The Musical Keyboard

Musical keyboards include the piano, harpsichord and organ keyboards.

This is the keyboard:

The keys

Each key produces a musical tone. These are the basic keys:

The notes

If we put the keyboard against the musical notes, we will notice that each key represents a musical note. Let's look at the keyboard:

Accidentals

The black keys will always carry names such as 'sharp' and 'flat'.

The black key between C and D, for example, is C sharp.

But the same key can also be called D flat.

Enharmonic Notes

Enharmonic notes are two notes that have the same pitch but are written or uttered differently.

C sharp and D flat are enharmonic equivalents because they are played using the same key on the piano. Starting with C, one half step higher is C sharp. Starting with D, one half step lower is D flat.

The name of each key will be determind by the exact key signature we are playing. You can learn which sharps and flats to use in each key in the lesson Circle of Fifths.

Double Accidentals

Play the keyboard online