The White Keys

The Musical Alphabet and Landmarks

Musical notes are named after the first seven letters of the alphabet, from A to G. Instead of counting all the white keys from the very edge of the piano, we use the repeating patterns of black keys as visual landmarks to find them. Notice how the black keys are grouped in sets of twos and threes all across the keyboard.

Finding C, D, and E

Look closely at any group of two black keys. The white key directly to the left of this pair is always C. The white key trapped right in the middle of the two black keys is D, and the white key just to the right of them is E.

Finding F and G

Now look at any group of three black keys. The white key directly to the left of this group is F. Moving one key to the right, nestled between the first two black keys of the group, is G. After G, the alphabet simply resets back to A.