Piano Notes Explained

Whenever I introduce written music to students I describe it as a code. Children love the idea of codes and are very interested in learning what a code means and how it works.

The piano music code works like this:

Piano notes are written on two sets of five lines each of which is called a staff.

The treble clef sign indicates that these notes are usually played with the right hand. While the bass cleff sign indicates that these notes are usually played with the left hand.

Note Position

The verticle position of a note on the treble and bass clefs tells you which key to play on the piano.

For example, a note in the second space of the treble clef means you should play the note shown in red in the following picture:

Note Length

The type of note represents how long the note goes for. The duration of a piano note is measured in beats which is what you tap your foot to when you listen to a piece of music.

A coloured in note is called a crochet and goes for 1 beat:

An open note is called a minim and goes for 2 beats:

An open note with a dot next to it is called a dotted minim and goes for 3 beats:

An open note without a stem is called a semibreve and goes for 4 beats:

So, reading a line of piano notes is simply a matter of knowing which keys of the piano to press and how long to hold each note for.

Piano Note Names

To make it easier to talk about which notes to play, each note on the piano is given a name. The piano notes are named using the first 7 notes of the alphabet: A,B,C,D,E,F,G and this pattern then repeats all the way up the piano:

Once your child learns the note names and the keyboard positions of the piano they will be able to understand the 'musical code' and be able to read and play their favourite pieces of music in the same way that they can pick up a book and read their favourite books.

The Most Common Source of Confusion

The single biggest cause of confusion and frustration for beginner piano students is that the notes of the treble and bass clef have different note names.

For example, in the treble clef, a note in the second space is an 'A':

BUT, in the bass clef, a note in the second space is a 'C':

I believe that this difference is the real stumbling block for children and adult beginners who are trying to learn music.

Once your child understands and accepts that the names of the treble and bass notes are different, they can then follow a proven step-by-step process to learn their piano notes. Here is the process I recommend:

Step 1: Learn to the note names of the treble clef

Step 2: Learn the keyboard positions of the treble clef

Step 3: Learn the note names of the bass clef

Step 4: Learn the keyboard positions of the bass clef

Step 5: Practice the note names of the treble and bass clef together to get used to the differences

Step 6: Practice the keyboard positions of the treble and bass clef together to learn to find the notes.

While this may sound complicated, it really is just a matter of sitting down and following each step slowly and carefully.

In the past many music teachers have used Flash Cards to try and teach their students how to read music. The problem with this approach is that most children find it very boring and tedious.

By far the easiest way to overcome the hurdle of learning to read piano notes is to use a computer program that turns the difficult rote learning into a fun and enjoyable game.

When I looked for piano software to help my nephew learn his piano notes I couldn't find any that were suitable so I decided to create my own.

The software program I created is called Piano Is Fun. It has now helped thousands of children around the world to learn to read music quickly and easily while having fun along the way. To find out more about the program please click here.

I hope you have enjoyed this explanation of the piano notes and I wish you and your child all the very best.

Warm Regards,

Anthony