Learning the piano isn’t so bad when you know the basics of reading notes. In this short article, we walk you through the basics of piano notes for beginners.

When you see sheet music for the first time, it could look like some kind of cave-man script from another eon. For the beginner, this can be very unsettling. 

We got you. Let’s begin by walking through the fundamentals of all you need to know to start reading music notes and playing them on piano. 

Reading music notes for beginners

Music is a language of sound. 

When an instrument produces a sound, that sound vibrates at a particular frequency or pitch.

In Western music, we use twelve specific frequencies, called notes. These twelve frequencies repeat themselves across high and low registers of pitch. 

In other words, we call the frequency of a sound pitch and organize them in a system of symbols we call notes. 

We use letters from A to G to name seven of the twelve notes and use sharps and flats for the remaining five. The symbol sharp (#) means slightly higher than the note it’s in front of, and flat (b) means slightly lower. 

Flat and sharp notes have two names, depending on the context. In the end, it looks something like this:

Notes appear in various ways, but all have a circle and sometimes a line. The vertical line attached to the note is called a stem. The circle is the head, and it could be full or empty. These determine the rhythmic value of the note. 

You can write and read all of these notes on a visual structure called a staff.

Learn more about How to Read Sheet Music on our blog.  

The staff and the ledger lines

A staff is a stack of five horizontal lines.  

There are five lines and four spaces between them. Each line and space represent a note, with the low notes on the bottom lines and the high notes on the top. 

Of course, the range of instruments usually exceeds the lines of the staff. To write notes below or above the staff, we use ledger lines. These are short horizontal lines written through or below the circle of the note.

We write piano notes on a grand staff with ten lines altogether, split into two groups of five.

Grand staffs are for instruments with a wide range of pitch or music that requires two separate but simultaneous parts (like a right hand and left hand). 

The middle C note, which is more or less at the center of the keyboard, sits between the two staffs on a ledger line.

The clefs

A clef symbol appears on the far left side of the staff. It indicates which note falls on which line. The range of your instrument determines the clef you use so that the notes are in the right places. 

You use the treble clef for piano to write music for your right hand. The center of the circle of the treble clef sits on the second line from the bottom of the staff and indicates the note G. This is why it’s also known as G clef. 

We use the bass clef to write music for instruments with a lower register, such as the piano’s left hand or a bass guitar. The line between the two dots of the bass clef is an F below the middle C. This is why it’s also known as the F clef. 

Key signature and time signature

There are two more crucial pieces of information at the beginning and to the right of the clef. 

The first is the key signature. It tells you how many sharps or flats are in the music. If a sharp or flat appears in the key signature, it will not appear in notes. If the composer adds an extra sharp or flat beyond the key signature, they write it next to the notes.

The time signature is to the right of the key signature, just before the actual notes appear. This indicates the division of rhythm in the song, alongside the bar lines, which create vertical divisions along the horizontal staff lines to group the notes according to rhythm value. 

The top number of the time signature is the number of beats per bar. The bottom number of the time signature is the type of beat (half note, quarter note, eighth note). You can read more about time signatures in our blog post How to Play Music in 4/4. 

Learn to read music notes with Simply Piano

If you practice on your own, your progress with piano learning can become stuck and frustrating. Download the Simply Piano app to learn all the piano basics at your own pace and space. 

Simply Piano is highly popular and has even won awards like Apple’s Editor’s Choice Award, Parents’ Choice Award, and Best App from Google Play.

The app works with any piano or keyboard and has the following features:

•  Tons of fun songs like Imagine, Chandelier, All Of Me, and also J.S. Bach.
•  Courses for different musical tastes and playing levels.
• Step-by-step learning for everything from reading sheet music to playing chords.
•  Slow down library songs to choose your own pace for easy learning.

Simply Piano currently has 27 different courses divided into two streams: Soloist and Chords. You don’t have to choose between them; you can do them simultaneously, one after the other, or just focus on one. You immediately receive access to two free courses when you download the app. Once you purchase the premium subscription, you receive access to all lessons and songs, updated and expanded monthly. 

Make a note of this 🙂

When you dive into a new world of concepts, language and practice, it’s very common to feel scared and insecure. Have faith in the process, and don’t rush the learning. Learn the limitations of your capacity for new information, and try to touch something new daily. With time, persistence, and patience, you can acquire this new language, and before you know it, you are speaking music! 

FAQs

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Playing music in odd time signatures can be challenging–especially if you have no idea what they are or how they work. Luckily, this blog post looks at time signatures and what makes them odd.

You can recognize odd time signatures in songs when they are tough to count or dance to–it’s like they’re skipping a beat. 

Odd time signatures enable artists to harness their imagination’s depths, creating unconventional and unique music. They can be tough to grasp at first. But once you get the hang of them, they’re a piece of cake.  

So let’s take a closer look at odd time signatures, their components, and their impact on music.

What is a time signature?

Time signatures determine the song’s rhythm. 

In sheet music, they appear as two numbers, one on top of the other. For instance, the simplest and most common time signature is 4/4. 

We use them to measure or organize songs by dividing them into smaller sections. This helps musicians with timing and makes the song easier to remember. 

Time signatures consist of two elements, a beat and a measure or ‘bar‘.

Beats & measures

In musical notation, the beat represents a basic unit of time. We organize beats in bars or measures. There are many types of beats, such as half beats, quarter beats, and eighth beats, to name a few.

The time signature’s top number is the number of beats in a bar, and the lower number refers to the type of beat that you’re playing. For instance, 5/8  is five eighth notes per measure. As you can see, songwriters have countless variations to play within musical notation.

So what’s the deal with an odd time signature?

Odd time signatures.

Also known as asymmetric, unusual, complex, or irregular time signatures, a song has an odd time signature when you can’t evenly divide the beats into the bar. For example, they appear in sheet music as 5/4, 11/4, 5/8, and even 23/16.

It’s always nice when things fit perfectly into their framework. However, in the case of music, a particular number of beats can produce intricate and pleasing sounds. 

Odd time signatures are found in all types of music, including pop, electronic, and traditional, and they’re also popular in progressive rock and metal music.

Different types of odd time signatures.

When it comes to odd signatures, you can create almost anything you want. Although, some interesting examples could clarify the beat’s layout.

• 11/4—This signature contains eleven beats that are a quarter note each. We can break the beats down into 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2. You can also switch the beats to look like 1-2-3, 1-2, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, etc.
  
• 5/4—With five beats per measure, this time signature resonates at a frequency of a quarter note each. You can break this signature down into 1-2-3, 1-2, or 1-2, 1-2-3.
  
• 7/8—In this case, the signature has seven beats per measure, eight notes each 12-12-12- 1, or 123-12-12. 

As you can see, you can use time signatures–especially odd ones–in interesting and unique ways. 

How is odd time different from other signatures?

There are many different approaches that you can use regarding time signatures. 

A signature is odd because the number of beats does not fit evenly into a measure. Their distribution must be in unique patterns, creating an unconventional rhythm.

Music has a host of other time signatures, and each offers a distinct rhythm. In a simple or normal time signature, you can divide beats into two equal sections of notes. The most common forms are 4/4, 2/4, and 3/4. 

Compound signatures are similar to their simpler peers; only the beats break down into three equal parts. The introduction to Game of Thrones uses a 6/8 time signature. Some other common forms include 9/8, 12/8, and 3/8. 

Another interesting way to write music–perhaps more peculiar than the odd time signature–is the changing, or polymetric time signatures. Using a changing time signature, you can play with beats and measures, establishing a new rhythm as the song progresses.

Popular songs with an odd time signature.

Part of understanding odd time signatures is identifying their sound. Here’s a list of songs that harness irregular beats to capture their listeners’ attention, love, and praise.

• The Ocean by the timeless rock band Led Zeppelin. The song’s musical time signature operates within a 7/8  framework. 

• MGMT, a famous indie rock band, composed Electric Feel, which uses a 6/4 rhythm.

• Pink Floyd’s hit, Money, with a time signature of 7/4.

• You by Radiohead uses a changing time signature, mixing some simple and odd time signatures! The rhythm changes between 6/8 and 5/8.

Cool stuff right?

The more you practice listening to songs that use odd time signatures, the easier they are to identify, giving you a clearer idea of how they work.

However, like any skill, it takes time and practice. 

Learn how to play the songs you love in various musical time signatures with JoyTunes. Our app Simply Piano guides you through a custom lesson plan that helps you progress one step at a time.

You’ll be playing your favorite songs in no time!

FAQs

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If you’re new to the keyboard and want to learn how to play, these keyboard lessons for beginners set you out on the right foot. 

You don’t always need face-to-face lessons to learn a new skill. If learning to play the keyboard is on your bucket list, this article will be a dynamic way to start. These keyboard lessons for beginners include critical first steps and tips like practice habits, hand placement, and connecting notes to the keys. Let’s help you lay a good foundation for your keyboard journey.

Understanding the positions of keys.

Each note on a keyboard has a name–a letter between A and G–that you need to know by heart. Music sheets or charts tell you which notes to play using symbols and letters. 

A keyboard’s layout consists of a few sets of octaves. An octave constitutes seven white and five black keys:

• White keys are whole notes.
• Black keys are semitones higher or lower than the white ones they’re next to. 

There are two groups of black keys in an octave, one with two black keys and the other with three. These are flats and sharps, and we use ‘♭’ and ‘#’ respectively to refer to them in music notation. 

There is a letter for each whole note in that set. Sheet music and chord charts tell you which of those notes to play. The faster you learn the name of each key, the quicker you can start reading music on a page.

An effective way to start is by labeling each key. Here’s how you figure out each one’s letter:

1. Look for a grouping of two black keys anywhere on the keyboard 
2. Find the white key to the left of these black keys
3. Label this key C
4. The first four keys to its right are D, E, F, and G
5. The next two are A and B
6. Then you start from C again 

So, you can quickly identify any C note by simply looking for a group of two black keys and playing the white key to the left.

The notes to your right get higher in pitch, while you’ll find the pitch gets lower to your left. After labeling all the notes, you’ll see a C more or less in the center of the piano. This is middle C. 

Learning chords.

Playing music also requires an understanding of scales and chords.

Scales are sequences of notes that explore the tonality of a key. Each note is either a whole or a half step up from the previous one. You’ll find major scales most commonly in music. They are as follows:

• A major: A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A
• B major: B, C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A#, B
• C major: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C
• D major: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D
• E major: E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D#, E
• F major: F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E, F
• G major: G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G

You play a chord when you push down two or more notes simultaneously. In most cases, a chord consists of three notes–a triad. The three notes in a chord are the:

• Root note–the first note in the scale, giving the chord its name
• Third note–the third note in the scale (for major chords)
• Fifth note–the fifth note of the scale

There are different types of chords, with rules that stipulate how one should create the chords in that set. Common types include the major chords and the minor chords. The latter is simply changing the third of the chord by one half-step or a semitone.

Based on these rules, here’s a summary of major and minor chords you’ll use most often.

A chord sheet tells you which chords to play, or you can see a visual representation of what to play when playing from a musical staff on sheet music. Often, you’ll play a chord with your left hand while playing a melody with your right. 

Practicing hand and finger position on a keyboard.

Knowing how to place your hands over the keys is as important as understanding music theory. When correct placement becomes a habit, you advance quicker in learning to play the keyboard. 

For one thing, your hands are in the right position to reach notes far from each other. Also, many sheet music and chord sheets include guidelines about which fingers to use, so you need to understand what they refer to. 

First, place your hands palms-down in front of you. Starting at your thumbs and moving outward, number each finger from one to five. Now you know which fingers a keyboard exercise or sheet music refers to. 

Part of keyboard exercises is to help you become comfortable pushing down the keys. Here are a few exercises.

Exercise 1

With your hands on the piano, put your right thumb on middle C and label it number one. Now play C, D with finger two, E with finger three, and continue up to five. Vocalize which note you’re playing each time you press down to start memorizing their names. 

Now play the sequence backward until you reach middle C again. Do the same with your left hand, playing downwards towards the lower tones and back to middle C.

You can continue practicing by moving your right hand one key to the right, so your thumb rests on D. Using the list of scales above, play the first five notes in that sequence. You’re playing a part of a scale! 

Now do the same with each note in the octave.

Do the same with the left hand; as you feel more comfortable, you can do the exercise at a higher tempo. But don’t rush too much–you need to ensure proper form at all times:

• Curve your fingers
• Relax your wrist
• Line up your pinkies with wrists and elbows
• Relax your shoulders

Exercise 2

Practicing scales is also essential as part of piano lessons for beginners. Once again, play the entire sequence using the list of scales above.

For the C major scale, from C to C, use the following fingers, with the thumb going underneath the other fingers to play the fourth note in the sequence:

1 – 2 – 3 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5

Do this going forwards and backward on both hands. This is how you improve speed, get to know your scales, and improve the independence of your two hands. 

Practice coordination between your left and right hand.

Part of becoming a great keyboard player is having your left and right hand do entirely different actions. They need to function independently of each other. 

Start practicing this by playing your C major scale using both hands, but in opposite directions. Your right hand moves up the keys, and your left hand goes down before returning to middle C.

After you feel comfortable doing this, play the scale with both hands moving in the same direction:

• Your right thumb starts on middle C, while your left pinky starts on an octave lower
• The right hand plays the scale as usual
• The finger sequence for your left hand will be 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – 3 – 2 – 1, ending with the left thumb on middle C
• Then, do everything in reverse 

For more exercises, you can use our article on the Best Piano Books for Beginners to find some excellent keyboard piano lessons for beginners to practice both hands. 

A keyboard is a versatile instrument, and if you’re not sure yet which one to buy, our article on the Best Keyboard Piano for Beginners will be a great help. We cover more keyboard basics for beginners and review a few keyboard models. 

Do you have any other questions to get your keyboard career started? Please leave a comment!

FAQs

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Should I label the piano keys or will this learning tool become a crutch? If you are asking these questions, you are not alone!

Learning styles differ from person to person. If one student can find their hand position and learn the notes without labels, great! However, if labeling the piano keys helps a beginning student grow in knowledge and gain confidence, why not?

The Simply Piano app has no right or wrong answer regarding labeling your piano keys. We believe that learning music should be fun and accessible to all students.

Want to know how to label piano keys? Let’s dive in!

The music alphabet.

The music alphabet has seven letters: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. In written music, these letters hang out on lines and spaces on the staff. 

Middle C is dead center between the bass clef and treble clef. From C, you can head up the treble clef with D, E, F, G, and so on. Or, you can back down the bass clef, reciting the alphabet backward with B, A, G, F, etc. 

Similarly, the piano has a very linear layout. The first white key will be A if you start at the bottom of an 88-key piano. So on the white keys, you just go up saying “A, B, C, D, E, F, G” over and over until you reach the last key or run out of breath. 

Sharps and flats.

The black keys can be a bit trickier. These five black keys have ten different names! You can read the names as sharps if you go up the scale. If you start from middle C, your first black key will be C#, then D#, F#, G#, and A#. However, you can read these same keys as flats: D♭, E♭, G♭, A♭, B♭. 

Most popular ways to label piano keys. 

So now that we’ve gone over some note names, how do you label piano keys for beginners? There are four popular ways to go about it. (And, no, writing on your grandmother’s ivory keys in a permanent marker is not on this list.) 

1. The dry-erase marker

A dry erase marker is the simplest way to put note names on keys. Plus, it’s a temporary fix that wipes off easily. However, as you play, the letters may wear off too easily and disappear altogether during practice. 

This means you will need to rewrite the letter names again and again. 

But hey, the repetition could help you get those notes down!

2. 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.

3. Color-coded dots

Color-coded dots can also be a great way to find notes on the piano. This is especially true for younger students learning their letters. 

The trick to this method is consistency. 

Choose one color to represent all the As, another to represent the B notes, a different color for C keys, and so on. 

Some music notation software even allows you to color-code the written music notes to match! 

4. Pre-printed labels with letter notes and staff notes

If you want to go all out, you can choose labels that show the letter names, sharps, flats, and the note as it appears on the staff. If you find it way too time-consuming to write all these out on tiny stickers, you can buy them ready-made on Amazon. 

These piano stickers for beginners may be helpful for detail-oriented students. However, some students may find a load of information a bit overwhelming.

How to label notes on a piano keyboard.

To start labeling your piano keys, we’ll give you a few simple indicators to help you find the right notes. On a standard 88-key piano, you can start at the first white note at the bottom, A, and work your way up. However, this method is ineffective if you have a keyboard because the lowest starting note can vary. 

Finding middle C is key.

Another way to label your keys correctly is to use middle C as your guiding star. Just like written music, the piano focuses on middle C. 

You’ll find that both your thumbs rest on the middle C key for the beginning hand position. This white, L-shaped key can be your ‘key’ for finding all the other keys. So, how do you find it on the piano?

You’ll notice groups of two black and three black keys on the piano. Find the pair of black keys and look to the left to find the C note. This note is C. 

On a regular 88-key piano, middle C is often called C4 because it’s the fourth C key on the piano. Middle C is the closest C to the middle on an 88-key piano. 

What a coincidence, right?

Those tricky black keys.

The ABC note names are as easy as ‘123’ once you catch onto the pattern. But, the black keys can get a little trickier. If you want to label the black keys, remember that each has sharp and flat names. Which name you use will depend on which key you are in.

You can include both names on your piano key markers (like C# and Db). Or, you can just remember that going up from a C is C#, and coming down from a D is Db.

Label your piano for the starting hand position.

Not interested in labeling all 88 keys on your piano? That’s okay. More isn’t always better. You can begin with just a few notes and build out from there. 

For starting hand position, you will rest your right thumb on middle C and your pinky on G. Your left thumb can also rest on middle C with your pinky on F in the bass clef. 

Start labeling just the white keys until you know these notes by heart. Then, as you get comfortable, add in more notes.

Learn the piano keys & play with both hands!

Memorizing the note names on the piano can be tricky, but labeling the keyboard keys can help. 

We are here to support you in your journey if you are looking for more ways to build confidence in your skills.

Most beginner students who enroll in our programs learn to play songs with two hands in less than two weeks. Music is our passion, and our goal is that students learn the piano and have fun along the way.

FAQs.

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The 7 Best Songs With Unique Time Signatures

Time signatures and measures make the difference between being an awesome musician and knowing how to play a bunch of notes in a row. By changing the timing of our notes, we create that “musical” sound that gives what we play a unique personality.

Unusual time signatures can help musicians even further, combining familiar notes and beats in crazy new ways to make incredible new sounds and songs. Some of the most legendary artists and bands in history have used these time signatures to make one of a kind beats that are recognizable for their unique sound. Check out our 7 favorite songs with unusual time signatures!

Rush – Tom Sawyer (⅞ time)

Rush is one of the most famous Canadian bands in history, and “Tom Sawyer” is arguably their best-known song, featuring a great combination of standard 4/4 beats and a great instrumental breakdown in a ⅞ time signature that makes the song a powerful and exceptional rock anthem.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auLBLk4ibAk[/embedyt]

Pink Floyd – Money (7/4 time)

Featuring what is easily one of the most recognizable bass riffs in classic rock, Pink Floyd’s “Money” is a perfect example of unusual measures. The song’s bouncy bassline leads the band on a great 7/4 time signature that gives “Money” an unmistakable swagger, and a great jazzy feel.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0kcet4aPpQ[/embedyt]

The Beatles – Happiness Is a Warm Gun (4/4, 5/5, 9/8, 10/8, and on and on)

This is undoubtedly one of the Beatles’ most eccentric songs, featuring mood changes and musical styles that range from doo-wop to rock to pop.  The track features a dizzying series of changing time signatures that give each section of the song such a distinct feel from the others.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zei3xnivwFk[/embedyt]

Outkast – Hey Ya! (Emulates an 11/4 time)

While this is actually cheating, since “Hey Ya!” is technically in a 4/4 time, Andre 3000’s masterful use of a standard time signature actually gives “Hey Ya!” it’s catchy, unforgettable beat. The song uses what’s known as a cadential phrase, which combines a series of measures to create what seems like a continuous measure on a distinct signature.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWgvGjAhvIw[/embedyt]

Radiohead – 15 step (5/4 Time)

The opening song to Radiohead’s classic In Rainbows, “15 Step” applies a rarely utilized 5/4 time signature that gives the song a strangely syncopated sound. The song maintains the beat throughout, making for a high-energy romp in electronic rock.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7UKu8s84S0[/embedyt]

MGMT – Electric Feel (6/4 time)

MGMT’s laid back “Electric Feel” uses a non-standard 6/4 time signature, creating some great effects. The unusual measure gives the song a bouncing that feels like taking a walk down 70s disco lane while the drums keep it strongly grounded in modern electronica.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmZexg8sxyk[/embedyt]

Led Zeppelin – The Ocean (4/4+⅞ time)

Not one of Led Zeppelin’s best-known tracks, the song still features a fascinating drum beat that perfectly complements Jimmy Page’s unorthodox guitar riffs. The song’s unusual ⅞ measures are used to build a combination of blues and Led Zeppelin’s trademark heavy rock sound.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsKJlZi04I0[/embedyt]

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