Whether you’re trying to play the piano or organ, you’ll need to learn how the notes on a keyboard first. That’s a crucial skill if you want to move forward with your playing goals. If you’re worried that this might not be easy to learn, don’t be. Here are a few tips to help you out. By the time you apply these suggestions to your practice sessions, you should see a major improvement in your skills.
Learn the Order of the Keys
In a scale, the first note is C. To find the key of C on a keyboard, you only need to look for a pair of black keys surrounded by two white keys on both sides. Look to the left of the black key on the left side of that pair. That’s the C key.
Look at the Pattern
If that sounds confusing, then observe the order of the white keys. To start, look at the three white keys around two black keys. That is then followed by four white keys that surround three black keys. On the two black keys mentioned, C is the white key on the left. This pattern is consistent, and you’ll see it on all keyboards. If you plan on signing up for keyboard lessons online, knowing this much at least will help you have an easier time when your sessions begin.
Read the Notation
To interpret the notation, you need to know how to understand the staff. The staff is what we call the five horizontal lines where you find the musical notes. The staff is a visual representation of the scale. The four spaces in between stand for every other letter. As for the order of the notes, that changes depending on whether the staff is in bass or treble.
Memorize the Keys
The keys go like this: C, D, E, F, G, A, B. It can be a bit confusing to get them right the first few times. If you’re having trouble with that, then just put a piece of tape to each of the keys. Label them. Once you get used to the keys, you won’t even need the labels. Your fingers should work through muscle memory. That will happen with enough practice. For now, though, you can use this technique to learn the keys.
Set a Schedule
If you practice every day, that will help you improve your memory of the keys. It will also improve your playing pace. Just don’t go overboard, though. A practice session should run for about an hour, or so. If you go beyond that, make sure you take a break or two in between. Breaks ease the boredom and fatigue, or what’s common in the case of beginners, the information overload.
Practice with Intention
Practicing blindly for hours on end isn’t going to cut it. You might think that method works. But practicing with intention works better. Meaning, are you concentrating on the task? If you’re just going through the motions, hoping against hope that you’ll remember, then that won’t help retention. Practice with focus. Concentrate on the set you’re playing.