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Looking at the piano keys for the first time might make a beginner sick.

Seeing all of those different keys might make you rethink your decision on learning to play.

Don’t let the size or the number of keys get you down. Its rather easy once you learn the basics of the piano.

Piano Layout

All pianos are not created equal. You have the traditional piano, digital keyboards, synthesizers, and so on. Each of these has a different role but one thing stays the same…. the piano keys.

All types of pianos have the same basic layout when it comes how the keys are organized.

If you look at a piano as a whole you will see that there are different colored keys. Look at the image below and you will see white keys and black keys.

The white keys are the naturals and the black keys are the sharps and flats.

To help you understand how the piano layout look at the piano in sections. There is a pattern that is going on.

Look closely and you will see that there is a pattern of s black notes then 3 black notes. This pattern runs all the way up the piano.

A Closer Look

In the image below there is a section of the piano. Compare it with the image above.

You’ll notice that this section of the piano simply repeats itself over and over again.

So if you can learn this little section of the piano then you can know the entire piano. Don’t let all the keys get to you. Now that you know that the piano is divided into sections your ready to learn how to play.

Note Names

If you are wanting to learn the note names of the piano check out these pages Naming the White Notes and Naming the Black Notes. These two pages will show you how to find the notes quickly and easily.

Here I will quickly give you the names of the notes on the piano.

Number of Keys

Like I said earlier there are tones of different types of pianos.

The traditional piano has 88 keys. There are other types of digital keyboards that have less.

Some range from full 88 keys to as little as 37 keys

Even though your keyboard might have a different number of keys doesn’t make a difference. The layout of the piano is still the same.

Lesson #2 – Naming The White Keys

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The Major Scale is the primary scale in music. If you can learn these scales in all twelve keys then you will know 80% of playing contemporary music.

This is because most all contemporary songs are made up of major and minor chords. And when you know your scales then you can find all the major and minor chords.

Building The Scale

Most scales are made of seven different notes in a descending or ascending order. This goes for this scale. It also includes the octave note at the end of the scale.

To find the major scale you need to know your whole steps and half steps. This scale is made up of five whole steps and two half steps.

The first thing you have to do is locate the root, or starting note of the scale. This will be the first note of the scale. The first note of the C Scale would be a C.

From C you now count up Whole Step – Whole Step – Half Step – Whole Step – Whole Step – Whole Step – Half Step or W -W – W – H – W – W – W – H. You should now find yourself at another C one octave above where you started. 

This is simple to do in the key of C because the key of C has no sharps or flats so the C scale will be all white notes.

In Other Keys

If you know how to find the C scale then you can easily find the scale in other keys.

Make sure you take the time to memorize the scales for every key.

Conclusion

The whole step half step pattern is used to make it easy to find scales for each key.

You can also use this scale as a part of your piano warm-up exercises. I try and do this scale three time perfectly for each key. This will help you with speed and stamina for your piano playing.

It is important that you memorize all of the twelve scales on the piano. This will help you later on as you start to learn pieces of music that is in more difficult keys. Also it will help you if you are playing chord piano because you know which notes you can play in certain keys.

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Want to be a great piano player? Then you need to Learn How to Play Scales.

This page is dedicated to showing you how to play each major, minor, and blues scale on the piano or keyboard. Each page will include a video demonstration along with pictures and a description of each scale.

It will also give the correct fingering
for that scale so you know the proper
way to play it.

Each minor scale will include the
natural minor, melodic minor, and harmonic minor scale. These scales
are very different. So each minor
page will include all three of these scales.

Major Scales

C Major Scale C# Major Scale D Major Scale Eb Major Scale E Major Scale F Major Scale

F# Major Scale G Major Scale Ab Major Scale A Major Scale Bb Major Scale B Major Scale

Minor Scales

C Minor Scale C# Minor Scale D Minor Scale D# Minor Scale E Minor Scale F Minor Scale

F# Minor Scale G Minor Scale G# Minor Scale A Minor Scale Bb Minor Scale B Minor Scale

Blues Scales

C Blues Scale Db Blues Scale D Blues Scale Eb Blues Scale E Blues Scale F Blues Scale

F# Blues Scale G Blues Scale Ab Blues Scale A Blues Scale Bb Blues Scale B Blues Scale

Conclusion

Take your time to learn each of these scales and their fingering. Knowing your scales is one of the most important things to know about plying the piano.

Bookmark this page to keep it for reference!

Currently our Free Piano Sheet Music section of our site is down. Due to copyright issues, we will not be able to offer the sheet music at this time.

You can still subscribe to our Free Piano Resources!

You will receive a Free copy of my eBook titled Top Tips For Teaching Yourself Piano

Once you fill out the form you will get:

• The Free Piano eBook
• Free PDF chord charts and note charts
• Tons of other Freebies!
• Plus free tips delivered directly to your inbox.

Beginner Sheets

Classical Sheets

Pop Sheets

Country Sheets

Rascal Flatts
Bless the Broken Road
Here Comes Goodbye

Lady Antebellum
Need You Now

Christian Sheets

Christmas Sheets

Disney Sheets

Music Paper

These are made with you in mind. Each musician is at a different place in their musical career. So I’ve set up different levels so you can pick the level that you are at and get the right score that you need.

The problem with most online sheet music sites is that they aren’t truly free. They lure you in by claiming to have free piano sheet music, but they really don’t. Here, all of our sheets are free. Every single sheet that is listed on this page is absolutely free. It takes a lot of hard time and hard work to get these sheets available for you. I hope you like them and make sure that you check back often because this page will be updated often with new music. Take your time and look around and enjoy the free music.

These sheets are available to download and print as PDF files. You can either click them and they will open immediately, or you can right click on the link and save the sheet to your computer for future use.

If you are looking for a particular piece of sheet music that isn’t available here, you can use the search box below. Sheet Music Plus has the largest selection of sheet music available. You can save a lot of money from buying sheet music from them!

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Free Piano Lessons? Most online lessons are not as helpful as most would hope.

I feel that music should be a something that everyone is able to take advantage of. But most people don’t have the time to really learn.

With these lessons you will start with the basics in a clear and easy to learn format. We are going to take out all of the fluff and give you the keys (pun intended) to making great music on the piano or keyboard.

Going through these lessons you will learn about scales, notes, rhythm, chords, and much more.

If you follow these lessons you will learn the bulk of what you can learn in private lessons. The only difference is you have to keep yourself motivated to work hard.

Learning the piano is hard work. But I believe that everyone can learn to play. If you take the time to learn and practice you WILL be successful.

When learning to play piano, there are a few things that you need to remember.

• Practice everyday to keep yourself sharp
• Try and block out all other distractions
• Keep a positive attitude

If you follow this advice your time will be more productive.

As you move forward in the process of learning there will be blocks in the road. You’ll feel like you are stopped and you aren’t getting any better. This is normal.

Just keep following our guide and practicing and you will see improvement soon. See how you really can learn piano online.

Our free piano lessons are written and explained in the easiest way possible so if you are a complete beginner you will understand all the concepts.

We are also going to include videos, charts, and visuals with our lessons. When learning the piano it is sometimes more important to see what the person is doing rather than just reading about what they are doing.

Start with this piano key chart for a great intro to learning piano keys.

Next you can use the piano note chart to learn the notes on the piano staff.

We hope you enjoy our free piano lessons and take your time and follow every lesson as it is written. Don’t skip steps or try and get ahead. If you take your time and work hard you will learn to play!

For more help check out more of our Free Piano Lessons

Lessons #1 – How To Play a Piano – Beginner Lesson

Lessons #2 – Best Methods To Practice Piano

Lessons #3 – Piano Layout

Lessons #4 – Naming the White Keys

Lessons #5 – Naming the Black Keys

Lessons #6 – Piano Fingering

Lessons #7 – Reading Piano Notes

Lessons #8 – Semitone and Half Steps

Lessons #9 – Whole Steps

Lessons #10 – The Major Scale

Lessons #11 – Treble Clef Notes

Lessons #12 – Bass Clef Notes

Lessons #13 – Reading Piano Music

Lessons #14 – Sight Reading

Lessons #15 – Music Rhythm

Lessons #16 – Grand Staff

Lessons #17 – Eighth Notes

Lessons #18 – Sixteenth Notes

Lessons #19 – Dotted Half Note

Lessons #20 -Note Value

Lessons #21 – Musical Rests

Lessons #22 – Whole Rests

Lessons #23 – Half Rests

Lessons #24 – Quarter Rests

Lessons #25 – Eight Rests

Lessons #26 – Understanding Musical Repeat Signs

Lessons #27 – Learn Piano Chords

Lessons #28 – Play By Ear With Music Intervals

Lessons #29 – Music Timing

If you are looking for more great piano lessons you should check out my book The Piano Chord Encyclopedia and my video course Mastering Basic Piano Chords.

These two resources have been created to help make learning the piano as easy as possible. Check them out to how you can start learning to play the piano today.

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