Playing the Piano: Understanding Musical Keys
In music, the key is a set of notes that corresponds to a certain scale — forget about the black and whites on your piano when you talk about musical key. Keys and scales offer a foundation of compatible notes that form the melodies and harmonies you play.
A musical key is a song’s home. The key tells you several things about a song: the sharps and flats used, the scale the song is based on, the scale note that serves as is the song’s home note, and much more. A song has a single home note, and all the other notes used in a song have a relation to that note based on how far away or near they are to home. So understanding a musical key means also understanding the relationships notes have to one another.
The key is related to a scale, so a song in the key of C is primarily based on the C major scale, using mostly (or only) notes from that scale for the song’s melody and harmony. Throughout the song, your ears get comfortable with notes from the C major scale. If the composer throws in a slew of other notes from another scale, it’s a bit unsettling to your ears.
Music uses many different keys named after the many different notes on your keyboard. In other words, you have a musical key for the notes A, B, C, D, E, F, and G, plus all the sharps and flats. Each key has its own unique character, look, feel, and sound. A composer uses a particular key to give his music the right sound and feeling.
The best way to understand you the difference keys can make to music is to hear to the same song in two different keys. Although the intervals (the relationship of each note to the next) remain the same, the sound and character of the song change subtly simply by changing keys.
See — or hear — for yourself. Play “Good Night, Ladies” in the key of C:
"Good Night, Ladies" in the key of C (major).
Now play the song in the key of F:
"Good Night, Ladies" in the key of F (major).
Piano Glossary
accidental
A sharp or flat not in the key signature.
Piano Glossary
bar line
A line that divides music into measures, breaking up the musical paragraph into smaller, measurable groups of notes and rests.
Piano Glossary
bass clef
A musical symbol that indicates lower the notes, generally played with the left hand.
Piano Glossary
beat
The steady pulse of a piece of music; what you tap your foot to.
Piano Glossary
C position
Placing your right-hand thumb on middle C and your other right-hand fingers on the four successive white keys.
Piano Glossary
chord
Three or more notes played at the same time.
Piano Glossary
Circle of Fifths
An order that starts with no sharps and flats and cycles the ring of keys to all 12 keys.
Piano Glossary
clef
A musical symbol that tells you the names of the lines and spaces on the staff.
Piano Glossary
fingerings
Numbers written above the notes that tell you which finger to use for each note.
Piano Glossary
G position
Placing your right hand on the G above middle C and your other right-hand fingers on the four successive white keys.
Piano Glossary
grand piano
The largest piano. A concert grand is 9 feet long; a baby grand is about 5 feet.
Piano Glossary
grand staff
The treble clef and bass clef joined together with a brace at the start of the left side.
Piano Glossary
home note
The base note of a piece of music. All the notes in a song have a relation to the home note based on how close or far they are to home.
Piano Glossary
interval
The distance between any two musical notes.
Piano Glossary
key
A set of notes that corresponds to a certain scale.
Piano Glossary
key signature
Notation placed just after the clef on every line of music to tell the performer what key the song is in.
Piano Glossary
ledger line
An imaginary line running above or below the staff, extending the five-line staff to represent notes above and below the staff.
Piano Glossary
measure or bar
A batch of notes with a specific number of beats — most commonly four beats — that helps a performer keep time.
Piano Glossary
middle C
The 40th key of a piano, close to the center of the keyboard. The first key a new pianist learns the placement of.
Piano Glossary
MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface
A device that allows communication between electronic, digital equipment.
Piano Glossary
notehead
The printed representation of a note. A notehead is oval and may be solid or open, an attached to a stem or not.
Piano Glossary
octave line or ottava line
The line that tells you to play the indicated note or notes an octave higher or lower than written.
Piano Glossary
root note
The lowest note of a chord.
Piano Glossary
scale
A series of notes in a specific, consecutive order.
Piano Glossary
staff
The five lines and four spaces music is written on.
Piano Glossary
tempo
How fast or slow the beat is.
Piano Glossary
time signature
The indication of the meter of a piece of music.
Piano Glossary
tonic
The bottom note of a scale.
Piano Glossary
treble clef
A musical symbol that indicates higher the notes, generally played with the right hand.
Piano Glossary
triplet
Three notes per beat.
Piano Glossary
upright piano
A piano that sits upright against a wall. Also called verticals, they vary in height from the spinet up to full-size uprights.
