago. Learning piano can be faster, more fun, and easier than you thought. Let me show you how.
What Are The Benefits Of Labeling Piano Keys
Lets start with the basics of music! Before labeling keyboard notes, you must know what they are called.
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Standard Keyboard Layout On A Modern Upright Piano
F sharp is likely the first sharp to be added to the keyboard. A painting by Van Eyck confirms that around 1430 narrower keys were being made than in earlier years, with the use of sharps. Since the mid-thirteenth century, the keyboard hasnt changed except for small differences in the key-width and key coverings.
Piano Notes & Keys The White Keys
First of all, I want you to take a look at the black keys. If you look closely at the piano keyboard you will see that you have a group of two black keys followed by a group of three black keys, then a group of two black keys followed by a group of three black keys, and this pattern of two three two three two three continues. Do you notice this? We will use this pattern to identify and label the keys of the piano.
Before a set of two black keys, you will notice that theres a white key. This white key plays the note, C. Try it out on your keyboard. Play C. There are many C notes on your keyboard. Play the one near the center of your keyboard. So if we know where the note, C is, we could name the other white keys. What letter comes after C? Clearly, its D. So the white key after C plays D. What letter comes after D? E comes after D. Therefore, the white key after D plays E. The note after E is F, followed by G, A, B and C. Play these notes and say their names out loud.
The musical alphabet consists of 7 notes, A B C D E F G. After G, you go back to A and repeat the notes. There is no H in music, just A B C D E F G.
Start on another C on your keyboard. Try one thats lower on your keyboard. Remember that C is the key before a set of two black keys. Play C D E F G A B C. After you play C D E F G A B, you arrive once again at another C note which is before a set of two black keys.
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