A typical piano has 88 keys spanning just over seven octaves. There are other, smaller keyboards or synthesizers that have fewer keys – most come in increments of 25, 32, 49, 61 or 72 keys.

Step 1: To name any black key, start with the white key just to the left of it, then just add a sharp sign (#) to the note name. So, for example if we start on C, the black key to the right of it will ...

A typical piano has 88 keys spanning just over seven octaves. There are other, smaller keyboards or synthesizers that have fewer keys – most come in increments of 25, 32, 49, 61 or 72 keys.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. The white piano keys are known as the natural keys, because they sound a natural note as opposed ...

An 88-key piano has seven octaves plus three lower notes (B, B flat and A) below the bottom C. It has 52 white keys and 36 black keys (sharps and flats), with each octave made up of seven white keys ...

Instead of hitting one key and getting one note, Arnalds can hit one key and get a multitude of unanticipated notes. That does pose one problem, though: There's no way to replicate what the piano ...

"I'd hate to go back to the 88-key piano," he says. "I couldn't stand it. It's too limited." The extra notes might lend themselves to great feats of acrobatics, but they're not exactly musical.

Whether black-and-white or white-and-black, separating the whole and half tones into repeating patterns of 12 notes makes it much easier for a pianist to play and to find the right notes on the full ...