Piano Lesson No. 1b: Name that Keys

before we begin on reading the notes let's first identify them with names... oo, pinangalanan sila para madaling matandaan, pero 'wag ako ang sisihin ninyo dahil hindi naman ako ang nagbigay ng mga pangalan sa kanila na walang apelyido. weh corny hehehe so, kung ready ka na... game!



PIANO and its corresponding Pitch Names

before we can learn how to play the piano it is vital that we learn the notes on the keyboard and how they relate to each other. at para mas madaling matandaan we'll be using the first 7 letters of the alphabet in naming the 7 white keys ( natural keys ) which will serve as your basis/pattern in naming the rest of the keys ( A-B-C-D-E-F-G ).

figure 1b.1
7 white keys or 7 natural keys and its corresponding pitch names

figure 1b.2
5 black keys and its corresponding pitch names

as you first look at the piano keyboard, hindi ka pa man nagsisimula parang ayaw mo nang matutunan kasi kung titignan mo, mapapaisip ka na there are lots and lots of notes to learn. but don't worry, you will only need to memorize 12 notes. these 12 notes consists of 7 white keys ( natural keys ) and 5 black keys at kung mapapansin nyo, this group is repeated over and over and each group starts with a "C" note.



NOTE:
just remember the 7 white keys or natural keys... and be sure to memorize its corresponding position(s) sa piano/keyboard... yung black keys naman kasi are just the sharps/flats. kaya ilagay sa utak ang 7 white keys. diyan nakasalalay ang pagbabasa mo ng piyesa hehehe :p


sige, para madaling matandaan ulit... just take note of the 2 black keys na magkasunod and the 3 black keys na magkakatabi... laging first note to your left before ng first black key yun ay ang C at laging nasa dulo ng last black key (group of 3 black keys) ay ang B. malamang hindi ka naman grade 1 noh so makikita mo naman kagad yung pattern ng mga keys, at yan ang kelangan mong tandaan... after mong makita lahat ng C notes sa buong piano keys, you need to locate the position of the MIDDLE C. it's important to know where your MIDDLE C is... kung hindi.... ahhhh bahala ka na sa buhay mo! hahahaha =p


why middle "C"?

figure 1b.3
full 88 keys of a piano

'wag ako ang tanungin ninyo, pero sasagutin ko na rin hehe... kasi ganito yan... if you sit in front of a piano to play, laging sa middle "C" ka matatapat ( or almost hehe ). also middle "C" is in the middle of a staff. but if you'd allow me to dig more deeply about its history, before kasi their ( musicians ) method of naming notes and the earliest methods of notation in labeling notes is from the lowest to the highest using alphabetical letters and C is in the region of lowest audible ( possible ) frequency. C also has no accidentals ( no sharps, no flats ) compared to other pitches. para nga naman siguro maging standard na ang lahat eh middle C na ang gamitin tutal since siya ang lowest eh di sa kanya magstart.... sisihin nyo si C hahahaha... ^_^v




Question:eh paano kung 49 keys lang ang keyboard na gamit ko? or 61 keys?
Answer:
aba hijo/hija pati ba yan po-problemahin ko pa?! hehe teka pala muna, hindi porket sinabi kong gitna, eh kung saang gitna ka nalang matapat yun ang iisipin mong middle C! nakuuuu tatamaan ka sakin ng flying kick haha joke... tignan mo muna yung 5 black keys pattern ( na may group of 2's and group of 3's black keys)  pagnakita mo yung mga C notes nilang lahat, obviously ang Middle C eh mejo nasa gitna siya na part ng keyboard at to be sure na yun ang middle C, try to play that C key, obvious naman ang tunog nun eh... hindi matining.... hindi rin mababa.... hindi bawal i-testing kung nasaan ang middle C so 'wag kang matakot... hindi ka makukulong haha =p

figure 1b.4
Group of 2's and Group of 3's ( Black Keys )

continue.....
since sa middle "C" nagstart ang pagle-label natin sa keys ng piano, ituloy na natin ang paglabel sa natitirang keys...


so going to the right (higher/thinner sound) it'll be:

C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C-D-E-F-G and so on and so forth...


kung going to the left ( deeper/low sound ) it'll be:

C-B-A-G-F-E-D-C-B-A-G-F and so on and so forth...



SUGGESTION: para madali ninyong matandaan... get a masking tape and pentel pen and mark the white keys with letters corresponding to the name of each keys.... just the WHITE KEYS okay... kasi yung black keys are just sharps/flats of the white keys... make yourself familiar with those keys let's say in 2 months maximum dapat kabisado ninyo na yung position/location ng keys. then remove the masking tapes... =)





next Piano Lesson no. 1c: Pitch Names on a Staff

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