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Piano keys labeled

A piano has 88 keys, 52 white and 36 black, from A0 at the bottom to C8 at the top. The white keys are named A to G, over and over; each black key is named after a white key beside it, with a sharp or a flat. Tap a key to hear it.

Octave 4 (C4 to B4)

C4D4E4F4G4A4B4C♯D♭D♯E♭F♯G♭G♯A♭A♯B♭

Middle C is the first key on the left here. Tap a key to hear it.

How many keys does a piano have?

A full piano has 88 keys: 52 white and 36 black, seven octaves and a little more, from A0 at 27.5 Hz to C8 at 4,186.01 Hz. Keyboards and digital pianos often have fewer.

Keyboard sizes: the number of keys, white and black, the notes they run between and where each size is found
KeysWhiteBlackLowest to highest
885236A0 to C8
764531E to G
613625C to C
492920C to C
372215C to C
251510C to C

The names of the piano keys

Twelve keys make an octave, seven white and five black, and the same twelve names repeat all the way up. The black keys sit in groups of two and three, which is how you find your place.

The twelve keys of an octave from C: each key’s colour and its names
KeyColourSaid as
CWhiteC
C♯ / D♭BlackC sharp or D flat
DWhiteD
D♯ / E♭BlackD sharp or E flat
EWhiteE
FWhiteF
F♯ / G♭BlackF sharp or G flat
GWhiteG
G♯ / A♭BlackG sharp or A flat
AWhiteA
A♯ / B♭BlackA sharp or B flat
BWhiteB

There is no black key between B and C or between E and F: those notes are only a half step apart. So E♯ is the same key as F, and B♯ the same as C.

How to find middle C

Find two black keys

The black keys come in groups of two and three, all along the keyboard.

C is just left of the two

The white key just left of a group of two black keys is a C. The one just left of a group of three is an F.

Middle C is the middle one

Middle C is the C nearest the middle of the keyboard. On an 88-key piano it is the 4th C from the left, key 40, at 261.63 Hz.

Count up from C

The white keys from there go C D E F G A B, then C again, an octave higher.

Why middle C is C4, and its pitch in every tuning, are on the middle C page.

Questions about piano keys

How many keys does a piano have?

88: 52 white keys and 36 black keys, from A0 at 27.5 Hz to C8 at 4,186.01 Hz. That is seven octaves and a little more. Smaller keyboards have 76, 61, 49, 37 or 25 keys.

What are the names of the piano keys?

The white keys are named A B C D E F G, and the names repeat every seven white keys. Each black key has two names: the sharp of the white key to its left and the flat of the white key to its right, so the black key between C and D is C♯ or D♭.

Where is middle C on the piano?

The C nearest the middle: the white key just left of the two black keys nearest the centre. On an 88-key piano it is the 4th C from the left, key 40, called C4, at 261.63 Hz.

What is the lowest and the highest note on a piano?

The lowest key is A0, at 27.5 Hz, and the highest is C8, at 4,186.01 Hz.

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

Those notes are only a half step apart, so there is no note between them. Every other pair of white keys is a whole step apart, with a black key a half step between.

What do the numbers after the note names mean?

They are the octave, counted from the lowest C. Each octave starts on a C, so the keys from C4 up to B4 are all octave 4, and the next key up is C5.

Which keys make each chord are on the piano chords chart.

Play a beat in C major

C major uses only the white keys. Open the free editor with a beat in C major playing, then add your own piano part, a bass line or your voice, part by part. No account needed to start.

Start a beatPiano chords

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