Note names: the seven letters of music

Seven names, like the days of the week

The notes are named with the first seven letters of the alphabet: A B C D E F G. Most lessons start from C, so we will too: C D E F G A B.

After B comes C again, the way Monday comes again after Sunday. The new C sounds like the same note as the old one, only higher. You can hear this when a man and a child sing the same song together: it sounds like one tune, but the child's voice is higher by exactly this distance.

From one C to the next C is called an octave. "Oct" means eight, like the eight arms of an octopus. There are only seven names, so why eight? Because we count both Cs: C D E F G A B C. It is like counting from one Monday to the next Monday: eight days if you count both Mondays.

How to find C on a piano

Look at the black keys. They come in groups: two together, then three together, then two, then three, all the way along.

C is the white key just to the left of every group of two black keys. Think of the two black keys as a little roof, and C as the door on the left side of the house.

Once you find C, the white keys going right are D E F G A B, and then the next C.

Try it: tap every C on the keyboard above. They all sound alike, just higher or lower.

Do Re Mi: the singing names

Singers often use syllables instead of letters, because syllables are easier to sing: Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti (some countries say Si instead of Ti).

In many countries Do is always C, so Do Re Mi is simply another name for C D E. This is called "fixed Do". In other places, especially in singing classes, Do is the home note of a major-key song (the note it feels finished on), wherever that note is. This is called "movable Do". Both ways are common; your teacher or book will tell you which one it uses.

Black keys: sharp ♯ and flat ♭

A black key takes its name from a white key next to it. Sharp ♯ means "the very next key higher": the black key just to the right of C is C♯. Flat ♭ means "the very next key lower": the black key just to the left of D is D♭.

So C♯ and D♭ are the same key with two names, like a friend who has a real name and a nickname. Which name we use depends on the music around it.

Two places have no black key in between: E–F and B–C. Those white keys are already right next to each other, so E♯ is the same key as F, and B♯ is the same as C. You will not see these names often, but now you know why they exist. (The same goes the other way: F♭ is E, and C♭ is B.) In a few scales you may even see a double sharp 𝄪 (two keys higher) or a double flat 𝄫 (two keys lower): F𝄪 is played on the G key.

A natural sign ♮ cancels a sharp or flat and brings the note back to its plain white key.

Numbers after the letters: which floor?

A piano has many Cs, so we add a number to say which one, like the floor of a tall building. The C near the middle of a piano is C4, also called middle C (some keyboards and apps call it C3). The C above it is C5, the one below is C3.

The number goes up by one at every C: the key right after B3 is C4. The A above middle C is A4. It vibrates 440 times every second, and orchestras and tuners use it as the shared tuning note.

Note names around the world

The notes are the same everywhere, but their names change from country to country. Here is how the seven notes are usually named in English-speaking countries and in a few others you may meet in books and videos.

In German, B means the note English calls B♭, and the white key B is called H. If a German book says H, think B.

Little quiz: name that key

A key lights up on the keyboard. Choose its name. Look for the groups of two and three black keys to help you.