Piano Keys and Notes: How Many Keys and Every Note Name

A piano keyboard looks like a long row of identical keys, but it is really one small pattern of 12 keys repeated over and over. Once you can see that pattern, every key on the instrument has a name you can work out in a second. This guide walks through the pattern, the note names, the sharps and flats, and the numbering system musicians use, in the order a piano teacher would teach them.

How many keys are on a piano?

A modern acoustic piano, upright or grand, has 88 keys. That breaks down like this:

Why 88? Piano makers kept adding notes through the 1800s as composers asked for more range, and 88 became the standard. It covers more than seven octaves, which is wider than any other common instrument and far more than most music needs. Some older pianos have 85 keys, and a few concert grands add extra low keys, but 88 is what you will find on almost every piano today.

How many keys does a keyboard have?

Keyboards and digital pianos come in several sizes. The number of keys tells you how many octaves you can play without shifting up or down:

• 88 keys. The full piano range. Almost every digital piano has 88 keys, so everything a piano student plays will fit.
• 76 keys. A little over six octaves. Enough for a great deal of piano music, in a shorter, lighter instrument.
• 61 keys. Five octaves, C to C. The most common size for portable home keyboards and a comfortable size to start learning on.
• 49, 37 and 25 keys. Mostly compact keyboards and MIDI controllers used with a computer for making music.

The names of the piano notes

Music uses only seven letter names: A, B, C, D, E, F and G. This is often called the musical alphabet. On the piano, the white keys are named with these letters, in order, from left to right. After G comes A again, a little higher, and the cycle keeps going to the top of the keyboard.

Most lessons start from C rather than A, because the C major scale uses only the white keys. Starting at any C and playing the white keys to the right, you get:

C D E F G A B C

That run of eight white keys, from one C to the next, is the shape in the diagram at the top of this page. Every C on the piano looks the same, every D looks the same, and so on, because each one sits in the same spot within the pattern of black keys.

Note names in other languages

If you searched for "music notes names" because you have seen Do, Re, Mi, here is how they line up. In many countries, including Italy, France, Spain and most of Latin America, the notes are named with syllables instead of letters:

English-speaking classrooms often use the same syllables for singing, with Ti instead of Si. In German-speaking countries, the note we call B is called H, and B means B flat. The piano keys are the same everywhere; only the names change.

The black keys: sharps and flats

The black keys sit between the white keys, and they are named after their neighbors. Two symbols do the work:

• Sharp (♯) means one key higher, the very next key to the right. The black key to the right of C is C sharp, written C♯.
• Flat (♭) means one key lower, the very next key to the left. That same black key is to the left of D, so it is also D flat, written D♭.

So every black key has two names. Which name you use depends on the music you are reading: a piece in a "sharp" key calls it C♯, and a piece in a "flat" key calls it D♭. The key you press is exactly the same. Musicians call two names for one key enharmonic spellings.

Why there is no black key between E and F, or B and C

The distance from any key to the very next key, white or black, is called a half step (or semitone). Two half steps make a whole step. Most neighboring white keys are a whole step apart, so a black key fits between them. E and F are only a half step apart, and so are B and C, so there is no room for a black key there. That gap is what splits the black keys into groups of two and three.

It also explains two names that surprise beginners: E♯ is the same key as F, and B♯ is the same key as C. Likewise F♭ is E, and C♭ is B. You will see these spellings now and then in written music.

How to find middle C

Middle C is the landmark every beginner learns first. It sits near the center of the keyboard and between the two staves of piano music. To find it:

1. Find any group of two black keys. Look along the keyboard and you will see them repeating, separated by groups of three.
2. Find C. The white key just to the left of the group of two is a C. Every group of two has a C beside it.
3. Count the Cs from the left. On an 88-key piano, the first C you meet from the bottom is C1. Count C1, C2, C3, C4. The fourth one is middle C.
4. Check it is near the middle. Middle C is a little left of the exact center of an 88-key keyboard. On most pianos, if you sit centered on the bench, it is right in front of you.

Most 61-key keyboards run from C to C and have six Cs. On those, middle C is usually the third C from the left, a little left of center. Many keyboards print a small mark or "C4" near it, and the manual will show it if you are unsure.

Octaves and note numbers

From one C to the next C is an octave. An octave covers 12 keys, 7 white and 5 black, and then the pattern repeats. A note an octave higher sounds like the same note, only higher, because it vibrates exactly twice as fast. That is why the two notes share a letter.

To say exactly which C or which A you mean, musicians add a number after the letter. This is called scientific pitch notation:

• The number goes up by one at every C. B3 is followed by C4. Everything from C4 up to B4 is in octave 4.
• The lowest notes are in octave 0. The bottom three keys of the piano are A0, A♯0/B♭0 and B0. Then C1 starts the first full octave.
• Middle C is C4. The A just above it is A4, the note an orchestra tunes to, at 440 Hz. It is key number 49 on an 88-key piano.
• The top key is C8, the only key in octave 8.

Because 88 keys is not a whole number of octaves, the keyboard starts on A and ends on C: three keys at the bottom, seven full octaves of 12 (84 keys), and one C at the top. 3 + 84 + 1 = 88.

How to remember the pattern

You do not need to memorize 88 keys. You need two landmarks and the alphabet. These tricks are what teachers use with young students, and they work for adults too:

• C sits to the left of the two. Every white key just left of a pair of black keys is a C.
• D is the dog in the doghouse. D is the white key in the middle of the two black keys, tucked between them like a dog between two doghouses.
• F sits to the left of the three. Every white key just left of a group of three black keys is an F.
• G and A are inside the three. The two white keys between the three black keys are G and A.
• Count up the alphabet. From any landmark, move right and say the next letter: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and back to C. Move left and say the letters backward.
• Practice blind. Close your eyes, feel for a group of two black keys, and play the C. Then do the same for F. A week of this and you will never hunt for a note again.

The notes on the music staff

The same note names appear on written music. Piano music uses two staves: the treble clef on top, mostly for the right hand, and the bass clef below, mostly for the left. Middle C sits on its own short line between them. These classic sayings help with the rest:

• Treble clef lines, bottom to top: E G B D F, "Every Good Boy Does Fine."
• Treble clef spaces, bottom to top: F A C E, which spells "FACE."
• Bass clef lines, bottom to top: G B D F A, "Good Boys Do Fine Always."
• Bass clef spaces, bottom to top: A C E G, "All Cows Eat Grass."

Digital pianos and keyboards

Every idea on this page works the same on an acoustic piano, a digital piano or a portable keyboard. The keys, the black-key pattern and the note names never change. What changes is the number of keys and how the keys feel:

• Weighted keys. Digital pianos usually have 88 weighted or "hammer action" keys that feel heavier in the bass and lighter in the treble, like an acoustic piano. This helps a student build the finger strength piano lessons expect.
• Touch sensitivity. Most keyboards play louder when you press harder, and softer when you press gently. It is worth having from the start, because playing with feeling is part of learning.
• Full-size keys. Keys the same width as a piano's let your hand learn real distances. Very small toy keyboards use narrower keys.
• A sustain pedal. Most keyboards have a jack for one. It does the job of a piano's right pedal and is used in a lot of beginner music.

A 61-key keyboard is a friendly, affordable way to start, and many young students begin on one. As pieces grow wider, many teachers suggest moving to 88 weighted keys. Ask your teacher what they prefer for your stage.

Good to know

• The notes are the same on every piano. A C on a grand piano is the same C as on a 61-key keyboard. Only the number of Cs changes.
• Some music software numbers octaves differently. A few programs call middle C "C3" instead of C4. The key is the same; only the label changes. Most teachers and books use C4.
• The black keys are not "extra" notes. They are full members of the 12-note pattern. Many beginner songs use them, and some, like a scale on only the black keys, sound lovely right away.
• Sit at the right height. Forearms level with the keys makes learning easier. An adjustable piano bench lets every player in the family get there.

Shop keyboards and piano gear

Browse our keyboards department for keyboards, digital pianos, synthesizers and accessories, and see our digital pianos. For a comfortable setup at home, we carry height-adjustable piano benches and keyboard stands and benches. Want to see what is inside the instrument? Read our parts of a piano guide. Learning another instrument too? See how to tune a ukulele.

Frequently asked questions

How many keys are on a piano?

A standard piano has 88 keys: 52 white keys and 36 black keys. The lowest is A0 and the highest is C8. Portable keyboards often have 61 or 76 keys.

What are the names of the piano keys?

The white keys are named A, B, C, D, E, F and G, repeating up the keyboard. The black keys are sharps and flats: C♯/D♭, D♯/E♭, F♯/G♭, G♯/A♭ and A♯/B♭. Each black key has two names.

Where is middle C on a piano?

Find a group of two black keys; the white key just to its left is a C. On an 88-key piano, middle C is the fourth C from the left, near the middle of the keyboard. Its full name is C4, and it is key number 40.

Why are there no black keys between B and C, or E and F?

Those white keys are only a half step apart, the smallest step on the piano, so there is no note between them. Every other pair of neighboring white keys is a whole step apart and has a black key in the middle.

What is an octave on the piano?

The distance from one note to the next note with the same name, such as C to the next C. An octave spans 12 keys, 7 white and 5 black. The higher note vibrates twice as fast, so the two sound alike.

Is a 61-key keyboard enough to learn piano?

Yes, for beginners. Five octaves covers most early lesson music. As the pieces get wider, many teachers recommend moving to 88 weighted keys, which also feel more like an acoustic piano.