7/13/2023 0 Comments Paint it black piano notes![]() ![]() This is how the white keys reach their altered state. From a theory perspective, it makes sense and it helps when trying to describe music to others.įor the black keys, we usually describe those as sharps and flats. Instead of referring to those notes as just C or D you tag on the word natural at the end. It is there where the note has its original sound, free of amendments and changes. The white keys are often referred to as the naturals basically their natural-sounding state. The distance between the keys is much easier to see, especially when playing octaves and scalar passages. On a modern piano the space between the white keys is easier to see a dark line between each one so you can tell one from another. Particularly with the black keys that little dark space in between them is really hard to see, so it was much easier to make mistakes on those instruments. It was just too difficult to see and the key colors ended up blending in with one another. So why exactly did they switch those keys? Well, this actually goes back to what I was talking about earlier. Looking at the harpsichord and even the early models of the fortepiano the white natural keys were actually black. If you’ve ever looked up pictures of the older keyboard instruments you might have noticed the key colors were reversed. If there were no black keys we would certainly have a rough time playing anything! The Keys Used To Be Reversed It’s a contoured fit and allows pianists to play as naturally as possible. The way the keys are arranged allows our fingers to naturally fall into plays. Not only is it easier to digest the piano visually, but physically as well. We use the black keys to help guide us as we play through various repertoire. Visually it’s much easier to see the keys when they are colored this way. It’s Just Easier To DigestĪs a pianist the less we have to worry about from the keyboard the better. So basically the white keys would be black keys and the black keys would be white keys. If you do some searching around though you can find some awesome pianos where the key colors are actually reversed. The white keys are the ivory so naturally, that’s the color. Historically though, pianos were built with two main materials ivory and ebony. Why can’t they be red, or blue or even orange? Well, in theory, I guess they could, and you could certainly paint them any way you want. ![]() So I teased the question of why the piano keys are the colors that they are. Interested in quality digital pianos for easy learning? You can find them by clicking here#ad Materials Play A Role That’s where the black keys come into play. You can’t right? If a piano were to only have white keys then it would be virtually impossible for us to assign notes to them. Could you tell me which note was A, B or C? Better yet, try telling me where F# is. Look at the picture below to get an idea of what I mean. White and black keys are kind of boring right? Take a moment and imagine a piano keyboard that had nothing but white keys. Surely a fair question could be why other colors weren’t chosen. The colored keys help pianists decipher between the natural pitches and semitone pitches. So why does piano have black and white keys? The white keys represent the musical tones and the black keys represent the half step intervals between those musical tones. ![]() ![]() Growing up though I found myself asking “why does the piano have black and white keys anyway?” We understand the pedaling, notation, and how the different patterns like the 2 black keys and the 3 black keys work for finding the white keys. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.Īs a pianist, most of us know the basics of how the piano works. ![]()
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