Naming the White Keys
Goal
Understand how to name all white keys.
Vocabulary
• octave = interval between 2 notes with frequency ratio 2:1
• octave equivalency = notes an octave apart sound unified
Essential Knowledge
• The musical alphabet is a looping sequence of ABCDEFG.
• Note pitches ascend as we move from left to right on the keyboard.
• Black keys alternate between duos & trios. This pattern is what allows us to differentiate the notes and navigate the piano.
• D is the note in between any duo of black keys.
• Letter names (A-G) of the white keys are in alphabetical order from left-right.
• Keys an octave apart have the same letter name due to the natural phenomenon of octave equivalency.
Tips
• Think of the duo of black notes as a dog house, and the trio of black notes as a people house. In the doghouse is a dog (D), and the people house has a front door (F) on the left and backdoor (B) on the right. The remaining 4 note letters are always one step away from one of these landmarks.
Fun Facts
• On a full 88-key piano, the lowest key is only 12 Hz above the lowest frequency the human ear can perceive!
• All people universally hear notes that are an octave apart as unified. This likely comes from the fact that the average female voice is about one octave higher than the average male voice. So we evolved to hear this particular interval as unified so that men & women could sing the same melody together. In other words, octave equivalency is the musical bridge between the genders.
