The 4 chords used by Axis of awesome in ‘the four chord song’ are D, A, B min and G. The key is D Major. In a live video, they played it in E Major using the chords E, B, C# min and A. These are the I, V, vi and IV chords of a major key. Using these chord numbers, you can play this in any key.

Learning the chord numbers, (commonly notated with roman numerals) is the best way to really understand what chords are being used here. It’s how you can make sense of why these songs, originally written in different keys with ‘different’ chords, are actually using the same type of chord progression and how the band were able to merge them into one key.

Let me explain what they did and how to assign numbers or roman numerals to chords because this concept is incredibly useful for musicians to learn. Using this system, you can change the key of any song too.

Below is also a list of this four chord progression in all 12 major keys so you can play in the key of your choice.

What Chords Did Axis Of Awesome Play In The Four Chord Song?

The main studio version

Their main studio version of the four chord song was recorded in the key of D major. They use the I, V, vi and IV chords, which in this key are D major, A major, B minor and G major. Read on to learn how those numbers work. At first, they play them in a 4 measure (bar) loop. Each chord gets 1 measure like this:

After singing many famous melodies that fit over this cycle such as ‘I’m yours’, ‘where is the love’ and ‘Take me home, country roads’, they change things up a bit. They’re playing the same chord sequence still, but this time, each chord only gets half a measure:

This makes it feel twice as fast and gives them a whole bunch of other melodies that will now fit over the quicker chord changes such as ‘No woman no cry’ and ‘save tonight’. Towards the end, they revert back to the first pattern.

You can watch how to play this on piano in the key of D major in this short clip:

The popular live video on YouTube

On this live version, they performed the song in the key of E major instead (A whole step higher). Now, they needed to use the I, V, vi and IV chords from that key instead which are E major, B Major, C# minor and A major.

They just applied these chords to the same structure, 1 chord per measure for the first section:

And 2 chords per measure for the 2nd section:

Moving something to another key is called transposing. You can watch how to play this on piano in the key of E major in this short clip:

But how were they able to sing so many songs over these chords? Read on to find out but first here’s the chords for the four chord song in all 12 keys for your reference.

The Four Chord song Chord In Every Key

What Are the Four Chords Used In Most Pop Songs?

As displayed in the four chord song, there are many examples of successful pop songs using the same chord progression as each other. It’s not usually the entire song, typically it’s just one of the main sections, either the verse or the chorus. Of course, there’s plenty of other things to set them apart like the melody, lyrics, rhythms, the arrangement and other patterns or embellishments over the chords but the underlying basic structure of the harmony is the same.

The famous four chords used in many pop song progressions are the I, V, vi and IV chords of a major key. The roman numerals represent the numbers of the major scale we begin a chord from (1, 5, 6, 4) so in C major this would be C, G, Amin, F or in G major it would be G, D, Emin, C.

This is the most common sequence of those chords and the one used in ‘the four chord song’ but people are sometimes referring to other songs that may use those chords in another order, for example, I, IV, vi, V (1,4,6,5).

This is where we have to stop thinking about specific chords and start thinking about where those chords fit inside the key. Many pop songs that use similar chord progressions are all in a variety of keys.

This means that although they may appear as 2 completely different progressions, by referring to each set of chords using their chord numbers, we can reveal how the pattern of the chord movement is the same, using the same sequence of numbers. We can recognize how 2 progressions that use different chords by name, may essentially be the same thing, the same pattern just played in a higher or lower key.

How To Number The Chords In A Major Key

First, we need to number the notes of a major scale. The starting note of the scale (the root) is number 1, then we just continue through the rest of the notes 2,3,4,5,6 and 7.Here’s a few examples of what that looks like in different keys.

In the key of C major

Or in the key of G major

Or D major

When we begin a chord from a particular note of the scale, we can give that chord the same number. If we were in the key of C and play a G major chord, that would be chord number 5 (because G is the 5th note of the C major scale).

Chord number 5 in the key of G major would be D major (because D is the 5th note of the G major scale).

Chord number 5 in the key of D major would be A major (because A is the 5th note of the D major scale)

Roman Numerals

We then tend to use roman numerals instead of regular numbers and commonly, upper case to represent a major chord and lower case to represent minor. Chord 7 is diminished and for that we use lower case with this symbol next to it. ^o

Let’s compare the chord progressions of 3 songs in a different one of these 3 keys:

The 3 chord progressions all appear to be different but if we assign numbers, we can spot a consistent pattern. They all use the same sequence of chord numbers.

Each of these chords actually has a function and a particular sound within the key because we’re hearing the relationships between notes and chords. Without getting too theory heavy in this post, the easiest one to understand is chord I. When you finish a song or piece of music by going to chord I, it sounds resolved, at rest and at home. That’s true of every key so in the key of C major, the C major chord sounds like home or in the key of D major, the D major chord sounds like home. Chord I is also called the tonic.

Essentially then, if you play the same sequence of chord numbers in any key, whilst the sound will not be ‘exactly’ the same because of the range, we can hear the same pattern of the movement between the chords because they are moving the same distances.

Watch this short video clip to hear these concepts for yourself:

This is how axis of awesome were able to find many songs with seemingly different chords and realise that sections of those songs were actually using the same underlying structure. They were all using the I, V, iv, IV sequence. Well, the band weren’t the first to notice this but they were the ones to make a funny performance out of it.

They then made the comparison obvious for an audience of non musicians by playing the sequence in only one key with just a simple, constant rhythm to strip out any other distinctive features of each song. The melody of each of the songs they sang would then naturally fit over the top. The melodies are just a pattern inside the scale too and so that pattern can also just be repeated in any other key and sound the same (albeit a little higher or lower)

Which type of chord should start from each number?

It is actually possible to start different types of chord from each of the numbers, some will stay in the key (only use notes from the scale) and you can also change chords to use notes out of the key too sometimes. Notes that stay inside the key, or the scale you’re using, are called diatonic and notes that go outside the key are called non-diatonic.

When people just say a chord number though and don’t specify anything else afterwards, there is a particular thing they’re referring to. They’re talking about the triad (3 note chord) formed by playing in 3rds from whichever number you start from. This essentially just means every other note in the scale until you have 3 notes. (Although in Jazz and a few other settings, people commonly assume you will play a 7 chord starting from that same number which have 4 notes)

For example, in the key of C major, starting from the 6th note (A) you would play A, skip B, play C, skip D and then play E. This gives you an A minor chord which is chord number 6 in this key:

In the key of G major starting from the 5th note (D), you would play D, skip E, play F#, skip G and then play A. This gives you a D major chord which is chord number 5 in this key.

Major chords use a root, major 3rd and perfect 5th, minor chords use a root, minor 3rd and perfect 5th. To learn more about building major and minor chords using intervals, you can watch this video here on the piano from scratch YouTube Channel.

Because every major scale is the same pattern or spacing of notes to begin with, (that’s why they’re all the same type of scale and have the same sound) the types of chords we create like this will be exactly the same for each number of the scale in every major key. For example, chord 1 is always major, chord 6 is always minor and so on.

Here’s the full sequence of the chord types in a major key:

A diminished chord is almost like a minor chord, except it has a diminished 5th (flat 5) instead of a perfect 5th.

Check out this in depth PDF and learn all about chords step by step through 18 detailed breakdowns of common types of chord (plus more) – Includes clear graphics, helpful patterns & formulas plus simplified theory (see inside below).

And if you’re wondering about what equipment you may need to help get the best out of your practice, feel free to check out the recommended gear page.

In reality, pop music has obviously used a lot of other chord progressions too and this four chord progression is sometimes used to disparage the genre and claim it all sounds the same. It has appeared quite a lot though, the Beatles used it in ‘Let it be’ too and it has been responsible for a fair few number 1 hits.

Major scales are the most common and useful to learn first on piano, followed by the natural, harmonic and melodic minors. Start with C Major as it has no sharps or flats, then G D, A and E major before starting the minors. Next, learn some pentatonic, blues and chromatic scales plus the modes.

There’s a bit more to think about though because there’s the order of the types of scales and the most useful order of keys within each one to consider. We’ll take a look at both.

The following guidelines are to help you understand why a certain route often works best but also when to deviate. Then you’ll be more confident in finding a practical and efficient learning path for yourself.

Which Order To Learn Piano Scales

This is a useful outline of the order in which to learn the different piano scales. Starting with major and the minors is the best idea for most people but the further you get, the more flexible you can be to suit your needs.

• Major Scales
• Natural Minor Scales
• Harmonic Minor Scales
• Melodic Minor Scales
• Pentatonic Scales
• Blues Scales
• Chromatic Scales
• Modes Of The Major Scale
• Other More Advanced Scales

You don’t need to complete the set and learn all 12 of each type before moving on. It’s usually best to stagger starting each one and be flexible so you’re learning what you need to support the actual music you’re working on. Remember, there’s no exact or perfect order to suit everyone.

Let’s now take a look at each type and order within.

Major Scales

• Major scales seem to be the most commonly used in music and particularly in the beginning stages, you will come across them most often. They are also the simplest to understand and begin playing.

• Most students start learning to read in major keys signatures rather than minor partly because minor keys commonly alter a couple of notes. If you want to read music in the key of D major, you must learn the D major scale!

• Major scales are also fundamental to understanding how music works from a theory perspective. A clear grasp of these gives you a strong foundation from which to learn about how other scales, chords and chord progressions work too.

• Once you learn to find them easily on the keyboard, they are useful as a visual framework you can use and adapt to find other scales too. They also help you to understand how a piece of music works and memorize it.

You can read my article HERE on why you should always memorize scales to learn more about that.

What Order To Learn Major Scales In

Here’s a useful order you can learn the major scales in. You can be a bit flexible with this to fit what you’re learning though so read on for further details.

Start with C major. It has no flats or sharps and only uses white keys, making it easier to play and read music. Then you can learn the other major scales starting from white notes in order of sharps, G D, A, E, B, then F. After that, black key major scales in order of flats, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb.

• C Major
• G Major (1 Sharp)
• D Major (2 Sharps)
• A Major (3 Sharps)
• E Major (4 Sharps)
• F Major (1 Flat)
• B Major (5 Sharps)
• Bb Major (2 Flats)
• Eb Major (2 Flats)
• Ab Major (3 Flats)
• Db Major (4 Flats)
• F#/Gb Major (6 sharps/6 Flats)

Why Start With C?

Starting with C means not having to worry about remembering which notes to use, it’s just a straight line from C to C! This makes it the easiest to play when you’re first learning and trying to get your fingers under control and hands working together properly.

Having no black keys (flats or sharps) makes it much easier to begin reading sheet music, playing from memory or by ear.

A straight line of white notes also makes it much clearer to understand how the scale is built in terms of intervals and visualize many other aspects of music theory on the keyboard. For much more depth on the topic of how the key of C can really help you understand music better, read this article HERE.

After C, start making your way clockwise around the circle of 5ths. The circle of 5ths is simply a way of organizing key signatures by the amount of sharps or flats in the key. Going clockwise, each key is a 5th up from the last.

The next one after C would be G which has 1 black note (sharp), then D which has 2 and so on. It makes sense to learn at least G as well or up to E (4 sharps) because to this point, they all use the same finger numbers. This is helpful for learning as you can focus more on finding new shapes whilst not having to worry about getting confused with a new finger pattern at the same time. These few keys are also going to be easiest, most common and most useful to begin learning music in.

You don’t have to be too rigid here though, be flexible. My suggestion would be to learn at least C and G, but then you could learn F major too if it makes sense for you (i.e you’re learning a song in F). It too only has one black note (a flat) and it’s still easier and common to learn music in F as a beginner. The right hand fingers are slightly different though this time but hands together still feels fairly similar and it’s good to expand in small steps.

B major then has a slightly different left hand pattern but still feels similar to C major hands together. Learn this after you have done C to E unless you really need to learn it before.

I would then begin learning the flat side (anti-clockwise) around the circle up to Gb/F#. From B flat onwards, these scales all start to feel very different under your fingers which is why it’s usually best to wait. Of course, if you really need to start these keys earlier because of other music you’re working on, then it’s not really going to cause a massive problem.

Major Scale Tutorial Playlist

I have a PLAYLIST on YouTube with tutorials for every major scale. You can use these to help you learn each scale.

I also have a clear and helpful PDF worksheet containing graphics, notation, finger numbers and theory for every major scale you can download as a handy reference.

You don’t need to learn all 12 before starting minor scales, in most cases there’s not much point. You’ll want to start learning music in minor keys way before then and it’ll be much more productive to stagger it. So after you’ve done 3 or 4 majors, start with minor scales too and then you can work through both, simultaneously.

Natural Minor Scales

• Minor scales are regularly used in music too so these are quite important to begin learning early on. There’s actually a few types of minor scale, each which a slight difference at the top of the scale.

• The natural minor scale is the one you need to start with. You can see from the circle of 5ths above that each major scale has a relative minor scale. These 2 keys use all the same notes and share the same key signature, but they just start in different places.

• A piece of music in a minor key quite often changes back and forth between which kind of minor scale is being used. It makes sense to learn natural minor first then as it fits a key signature perfectly without having to use any accidentals (extra flats, sharps or naturals) to go outside.

• They also give you the foundation to understand the other minor scales from the theory side and once you can see them on the keyboard comfortably, it becomes straight forward to adjust them to find the other types.

What Order To Learn Natural Scales In

With minor scales, I don’t usually teach them completely in the order of the circle of 5ths. Here’s a useful order you can use but make sure to read on because there’s a specific reason I like to do it like this. Again, after the first couple, you can definitely be flexible to suit what aspect of learning you’re focusing on or to learn a scale you need for a piece.

I Like to teach and have students practice finding minor scales either by converting a major scale or finding the relative minor of a major scale. I usually try to do every key both ways at some point.

• A Minor
• C Minor
• G Minor
• F Minor
• D Minor
• E Minor
• B Minor
• F# Minor
• C# Minor
• G# Minor
• D#/Eb Minor
• Bb Minor

Usually in the same lesson, I will start with A minor and C minor. A minor because it’s the relative minor of C major and therefore still only uses white notes. C minor because it is clearer to picture the intervals used to construct a minor scale. The 3 intervals that are flattened compared to the major scale pattern are black so they stand out.

To reinforce a student’s understanding of theory, I think it is then useful to get them to find minor scales themselves by converting major scales they already know. I like starting with the major keys that begin on a white note and have less black notes to make it visually clearer. So after A and C, next would be G and F, then D E and B.

The keys starting from the black notes, I will often leave until last unless they’re needed earlier. I don’t think the order here is terribly important really but you could start going clockwise from F# minor on the circle of 5ths to hit them all in an organized way.

After just learning a few keys of just the natural minor though, I would then start to learn how to adjust them to create the other types of minor scales.

Harmonic And Melodic Minor Scales

• Changing between different types of minor scales midway through a piece of music is very common so these are important to learn fairly early on.

• Because these and the natural minor are just different combinations of the minor or major the 6th and the 7th notes, it makes sense for some people to learn the Dorian mode at the same time which is the final combination. This is used frequently in genres like jazz, funk, soul and blues.

What Order To Learn Harmonic And Melodic Minors In

Because how they’re built is so close and their usage is so intertwined, it makes sense to learn all 3 types of minor scale alongside each other for the rest of the way. Do start off learning and understanding these for the very first time in C though for the same reason as before. It is much easier to picture the theory on the keyboard itself and see what intervals are used to build each one in C.

You can learn how to fully understand the different minor scales in this video.

I also have a helpful PDF worksheet on minor scales which contains, graphics, finger numbers, notation and theory for all the minor scales

Pentatonic Scales And Blues Scales

• These are very useful for more modern playing and especially improvisation. They are very much connected because of the way they are used and because the blues scales are really just adding 1 extra ‘blue’ note to the equation.

• Pentatonic really means there’s 5 notes in it so technically, there’s actually a few types but when we say THE pentatonic scales, people are talking about these specific major and minor versions we use all the time. Each major has a relative minor too, kind of like the major and minor scales.

• There are major and minor versions of the blues scales too, both really useful to learn for slightly different musical situations.

• Learning these, focus more on just what the notes are and what you can do with them. It’s not always as necessary to practice them up and down like you would majors and minors. You can if you need later in your career, maybe for a long run.

I also have a Pentatonic and Blues scales PDF available

What Order To learn Pentatonic And Blues Scales In

I recommend learning to understand these scales for the first time, both major and minor versions in C and then A.

In the earlier stages of your learning, you will likely come across the keys beginning from the other white notes more often with the kinds of music you will use these scales for, with the possible exception of B.

It makes sense to focus on the keys you will use the most then and just learn each scale when you have need of it. If you want you to try and hit all 12 anyway so you’re prepared for the future, you could also follow the circle of 5ths to organize your practice.

Chromatic Scales

• These are just every note on the keyboard! So there’s really 12 keys as per usual, one starting from each note, but it’s almost like there’s only 1 at the same time. You can use the same fingers for each one (just starting at a different point of course)

• These are mostly useful for technique purposes to get your fingers used these chromatic movements that come up in many types of music

What Order To learn Chromatic Scales In

To be honest, with these it’s really not as important to do it in all 12 keys compared to majors and minor for example. Once you can do it comfortably from one starting note, it’s basically the same everywhere.

It may just be wise to try starting from at least a few different notes, if not all, to make sure you don’t get too used to only one set way and that you’re comfortable starting from different points in a piece of music.

The Modes Of The Major Scale

• Don’t focus on technique or speed as much with these like you would majors or minors. It’s more important to just be able to understand them and find them easily on the keyboard so you can use them.

• Not all of these are as common or useful to learn by heart but it makes sense to understand them all together.

• You may want to learn Dorian and Mixolyidan earlier on as they are fairly simple to find and useful for much contemporary music.

What Order To learn The Modes In

By their very nature, modes are sequenced. There’s the pattern that begins from the first note of the major scale, the second, the third and so on. When first learning to understand how modes work, it makes the most sense to just learn them in that order.

However, in terms of memorizing individual modes in different keys, I think it’s best to learn what you will most likely use, first.

• Ionian
• Aeolian
• Dorian
• Mixolydian
• Lydian
• Phrygian
• Locrian

You should memorize scales so they are easily recognized and feel natural to play or use in music. It is then much easier to avoid hitting any incorrect notes, whether playing by ear or reading. It helps you to learn new music quicker and to develop your technique and understanding of music theory.

To get the maximum benefit out of scales in ways that will help us ‘speak music’ more fluently and maximise our ability to learn, we need to really internalise them and get comfortable using them. There’s a bit more to understand so let’s take a look how to approach this and some specific reasons they will really help you become a better musician.

“If you’re playing music using a particular scale, then you absolutely need to know, fluently, what those notes are and where they are on the piano or whatever other instrument you’re learning.“

The Main Reason To Memorize Scales

The majority of music is written in a key, which is to say simply, that it uses the notes from a particular scale as the basis for the melody and harmony. Of course, music can go out the key too, change keys or not really use a key at all, but either way, scales are the backbone of much music and so they’re really important for musicians to understand. For more depth on what it really means to be in a key, you can read this article.

If you’re playing music using a particular scale, then you absolutely need to know, fluently, what those notes are and where they are on the piano or whatever other instrument you’re learning. You can then lock into that scale, you can navigate through the notes comfortably and without hesitation or playing any wrong notes.

Beginners, in particular, can often think that learning or memorizing a scale simply means being able to recite it up and down in one or perhaps multiple octaves, learning the correct fingers and basic technique along the way. This isn’t untrue, that’s an important thing to be doing. It’s probably the best place to start and will take you far. We just need to take it further.

The problem is that you may end up getting stuck in that specific habit and pattern of only playing the notes in order from the starting point. In reality, you may then get lost when music uses the notes of a scale and creates all kinds of patterns and chords within it.

Here’s a few common scenarios and exactly how being as fluent as possible with your scales will help you improve.

Reading Sheet Music

Written notation uses ‘key signatures’ which tell you what scale or key you’re in. They show you at the start, which notes become sharps or flats. It’s entirely possible to just think of those specific notes you need to change but it’s far more efficient and simpler in the long run to know what scale to use for a given key signature and be able to see exactly where that is on your instrument.

When the dots on the page move up and down on the staff, they move up and down inside the key, inside the scale you’re locked into (Unless it specifically tells you to go out the scale with an accidental, of course).

In this example, we’re in the key of D major which has an F#. If the current note is an E and you can see the next note moves up a 2nd, (to the note next door) being familiar with the scale means you already know and see the next note should be F# instead of F natural. You’ll play it without thinking.

Now that example is still probably quite easy either way, but with scales that have more flats and sharps and when the music gets more involved, it really pays off to not have to think about what notes you’re meant to be using. You can become so much more familiar and quicker at reading with this method and it’s easier to keep track of where you are on the keyboard, spot patterns and understand what you’re playing.

When you can easily visualize the shape of the scale, it’s also much easier to keep track of how the music works or moves around in the context of that scale.

Learning And Memorizing Songs And pieces

There’s 12 notes on the piano but there’s only 7 in most scales you will use, for example major and minor scales. If you know what key you’re in and you’re trying memorize a piece of music, that narrows it down already to a particular shaped stream of notes that you’ll, for the most part, be working with.

When you can easily visualize the shape of the scale, it’s also much easier to keep track of how the music works or moves around in the context of that scale. It will feel more cohesive, like it makes more sense and speaks in a language you understand to see the notes as part of the scale.

You can become familiar with patterns, with which degrees of the scale are used as well as how it sounds and feels under your fingers to navigate. All this combined can make a huge difference in your capacity to learn and memorize all different kinds of music.

Improvisation

One of the hardest things about improvisation is knowing what notes you can use that will sound good. Many musicians will start by learning to improvise within a scale, getting familiar with the sound of it and what they can do with it. It goes without saying then that to create something of your own with a specific selection of notes, you must memorize and be familiar with those notes! They are your vocabulary with which to form your own sentences.

Of course there’s many approaches to improvisation and this is just one, but even when things get more complicated or go outside, there’s often an element of basing what you play around a key or a scale. The scale helps you narrow the search for the notes you hear in your head!

Working Out Music By Ear

Not exactly the same, but similar, is using a scale to help transcribe a piece of music, which means to figure something out by ear. This could apply to finding the notes in your head too if you have just thought of a melody and are trying to play it on an instrument.

Again, the scale gives you context. If a melody or a chord progression, for example, sounds like it sticks in a major scale, then if you are comfortable in that scale and can lock into it, you instantly know where to look on your instrument to find the correct notes and what notes to avoid. It’s a much more organized, clear way of doing things and you’re far less likely to get confused or stuck.

With practice you can also hear patterns in the scale, how far notes leap within the scale, exactly where in the scale they are and also when a note moves outside of the scale adding a new colour to the sound.

Memorizing Scales Helps You Develop Better Technique

Often, the first step in learning a new piece of music is just learning the notes. When you can read the notes easily enough or have them memorized, then you can begin to focus on how you’re playing; on your fingers, your technique, your performance and all of those elements.

When you’re still hesitating and stumbling over just finding the notes, there’s no way you can be training your hands properly. As we already talked about, memorizing scales can help you learn music more efficiently. The side effect of that is that you will be able to put more of your brain power and energy on developing your technique, it’s easier to relax your hands, think ahead and move smoothly between the notes.

This is also true of just playing scales themselves. We do this sometimes to hone our technique and speed, for example. You can’t play smooth or fast if you’re thinking too hard about what the notes are, the shapes and fingers must be internalised.

Memorizing Scales Helps You To Understand Music Theory

Understanding the basics of music theory can supercharge your musicianship and the amount and speed at which you’re able to learn. Not instantly, but eventually it makes a huge difference with many aspects of your ability including reading, memorizing and playing by ear.

The thing about learning music theory though is that it’s important to be able relate it to your instrument. When you’re really comfortable visualizing scales, it helps you start to see how the music that you’re playing really works.

You can see, for example, what degrees of the scale are being used, which chord numbers are in the progression, how the chord is voiced or how the melody relates to the harmony. Without the context of a key or scale, this kind of thing can be very confusing and unclear.

Learning scales helps you spell notes correctly too. For example, whether in a particular key you need to use F# or the enharmonic equivalent Gb. This is another aspect of music theory that makes the learning process clearer.

Which Scales Are Most Important To Memorize First

There are many different types of scale but some are less common and with different instruments, it makes more sense to start with certain keys.

So which scales should you learn first on piano? Major scales are the most common and useful scales to learn first. On piano, start with C major. It has no flats or sharps and is the easiest to play or read. After a few major scales like G, D and A, you need to learn some minor scales too. There are different types but start with A natural minor.

Major scales provide you a solid grounding in technique, plus a foundational understanding of theory and chord progressions on the keyboard. You don’t need to learn all 12 before moving onto a few minor scales but eventually you’ll want to complete the set.

It makes most sense to start with C and then work your way around the circle of 5ths, gradually adding a new sharp each time. This way, we’re gradually increasing the visual (and reading) complexity plus for 5 keys, you get to use the same finger patterns! There’s no perfect order so after 2 or 3, you could also perhaps make your way around the flat side of the circle of 5ths learning F (1 Flat) then Bb (2 Flats) and so on. These will require new finger patterns.

I have a PDF worksheet available for download here containing graphics, notation, finger numbers and theory for all 12 major scales, plus more. Here’s some preview pages:

There’s a few different kinds of minor scales but it’s best to start with natural minors then you can learn to adjust them to create the variations. To understand everything you need to know about minor scales, I have an in depth 3 part series over on my YouTube channel you can WATCH HERE or take a look at the minor scales theory PDF worksheet.

For a more in depth look at which order to learn scales then you can read this article here.

How To Memorize Scales Better

With Theory

Make sure you first learn how a major scale is built, in terms of the intervals used. This is FUNDAMENTAL musical knowledge you must learn. Essentially, it uses all the major and perfect intervals. If that doesn’t makes sense at this stage, you can watch this video below which explains everything you need to know!

Learning how to spell the scale correctly is important too (whether to use F# or Gb for example) as well as recognize a scale by how many sharps or flats it has in the key signature. See the circle of 5ths image above.

Using Blocks Of Notes

A method I teach is to learn to see the major scale pattern clearly and easily in all 12 keys, learn the interval names and then practice how to adapt that pattern on your instrument to create a new scale. This saves constantly memorizing 12 versions of everything and lets you better understand the new scales at the same time.

The pattern to find a major scale using half steps and whole steps in WWHWWWH and most people teach this but in reality, it’s not very practical. It means you end up thinking step by step too much and you need to be thinking ahead more. It’s much better to visualize blocks of notes on the keyboard!

I have a unique, practical method for doing this you can watch below to really help you memorize scales on the keyboard in every key much more easily.

Practice In All 12 Keys

A lot of the time scale practice will focus on technique, and that’s really important, but sometimes just make the intent of your practice to be focused on memorizing and finding scales in all keys (Or as many as you know so far)

For example, practice all major scales one after the other in succession, but perhaps slowly in one octave and hands apart. This way your mind is bent on finding those shapes and mentally being able to switch from key to key at a fast pace as opposed to playing them with perfect technique or quickly.

Improvise In That Key

Whatever level you’re at, a bit of improvisation in a particular scale will get you really familiar with the shapes and the notes of that key and how to move around it, in a really tactile way.

Pay Attention To How A Scale Is Used In Music

You must remember to analyze what you’re playing. Even if you can play a scale from memory without a hitch, you have to engage your brain a bit to think about what’s happening and how it’s used in the context of a piece of music. Just noticing simple things like a melody beginning on the 5th note, for example, is helpful. Beginners sometimes even forget what key they’re in and lose all context so at least remember the root!

It’s easy for us to get in the trap of just memorizing music by the individual notes used. If you take the time to examine how those notes relate to the scale, or perhaps whether they go out the scale, in the long run you will start becoming far more fluent in the language of music and how certain sounds are made, plus of course, get really familiar with that scale.

Don’t Rely On Sheet Music To Memorize Scales

By all means, you can learn what the notes are for the first time or recap them if you’re stuck however you like. Relying on notation every time you come to practice, however, will slow you down from memorizing them.

Memorizing Scales By Sound

Each new type of scale is a unique palette of sounds with which we can create music. A major scale, a natural minor, a harmonic minor or anything else, all have different tonalities we should get familiar with as we learn them. Aside from simply listening actively and taking note of the sound, singing or humming scales will help engrain it as well as associating specific pieces of music with a type of scale.

What Memorizing A Scale Really Means

To have memorized and understood a scale fully means you are fluent recognizing, and using those notes in a variety of contexts. Essentially, being able to lock into that scale, play all the right notes and keep track of where in the scale you are, whatever you’re doing.

So why is C major so popular? C major is a popular key for beginners because the scale only uses white keys, it has no sharps or flats. This makes many facets of learning easier including memorizing notes, reading, learning chords and inversions, improvisation plus understanding theory, intervals, harmony and chord progressions.

Having to think less about the notes you’re using in the beginning stages allows you to focus on other aspects of learning, like technique, but there’s a bit more to it than that. With a bit more insight into the learning process and effective methods, you can make more progress. Let’s dive into exactly how starting with C can often help you develop.

Finding The Note C First

Most piano teachers, myself included, will start complete beginners off on their journey by finding middle C and learning the rest of the note names from there. There’s a good chance though that you may have thought it might make more sense to start with A.

So why does piano start with C and not A? The note C is visually clearer than an A to find on the keyboard first and middle C is an important marker you need to tell which octave to play in. The C major scale is the most useful scale to learn first on piano as being only white notes  makes it easier to learn, play or read in that key. 

When learning piano, we’re aiming to eventually have much of what we learn internalized to the point where we don’t have to think too hard about it, almost like becoming fluent in a new language. Being able to recognize the notes effortlessly is the start of this process as you will need to find notes quickly for everything else you do; playing songs, scales, chords, reading and so on.

A C being just to the left of every block of 2 black keys is much easier to spot by eye than an A which is buried amongst the block of 3 black keys.

To start with, just memorizing one note makes the learning process easier and then from that reference point we can use the alphabet to figure out the other notes. In my post on naming the white notes I have a detailed practice method and tips on how you can become fluent at this. You can CLICK HERE to read that.

You can, however, use F for example as a secondary marker if you find that helpful. From F, it’s quicker to find to a G than climbing all the way up from C as it’s right next door on the keyboard.

It’s not essential to learn C first and the A natural minor scale even uses the same notes. All factors considered though, C just makes the most sense.

Why Is Middle C So Important?

Learning the note C first also means that right from the get go, we are used finding middle C on the piano

But why is middle C so important? Middle C is important because it’s a marker used by musicians to tell which octave they are in. There are different versions of each note in different ranges so this reference point helps you know exactly where you are on your instrument straight away and how high or low to play.

Middle C is the C that is closest to the middle of your piano or keyboard.

If you forget to use middle C as a reference point (and if you forget to use your ears!) it’s very easy to accidentally play a note or even an entire piece of music higher or lower than it was meant. This is because all the shapes on the piano would still look the same in each octave so you just have to learn which range is which by going outwards from the centre. You need to know this whether playing from memory, playing by ear or reading from sheet music.

Middle C is also known as C4. It is the 4th C up from the lowest C (C1) on a full size piano.

Learning The C Major Scale First Is Important

Why is the C major scale important? Major scales are the most common scales used in music and C major is the only one without any flats or sharps (black keys). That makes it easiest, technically and visually for a beginner to learn this scale first, play music in the key of C or learn to read sheet music. Like any scale, the major scale can be played in all 12 keys, meaning the major scale pattern can be started from each of the 12 different notes.

When you know why we learn scales this all makes much more sense. Most importantly, they tell us where the notes are that we’re going to use so we’re comfortable moving around them to play music. It’s easy to get visually lost with the keyboard layout when we’re using a mixture of black and white keys.

Learning C first and starting with music written in C allows us to focus more on some of the core skills we’re developing like holding up wrists correctly, getting familiar controlling our fingers and performing thumb tucks. We’re likely to play the wrong notes and mess up too. It’s quite easy, for example, to accidentally play an F in the key of G major when it should be an F#. With scales that form a more wavy shape on the keyboard, we really have to be thinking ahead in order to position our hand correctly to reach the black keys.

Naming the black keys either way as sharps or flats involves knowing the white keys first so it’s much clearer to start simply. Stumbling and pausing over which note to play next in a piece of music can really hold you back. It makes sense to begin by just using the white keys and then expand your vocabulary once you become more fluent.

Of course you can still learn the black keys sooner but mostly learning music in C at the very start is certainly beneficial. I have a playlist on my YouTube Channel dedicated to learning all your major scales. You can view that playlist and pick which scale you’re after here.

It’s Much Easier To Start Reading In C

This ties in to playing music generally in C but reading deserved a specific mention. Learning to read from sheet music is almost a whole separate skill in and of itself. For a beginner, instead of just finding the correct notes, you now have to figure out which notes it is you need to find. Keeping this simple in the beginning without worrying about the black keys is most beneficial for your progression.

There’s 2 ways a piece of sheet music can tell you you need to play one of the black keys. One way is to just use a flat symbol (b) or a sharp symbol (#) next to the note. For example, drawing a # next to the dot representing F means play F sharp. It’s just an extra bit of information to interpret that you don’t need when learning to recognize which notes to play and translate that immediately to the keyboard.

The other way involves using something called key signatures. These essentially tell you at the start of the music which flats or sharps to use in the music. They are the sharps and flats that would be in the scale you’re meant to use. So now, not only do you have find them on the keyboard, but you also have to remember which ones are in the scale you are using to avoid playing the natural (white note) by mistake.

Again, it’s a far more productive learning experience and you’ll see better results much faster if you start with basics and then build up to more complicated things incrementally and slowly.

Memorizing Or Improvising Music In C

One of the challenges of learning music is getting familiar with keys that have a mixture of black and white notes, getting comfortable and familiar moving around them and learning where you can and can’t go.

It’s hard to play a piece with fluidity and a sense of musicality from memory until you really don’t have to think very hard about what notes are coming next so learning in C is one less barrier to get there.

Similarly, one of the challenges of improvisation before even deciding what to play, is knowing where your possible note options are. In C you don’t have to think so hard about where you can and can’t go on the keyboard which frees up your mind a bit more your mind, creatively.

Learning Chords And Inversions Is easier In C

Whether you’re interested in classical repertoire or more contemporary music, learning chords and inversions is a must. Before you even think about the technical side, learning to play them involves recognizing shapes on the keyboard. These help you chunk information together, get familiar with the keyboard and learn faster.

We first learn chords in root position which just means one of each note in order starting from the root note. Using only the chords in the C major scale (white note chords), this is a simple pattern to find being just every other white note until you have 3. The different basic white note triads will all have the same shape and feel under your fingers.

Then when you get to using chord inversions which are just those same notes rearranged into 2 other possible orders, again when you’re just dealing with the white keys of C major all the shapes will be the same. This allows you to get a better grasp on finding them and playing them in the beginner stages.

When using chords in other keys which include black notes, the shapes on the keyboard will keep morphing so it’s much clearer to get used to the key of C first and many find it easier to start here, technically, too.

Intervals And Theory Are Clearer To Understand In C

Learning chords isn’t just about the practical side. It’s also important to begin to understand how harmony works, how they’re built using intervals and also how chord progressions work. I have a YouTube playlist full of important beginner theory topics you can check out HERE

A solid grasp of basic theory and harmony will take you a long way. It will help you learn faster, read better, improvise and really just speak the language of music more fluently. This is all much easier and clearer to comprehend in C so I highly recommenced gaining that clarity by looking at things in this key.

Intervals

I don’t want to get too in depth into intervals in this article, but ostensibly, they are one of the fundamental building blocks of music. They are the names for the different sized gaps between notes and we can measure how far apart they are in half steps. We only need to worry about up to an octave apart to begin with really. The important thing is that each interval is a unique harmony and has a unique character to the sound.

I like to think of each one as an ingredient. As we use intervals to build chords and scales, we can then think of them like a list of ingredients. We then have to find those intervals on the piano.

Because of the layout of the piano, the same sized intervals will keep looking different depending on which note you start. For example, sometimes a major 3rd will be 2 white notes, but in other places it’s a mixture of black and white or possibly 2 black notes. For this reason, the shape of chords and scales on the keyboard are ever changing which becomes visually confusing very quickly.

The great thing about the key of C is that from the note C being our root, all the major and perfect intervals are white, and everything else is black. This makes it SO MUCH EASIER to see and comprehend elements of theory such as which intervals are used to build certain types of chords and scales and even how chord progressions work.

For a super clear and helpful explanation of intervals, you can check out this video below from my YouTube channel

Chord Progressions

In music we number the chords in a key. We commonly also use roman numerals too. A chord starting from the first note of the scale is chord 1 (I) , a chord starting from the 5th note of the scale is chord 5 (V) and so on.

This helps us understand how chord progressions work, really know what we’re playing and be able to transpose this into other keys too. In C, it’s much visually clearer to keep track of what’s happening at an earlier stage in your playing. It can take a lot more experience to be able to do this confidently in other keys like E for example that have a mixture of black and white keys.

I have a video diving into the idea of using C to make things clearer too you can watch below

But A Minor Is All The White Keys Too

Yes, A minor is also all the white keys, the A natural minor scale at least. It shares the same notes as C major, it just begins at a different point, A becomes the root. For this reason we call it the relative minor of C and they also use the same key signature, which is just blank because there’s no flats or sharps.

You could learn to physically play the A minor just the same as C (they use the same finger pattern) and read just as easily too from sheet music. The major scale itself is just the most foundational tool to learn first for understanding harmony and the most commonly used scale which means it seems the more helpful choice. There are also variations of minor scales too so in the interest of keeping the learning process organized and clear, saving that topic for further down the road is likely best. New musicians can find it strange to not use the first letter of the alphabet first as language has engrained this in us, but after a while of studying music, you soon get used to it.

Moving Beyond C

Once you’re starting to get comfortable in C, have some basic technique down and a few piano miles under your belt, it’s vital to push yourself and learn more scales, new music in other keys and read other key signatures if you’re a reader. Don’t spend too long a period just in C as most music will not be in that key! It’s vital that you push yourself and get familiar with other shapes and keys on the piano, theoretically, visually and technically.

You may find when you begin to learn more scales that wavier shapes can actually feel more comfortable for your hand to mould around and it’s easier to play smoother and faster. This is not uncommon and some people have said it would be technically easier to learn these first, particularly because the thumb tuck is probably more comfortable in keys such as E major. There is certainly an argument for this but as a piano teacher, I have found the other points in the case for C to take precedence.

Restrictions on your schedule can hinder progress so the main advantage of practicing piano with headphones is that you can do so at any time without disturbing others. They can help you focus too and feel safe to try new things. Professional musicians also use them so it is wise to get accustomed.

There’s quite a few advantages to using headphones for some of your practice time, ways they are really helpful to a musician and a few things you should know about choosing and using them before you start.

The Advantages Of Using Headphones For Practice

Sometimes we like to play LOUD, but often, that’s just impossible. Neighbours, family or housemates may not be quite so keen to hear you practice that same forte section for the 50th time in a row at 10pm. Listening to someone PLAYING the piano and listening to someone PRACTICING are two vastly different things!

At least we’re not drummers though… Luckily, there’s an easy solution and that is to use a digital piano or keyboard and a decent pair of headphones.

You Can Practice Properly, Any Time And For Longer

It may be that you want to practice later at night, or for an extended period of time in the day. You may have really thin walls or perhaps those you live with are working from home. There’s all kinds of reasons we can’t constantly make beautiful music in our own living space.

Lives are busy and sometimes it’s difficult enough as it is to find a decent amount of time to practice. With restrictions, you simply won’t get as much (or as frequent) practice and you’ll make less progress. You’ll get frustrated and discouraged too with never being able to just play when the moment takes you. Headphones completely solve this problem, you’ll improve quicker and at the same time, avoid any unneeded stress with those around you.

You may also need to practice a particularly loud section and at the same time, hear how that would sound. If you’re trying to keep the noise down, you will end up practicing the wrong way and engraining the wrong technique. It’s much better to stick on a pair of headphones (careful with excessive volumes though) and be able go through the same physical motions as you otherwise would.

When No One Can Hear You, You Don’t Hold Back

With a pair of headphones on, you can play without fear, explore new territory and push yourself further. The worst thing that can happen is you hit a bum note…and no one will hear it!

It’s often the case, especially with beginners but also experienced players working on something new too, that we’re far more reserved when we’re aware of others can hear us. This is out of fear and the embarrassment of making a mistake or sounding bad. It can actually prevent you from making progress if you’re not fully ‘going for it’ and you can certainly hear caution in a performance. This may be a new piece you’re learning or even new techniques and exercises you’re working on.

It’s also a MASSIVE ISSUE if you’re doing any sort of improvisation. Then the music is coming not just through you, but directly from you. Now you REALLY want it to sound good. If you’re bothered about people hearing you, you may play very cautiously and safely, being deterred from attempting anything new and hindering any possible growth. How are you going to discover new things without exploring?

Making mistakes is an important part of the learning process so you need to feel safe trying things out properly without worrying about annoying anyone else or any possible judgement.

Blocking Out Distraction And Hearing Yourself Better

As well as stopping others from hearing you, there’s the happy side effect that you can hear less of others or any other distractions from the outside world. With a quality pair of the right kind of headphones, this is maximised (More on that below). Better focus on the task at hand will undoubtably result an a more productive practice session.

Listening through headphones can often allow you to really zone your ears in on the music, hear every note individually with more clarity and focus on the nuance of your playing. Not always, of course, but depending on what keyboard or piano you’re working with and the sound of the room you’re in, it can sometimes be difficult to hear some of the subtleties and things may go unnoticed. Headphones can therefore help you perfect a particular section or iron out any issues.

You NEED To Use Headphones Sometimes So Get Used To Them

I’m sure you will have seen footage of a recording session, live radio session and even stage performances too sometimes where the musicians are all wearing headphones. It’s a necessity as a professional musician be accustomed to them but also really handy for the hobbyist.

They’re needed to isolate sound sounds, so players can hear what they’re playing along to without that noise getting picked up by the mic and so musicians can hear themselves adequately in the mix on stage. Even if you have no ambition to be a professional or semi professional, you still may find yourself recording or performing.

Hearing yourself in headphones, hearing other things in headphones and playing along can actually be quite strange sounding if you’re not used to it. It’s a bit tricky to explain but essentially, if you’re only used to playing and hearing things in a certain way in a certain room for example, it can easily throw you when the environment is changed. Practicing with headphones will just help you become a better prepared musician.

Listening To Music With Headphones

Even as you’re just casually listening to music, headphones will help you notice more of what’s going on in music. Listening more actively with ‘musician’s ears’ is an important part of your learning experience .

It’s particularly important to be listening to performances of whatever you’re learning, whatever kind of style the music is. Listening to and analyzing what professionals have done will help you improve drastically. Don’t just do this with headphones, but certainly try it sometimes and see what you notice.

I spend a lot of time working things out by ear from recordings. Headphones are incredibly helpful with this as sometimes I notice details with headphones on that I can’t even hear through good quality speakers! Again, don’t just use headphones for this but they’re a useful tool at your disposal.

Can You Play A Real Piano With Headphones?

Some folks will be lucky enough to own a real, acoustic piano, an upright or a grand. Unless you have a special kind though, you will only be playing out loud.

Most real pianos have no electronic parts and cannot be played with headphones. ’Silent’ or ‘Hybrid’ pianos use technology allowing you to play through headphones whilst still retaining the same acoustic experience. These are very expensive so many pianists use a high quality digital piano instead.

I would personally love to own a silent piano, they seem like the perfect solution! They are quite the investment though and for many musicians, it makes sense to spend the money on a digital piano which also offers you portability.

Choosing A Pair Of Headphones

Over Ear VS In Ear

Without getting too into the weeds of the many different types of headphones on the market, I just want to make a distinction between ‘over the ear’ headphones that completely enclose your ears and ear buds, like those that just fit in your ear cavity. Closed Back over the ear headphones are best for noise isolation.

I highly recommend using proper over the ear headphones. They fit and sound much better, are much more comfortable over longer periods of time, less likely to fall off, tend to come with a longer cable and importantly, they isolate sound and let your hear much better with a greater level of clarity (Unless they’re very low quality of course).

The Chord

Make sure you buy a pair of headphones with a decent length chord. Trust me, you will thank me when you’re not pulling them off your head every time you move slightly too far to the left.

My headphone cable is 1.5 metres long BUT it’s a coiled chord so it stretches further. It’s closer to 3 metres before I start to feel any tension. This may sound like overkill but it’s really handy to have flexibility of movement.

If possible, a coiled chord like this is a much better, neater option. It allows you to have a lot more stretch without excess chord laying around to trip over. The best thing is that the stretchiness of them means you don’t just accidentally walk off with your headphones still on and jerk when you reach the end of the cable. This can easily damage equipment like your jack input or the headphones themselves.

Comfort

You will likely be sitting at the piano for extended periods of time so comfort is pretty important. You want a pair of over the ear style headphones which have a decent amount of padding and are not too tight.

Quality

Buying a decent pair of headphones is a good idea for 2 main reasons. Firstly the sound quality is very important to make the most out of your practice time so you can hear yourself playing with clarity. It’s much easier to enjoy what you’re doing, be more productive and make better music when what you’re hearing actually sounds good. Seriously, it makes a huge difference!

Secondly, a cheap pair is a false economy. In general, they won’t last as long. I’ve had a pair of headphones (See Below) for over 10 years and they’re still going strong! You don’t need to spend megabucks or pay for a name like ‘beats’ but it’s worth the investment in quality when you will spend so much time using them.

The Best Headphones For Playing Piano – My Picks

There are so many headphones on the market to choose from so here’s a few solid options to narrow it down.

Best Budget Options

These offer decent sound quality and comfort from well know audio brands at a more affordable price point. They look great too but do not feature the coiled cable.

AKG Pro Audio K72 Closed-Back Studio Headphones

You can check prices for these headphones on Amazon HERE

Audio-Technica ATH-M20x Professional Studio Monitor Headphones

You can check prices for these headphones on Amazon HERE

Best under $100

These are excellent quality, professional and comfortable headphones that come with coiled cables. (The Audio-Technica ATH M40x includes both types)

Audio-Technica ATH-M40x Professional Studio Monitor Headphones

You can check prices for these headphones on Amazon HERE

Sony MDR7506 Professional Large Diaphragm Headphones

You can check prices for these headphones on Amazon HERE

Pro Option (My Headphones)

I love these headphones, they are superb professional studio quality monitoring headphones. I was recommended these by a professional ADR recordist over 10 years ago and they’ve lasted ever since!

Beyerdynamic DT-250 Closed Dynamic Headphones

You can check prices for these headphones on Amazon HERE

You May Need A Jack Adapter Too

Many headphones use an 1/8″ jack connection whilst a lot of keyboards use a 1/4″ jack input. Basically the headphone connection is too small for the input so you may need to buy a stereo jack adapter like the one pictured below. Check if your headphones come with one first though.

They’re pretty cheap to pick up but very easy to lose so you may want to order a couple! Simply plug your phones into the adapter and then straight into the keyboard. You can pick one up from Amazon HERE.

Tips Using Your Headphones At The Piano

Setting Up

Check the headphone socket on your keyboard and check what size it is. They’re often labelled ‘phones’ and either somewhere at the back or on the front face at one of the far ends. Most are 1/4″ which is roughly the diameter of a pen. Some are smaller at 1/8″ which is about the size of a pen’s nib.

Your headphones are likely to be 1/8″ so plug them into your jack adapter first and then straight into the keyboard input (If your keyboard already has the 1/8″ input, there’s no need for the adapter). With keyboards that have in built speakers, make sure that when you want to hear the piano aloud again, you pull out the phones AND adapter because otherwise it will bypass the sound straight to the headphones output.

Cable Management

You really just need to get yourself set up so that your cable isn’t restricting any movement and preventing you from practising properly. It will depend on whether you have a coiled chord or not and the position of your headphone socket but try to not have the chord dangling in front of you. If possible, have the cable coming around the back of you with enough space that you can comfortably move your arms either side.

An EXTRA TIP with a normal style cable is to hook it around the keyboard stand so that if you do accidentally walk off with your headphones on, it pulls on that instead of yanking and potentially damaging the keyboard input.

One Ear off

I sometimes play with one ear off at a time and there’s a few reasons this can be handy. To give your ears a break from the noise you can switch sides or sometimes ears may get hot and uncomfortable when you’ve been playing a while. You may also want to listen and play along to something else to something, figure it out by ear or just emulate a performance. Sometimes though, you just need to keep an ear our for the doorbell!

Be Cautious Of Volume And Time

As musicians, our ears are our greatest asset and we need to look after them! Make sure that you are not using excessive volume levels for extended periods of time. If it feels a bit too loud, just dial it back and make sure to take a break every so often. You can also use the one ear off method to rest one ear at a time. Audio can really start to sound bad any when it’s too loud anyway and you won’t hear what you’re playing as it’s really meant to be.

I think a common sense approach is best suited here as it won’t be exactly the same for everyone and depends what you’re playing. For more detailed info on headphone safety you can read this article from deafblind.org.uk.

Don’t Always Practice With Headphones

Make sure that you do also get a decent amount of time practicing aloud. You still need to be acclimatised to the sound of a more ‘real’ situation, like a performance. It’s good to start getting used to people hearing you play and the sound and dynamics of your instrument in a real space. Things can sound very different when played loud in a room or amplified even compared with headphones which may affect how or what you choose to play.

So how hard is Fur Elise? The full version of Fur Elise is considered reasonably difficult, broadly an intermediate piece around grade 5, but a shorter arrangement of only the famous section is often taught as well. This is much easier, suitable for late beginners, but still requires some foundational skill to perform well.

We’ll take a look at the 2 versions to see exactly what’s involved technically to help you decide whether or not this piece is suitable for you. In both cases, bear in mind that learning how to just play the notes is far easier than what it takes to perform it with any real sense of musicality. Sometimes though, you need that right level of difficulty to help you learn something new and push your playing forward.

Difficulty Of The Short Version

Many people don’t actually realise this isn’t even the full version of Fur Elise! It contains the famous parts and many people are just satisfied to learn this without even worrying about the other sections. This version is much more suitable for a (late) beginner.

What’s Involved?

• Requires control of the weaker fingers 4 and 5
• Broken chords in the right hand
• Broken chords in the left hand and turns over the thumb
• Ability to position hands correctly
• Smooth wrist and arm movement over wide areas
• Coordination and smooth flow between the hands
• Basic reading ability (If reading)

Why Fur Elise So Popular And Beneficial For Beginners

Fur Elise is a very desirable piece to learn amongst beginner pianists and often assigned by piano teachers.

So why is Fur Elise so popular? Fur Elise is popular amongst beginner pianists as learning a recognizable and impressive sounding, yet manageable piece, is very motivating. Teachers like it too because it helps students work on a variety of skills including broken chords, expressive playing, relaxed movement, rubato and pedalling.

It remains popular with most teachers and I too recommend it for a late beginner (Remember we’re talking about the short version). It’s perfect for helping you develop the skills listed above, develop a relaxed technique and fluidity in your playing whilst at the same time enjoying the ride and having something to show people they will recognize! With that technique comes control, and that allows us to shape the sound and play with musicality

Should You Learn it?

If you’re only in the very beginning steps of learning piano, I definitely recommend building up to this a bit instead of jumping in on day one. I’m not saying it’s not possible and most people could probably learn to get through the notes at least fairly early on, but it’s likely to sound stiff with poor timing, your technique will suffer and you will learn bad habits as a consequence.

It’s just best to have a few early stage pieces under your belt first and some experience with chords, broken chords and scales. At the point at which you have developed some foundational technique and control over your fingers where the basics have stopped feeling stiff and awkward, you’ll have a much more beneficial experience learning Fur Elise. So if you already have this experience, I highly recommend tackling this shorter version of Fur Elise.

Difficulty Of The Full Version

The full version of Fur Elise is a different ball game and requires a much higher level of skill to execute well than the short version. There’s 2 other sections in the full version. It’s around grade 5 (ABRSM) or grade 7 (RCM) so very much in the intermediate realm if we’re judging by the formal standards of the classical piano route.

What’s Involved?

Obviously everything listed above is still involved too but here’s what else you will encounter.

• Far more intricate playing
• Faster right hand lines
• Harder left hand parts
• Fast wrist rotation in right hand
• More difficult hand coordination and rhythm independence
• Moving chord positions quickly

Should You Learn It?

If you’re still very much in the beginner phase but really want to learn Fur Elise, my honest recommendation would be to stick with the short version for now and to come back to the full version when you have a couple of years of quality experience behind you.

After some research around various forums as well as discussions with fellow teachers (particularly teachers who specialise in classical piano), the general consensus seems to be that tackling something way beyond your current capability can be harmful to your technique and future development.

You may be able to get through the notes with some hard work, but you likely won’t have the necessary skills to execute certain moments and fast flourishes in this anywhere near to a standard required to make them sound musical. It may sound disjointed and with bad feel and timing. You will develop much more control and musicality in your playing with something more manageable, technically. You don’t just run a marathon without any training, you build up to that kind of distance,

Having said that, challenging yourself is a very important part of your development so unless you have a teacher to guide you, use your best judgment to decide when the time is right. If you can already comfortably play some slightly less technically demanding pieces whilst still being able to perform them nicely, perhaps the time is right. Listen to some performances and think whether or not this sounds like a good challenge to push you a bit further or way too far beyond anything you have previously played.

Levels Of Performance

In the case of either version, whilst you need enough ability that with some practice you can make Fur Elise sound fluid and expressive, that does not mean you should be put off learning because you think it has to sound like a professional concert pianist’s performance.

In my opinion, Fur Elise still sounds great a slower tempos. I would sooner hear an expressive, controlled performance with nice timing, feel and dynamics at a slower tempo than a sloppy, faster one.

How Long Fur Elise Takes To Learn

How difficult something feels to learn psychologically is also very much dependant on how mammoth of a task it is, how much there is to learn and how long it will take.

So how long does it take to learn Fur Elise? An intermediate player learning the full version of Fur Elise may take on average between 2 weeks and 2 months, dependant on ability and practice. It may then take longer to get the piece up to performance standard. The same average time frame is true of a late beginner learning the short version. 

This is based upon my experience as a piano teacher and again conglomerating that with some research online and in the piano community. Of course results may vary and it is highly dependant on many factors, significantly though, how much practice has been dedicated to it. Students who don’t practice that regularly and keep forgetting the notes or finger patterns for example, will perpetually feel stiff at the piano and make very slow progress.

Words like intermediate and beginner are also very broad and although I don’t really like to use them that much, they help to sum things up. Two ‘intermediate’ players may still have very different innate skills, experience of very different styles of playing or skills and learn at different paces. Person A may learn this piece faster than person B, but the opposite may be true for a different piece.

So why is your sustain pedal working in reverse? It’s often the case that your sustain pedal is working in reverse because it’s using an opposite polarity to the keyboard it’s plugged into. Not all pedals and keyboards are compatible but if you are using a universal sustain pedal, check that the polarity switch is in the correct position.

These are your best first troubleshooting steps and the most likely explanation. You may now need to look for a new pedal. There’s a few things you should know first about first to help you choose one to make sure it’s not only just compatible, but also a quality pedal of the right type best suited to learning piano. Below is a list of great options for different brands.

Sustain Pedal Working Backwards

I’m a piano/keyboard player and piano teacher, not an electrical engineer, so without getting too into the weeds, here’s what’s happening with your pedal.The pedal acts as an on/off switch. If your sustain pedal is working correctly, when you depress the lever, it merely sends an ‘on’ signal to your keyboard and the keyboard itself is what actually sustains the notes. When you let go of the lever, that turns it off.

However, some keyboards and pedals are essentially wired the opposite way with reversed polarities. This means that the ‘on’ signal is being sent when the lever is up, and depressing it turns it off, thus your sustain pedal will be working backwards and stop sustaining the notes when you push your foot down.

Unfortunately, (And I have always wondered why!) there’s not a standard which manufacturers of keyboards and sustain pedals conform to. That would make life simpler and on top of that, when you purchase pedals, for someone who hasn’t experienced this issue before, it’s really not very obvious. Some pedals are built differently to accommodate other functionalities so this may be a reason but us musicians just want to be able to play!

I once made the same mistake and had many students do the same (when they purchased before asking me). Luckily you can often get a refund or exchange the pedal and these aren’t the largest investment but still, it’s a pain.

Check If You Can Change The Polarity First

It may be the case that you already have a polarity switch on your pedal, either on the side or underneath most likely. If this is set to the wrong position, the pedal will work in reverse so try checking that before you buy a new one. Slightly further down, you can read about what kind of pedal is most beneficial to learn on so take a look at that as you may want to consider an upgrade anyway. Some pedals may have a switch for other functions too so if it doesn’t work, it’s not a polarity switch (or your pedal/keyboard may be faulty).

There are some models of keyboard that you can reverse the polarity on but these are not that common. This is usually done through some unguessable method like holding a shift button and pushing a specific note on the keyboard. It’s worth a quick flick through your user manual or googling your specific model of keyboard to see if that’s possible.

Yamaha for example says that ‘The sustain pedal operation can become reversed if the pedal is pressed down while the power is being turned ON or if the pedal is plugged in while the keyboard is ON.’ They have a procedure to try and resolve the issue you can read here but this is just Yamaha keyboards.

If you’re absolutely confident that your sustain pedal SHOULD be compatible but still isn’t working, then it’s time to look into the possibility that it or the keyboard is faulty. If possible try and rule out fault with the keyboard by testing it with another pedal. It’s much easier to replace the pedal! Then try testing that pedal on another keyboard if the problem persists.

How To Choose A Compatible Sustain Pedal

It’s important to make the right choice here. Don’t rush and get one just because it’s compatible! If you’re buying a new pedal, you want to choose one that will most benefit your learning experience so you need to consider a couple of other factors first.

First of all though, double check that your keyboard actually takes a sustain pedal! Sustain pedals are also known as damper pedals and use a 1/4″ Jack lead connection. Your keyboard should have a 1/4″ jack input on the back labelled sustain or damper.

What ‘Type’ Of Pedal Is Best For Learning Piano On A Keyboard

Essentially, you want a pedal that mimics what a real piano pedal is like. As a piano teacher, I highly recommend using a proper one like this. If you are currently using the foot switch style pedal, I have some better recommendations below. Compared to the amount you would spend on the actual keyboard and other accessories or lessons, the pedal is not a huge financial investment. And for the amount of time you will spend practicing, it’s well worth making the best use of it and getting used to the feel of a ‘real’ pedal.

We’re using the pedal to help us control the sound of the music and make it sound as best we can. With the foot switch style pedal, you don’t get any where near the amoount of control you need, it’s very hard to feel where the release point is, they’re physically awkward to use and they slip away from under your feet far more easily.

Go For A Reputable Brand

Although it’s often tempting to try and get the best deal you can and lesser known brands can usually save you a little bit of money, at the average price point of a sustain pedal that doesn’t equate to enough that I think it’s worth risking. Obviously there’s just the reliability and build quality of the product itself to consider, but also how the pedal feels under your foot. Have no fear though! My pick just below for the best universal sustain pedal for beginners as actually very reasonably priced compared to some of the bigger names.

As I mentioned we’re trying to emulate playing a real piano and need a decent level of control from a pedal so we need a solid action on the lever to work with. I haven’t tested every cheap brand out there so the probably are some winners around, it’s that established brands will often be a better, safer bet. I’ve use cheaper pedals before that squeaked too and just generally didn’t feel very good.

Here’s a few ‘known’ brands in the keyboard world.

Option 1 – The Universal Sustain Pedal

This is usually the simplest option, particularly for beginners as the pedal uses a polarity switch, making it compatible with any keyboard (that takes a sustain pedal of course). This is easiest as you know it will work, plus, if you change keyboard or want to use it on multiple keyboards, you can!

THE BEST UNIVERSAL SUSTAIN PEDAL

M-AUDIO – This is my pick for the best universal sustain pedal. The M-Audio SP-2 sustain pedal is an excellent choice for beginners. As well as having the necessary polarity switch making it universally compatible, it feels very good to use, has a solid build quality, is excellent value for money and made by a trusted, well known manufacturer.

I recommend this pedal to many of my students and use it a lot when teaching at their house.

US You can check prices for the M-Audio SP-2 Pedal on Amazon here

UK You can check prices for the M-Audio SP-2 Pedal on Amazon here

UK and Europe You can check prices for the M-Audio SP-2 Pedal on Gear4Music here

Below is a video review of this pedal I posted on my YouTube channel.

I’m sure there are some other lesser known branded pedals out there too that do a job, but I have tried and test this one.

CASIO – The Casio SP-20 is also advertised as a universal sustain pedal. Casio is a very respected brand and this is a quality product. Not sure I’m as keen on the design of this one, but that’s just personal preference.

US You can check prices for the Casio SP-20 on ZZ sounds here

UK and Europe You can check prices for the Casio SP-20 on Gear4Music here

Option 2 – Checking Whether That Specific Non-Universal Pedal Works With Your Keyboard

The simplest thing to do here, would be to BRAND MATCH. If you’re using a Roland keyboard, get a Roland pedal, if your’e using a Yamaha Keyboard, get a Yamaha pedal and so on. If you particularly wanted to use another branded pedal than your keyboard, I recommend a quick google search for those 2 specific items.

Here’s some very popular models of sustain pedal by brand (Non- Universal pedals)

ROLAND – The pedal that I currently use myself and highly recommend is the Roland DP-10. I use this mainly it with my Nord keyboard and there is no compatibility issue. It’s a great pedal with a solid feel and lever action, sleek design plus a handy flip out rubber grip mat. Although not specified on the website at the time of writing this, in my experience, these have always worked with other Roland keyboards.

US You can check prices for the Roland DP-10 on ZZ sounds here

UK and Europe You can check prices for the Roland DP-10 on Gear4Music here

Unfortunately, this pedal does not have a polarity switch but it is capable of half pedalling should you be using a keyboard with that capability

YAMAHA – If you’re using a Yamaha keyboard, the Yamaha FC4A is their go to sustain pedal. Their website states it’s compatible with all Yamaha keyboards. One of my students has this with a Yamaha keyboard and it feels very nice to use. Again, it’s from a very reputable brand in the keyboard world and it’s a solid pedal.

US You can check prices for the Yamaha FC4A on ZZ Sounds here

UK and Europe You can check prices for the Yamaha FC4A on Gear4Music here

This pedal does not do half pedalling although a lot of lower/mid range keyboards aren’t capable of that anyway.

Yamaha do also have another version of this pedal, the FC3A, which does also support half pedalling

US You can check prices for the Yamaha FC3A on ZZ Sounds here

UK and Europe You can check prices for the Yamaha FC3A at Gear4Music here

KORG – Korg’s sustain pedal model is the DS1H

US You can check prices for the Korg DS1H on Amazon here

UK and Europe You can check prices for the Korg DS1H on Gear4Music here

This pedal is also capable of half pedalling when paired with a keyboard with this functionality.

So what does in the key of mean? ‘In the key of’ means that the notes from a particular key or scale are the basis for the music. There are 2 parts to the name, the root note of the scale and then the type of scale which begins from that note, major or minor. For example, in the key of C major means you are using the C major scale. 

There’s a few more important things you should know with this concept though to understand it fully and lots of other follow up questions students will often have. Learning more about what it really means to be in a key will give you a much better understanding of music and a solid grounding from which to learn your instrument more effectively.

What ‘In The Key Of’ Really Means

When we use this phrase, we’re referring to either a major key or a minor key. A piece of music in a major key means that it uses the notes from the major scale pattern as the backbone to create the music, whilst something in a minor key uses the minor scale pattern. Major and minor scales are the 2 most common you will encounter. To understand keys, you must understand scales.

A great way to think about what a scale actually is, is as a collection of notes that you can use to create music with. An organised group that work well and have a particular sound when used together. It’s almost like a colour palette you could paint a picture with. A major scale or key is often thought of as a bright, happy sound in contrast to minor which has a darker, sadder bent to it. Each type is a specific pattern which can be created starting from any note.

As there are 12 different notes on the piano, there are 12 different places you could start either type of scale from, therefore we can say there are 12 major keys and 12 minor keys. C major or C minor, D major or D minor, Ab major or Ab minor and so on. Technically, there are actually more than 12 of each because some notes can have alternate names. We’ll touch on that at the end but it’s best to keep things simple for now.

Using all 12 notes with no direction can sound chaotic so major and minor scales only use 7 each out of those 12. Assuming they start from the same note e.g C major and C minor, they are not the same 7 though and each one has a specific pattern or spacing between the notes that gives it that signature sound.

If you were to play ‘in the key of’ G minor for example, unless you specifically meant to go outside, you would be locked into the G minor scale going up and down the keyboard or playing patterns, chords and melodies only using those notes, ignoring the rest.

Getting to grips with this idea, learning your scales and remembering to think about it as you’re playing, can really help keep track of what and where things are happing on your instrument. This helps you to better hear and understand how the music is working, which notes to play when reading or playing by ear which in the long run will help you speak the language of music more fluently and become a better musician.

The Root And The Tonal Centre Of The Key

This is a very important concept when understanding keys.The note that the scale starts from is called the ‘root’. Like the root of a tree, that’s where everything begins. You may hear the term ‘tonic’ as well and this note is very important. It acts as the tonal centre of the music and you really must keep this note in mind as the grounding for the key.

By tonal centre, I really mean about how this note sounds in relation to the rest. The root sounds like ‘home’. If you’re in the key of C major, and a melody you play finishes on the note C, it will sound complete, at rest and resolved. Even if you just play up or down the scale on your piano and end on the root, it will sound finished. If, however, you played a melody that ended up on the 2nd note of the scale, for example, it will now sound incomplete, not resolved and like it’s leading our ears on to something else.

In a major key, playing a major chord starting from the first note of the scale (Chord I) will also sound resolved and this is typically (not always) how a piece of music may end. The same is true for a minor chord built from the first note of the scale in a minor key.

In my video on being in a key, you can hear these ideas for yourself.

You Can Still Use Notes ‘Out Of The Key’

The notes that are inside the key are often the main focal point of the music, but there is no rule saying that you can ONLY use those notes. In fact, it would get boring if composers and songwriters only ever stuck to that when there are many other creative musical possibilities available. Without getting technical or theoretical, I want to touch upon 3 common ways in which music may ‘go outside’ of the main key that it’s in.

Passing notes and ornaments

A very common thing to do in all styles of music from classical to jazz and everything in between, is to embellish melodies or passages by using notes in between the scale tones. You can do things like use an outside note to pass between 2 scale tones or perhaps just lead to a scale tone from an outside note around it. You can create all kinds of patterns too, the possibilities are endless.

This can add some extra colour or flavour to the sound, add some interest and create some tension and release. Tension on the outside note and release when we get back to the scale tone. The use of passing tones is heavily prevalent in jazz music but a famous example from the classical world you will be familiar with is the first 2 notes of Fur Elise, which go back and forth between E and D#. The D# is not in the key (A minor)

If it sounds good, you can sometimes also put more focus on the tense sounding notes for effect. This is actually one of the musical elements that make the blues sound the way it does. These are sometimes called ‘blue notes’. Certain styles have certain ways of doing things particular to that style to make it sound authentic, but the only real important rule is, if it sounds good, it’s good!

Briefly Changing The Harmony

When you stick inside a key, that’s called DIATONIC and if you play something outside the key, it’s called NON DIATONIC. A diatonic chord therefore only uses notes from the key. It’s pretty common to see chord progressions using non diatonic chords in order to create more harmonic interest and to play with different colour palettes other than just those afforded by the key itself. This could be a chord beginning from a note outside the key or just a chord beginning from a scale tone which includes outside notes.

When this happens briefly, it’s often simplest to think of it as just changing a chord from what would have naturally have in the key to create something else. Or, for example, starting a chord from the flat 7 when your’e really in a major key. (The flat 7 is just an interval name that is an outside note to a major key, don’t panic if you haven’t learnt intervals yet!)

Sometimes you can get more theoretical and talk about borrowing chords from other keys but I find it’s usually clearest not to if it’s only very brief.

Changing keys

Sometimes a piece of music may completely change key, shifting the tonal centre somewhere else. This may happen for a section and then return to the original key, stay in the new key to the end or even change between multiple keys, multiple times.

There are many ways this can be done but this post isn’t about getting into the theory of how. I will just mention one common way that you will likely have heard, even if you wen’t aware it was a key change. A lot of pop songs like ‘Man in the mirror’ by Michael Jackson will use a key change towards the end to ramp up the energy. It usually just shifts up either a half step or a whole step. ‘Love on top’ by Beyonce is another prime example of this and is famous for doing it multiple times!

Key Signatures

So now we understand what being in the key of something means, we have then have to learn about key signatures.

So what is a key signature in piano? A key signature is a sign used at the start of a piece of sheet music that tells us what key to play in or what scale you are need to use. It does this by showing how many and exactly which notes you need to play as flat or sharp. Each one could be a major key or it’s relative minor.

Then when the notes go up or down on the stave, they go up and down locking inside that scale. Because each key signature could represent a major key or it’s relative minor, that means that for every major scale, there’s a minor scale that contains the same sequence of notes, but instead they just begin somewhere else. There is a new root or a new tonal centre. I have a short but in depth video up on the piano from scratch YouTube channel explaining very clearly below. It’s really useful subject to get to grips with!

You can’t tell just by looking at the key signature alone whether the key is major or minor, there’s not enough information. You need to either play the music to hear the tonal centre or sometimes you can read the notes and infer which it is. It’s often either one or the other but occasionally it may fluctuate at different points of the music and it’s sometimes even a bit ambiguous as to where most sounds like ‘home’. Either way, you have all the information you need to play the correct notes.

What About The Other Types Of Minor Scales?

You may be aware that there are a few variations of the minor scale pattern that are commonly used that chop and change throughout a single piece of music. Technically, these alterations mean we are going outside the key and to indicate them on sheet music, we still use the regular key signature, but add in accidentals (extra sharps, flats or naturals). We do, however, often just speak of them as being in a minor key still as it is such common place to use the harmonic or melodic minor.

If you’re not sure what I mean by these other types of minor scale, I recommend watching this video below which will explaining everything you need to know!

Minor scales PDF Worksheet

I also have a comprehensive PDF worksheet available to download. It’s a clear, handy reference for everything you need to know about minor scales, how to find them easily, clear graphics, finger numbers and notation. You can take a look at that here.

When People Don’t Specify A Major Or Minor Key

Sometimes people might just say ‘in the key of D’ or ‘in the key of E’ without saying major or minor afterwards. This happens with chords too for example and what is USUALLY the case with both, is that people mean major. Sometimes we’re just lazy! But major is commonly the default unless specified otherwise. Musicians can often assume other musicians just know what they mean but if you’re unsure, always ask!

It may also be the case that they are referring to something else, a different kind of scale perhaps or even a chord a just a particular melody. There’s always 12 positions or keys you can play anything in so sometimes people use the phrase without the specific attachment to major or minor.

Technically, There’s More Than 12 Of Each

Because there’s 12 notes on the piano, it’s reasonable to say that there is 12 major keys and 12 minors, totalling 24. Practically speaking, that is true but there’s a few keys that can have more than one name, or spelling of the notes. These are called ‘enharmonic equivalents’. Gb major could be F# major, Db major could also be called C# major and B major could be Cb major. That’s 3 extra, then each of those has a relative minor giving us 6 extra keys, now totalling 30 possible keys!

I’ll be honest though, I really don’t like this approach and think it’s far clearer to just think of 24 plus some alternate spellings. You could say 24 keys, but 30 key signatures. For readers, the other key signatures will be very different to read so need practice! Music theory is a means to an end, to help you understand music in a way that helps you speak the language and improve, so finding the clearest ways to understand concepts is often the best approach.

So does learning piano get easier? With consistency, learning the piano gets easier for most players. Although challenging for beginners, it feels easier when experience gives you confidence you can progress through effective practice. Your improvement then accelerates the more you learn but piano is still difficult to master.

The feeling that learning piano is getting easier really comes from a satisfaction in the progress you are making, but its hard to see this without enough experience of getting the results. Once you know what you can achieve, it’s really motivating to carry on and speeds up your development. Things will still feel hard at times and unless they’re too hard, that’s a good thing. It means you’re challenging yourself to learn more and improve. There are some common things that feel really difficult though in beginning phase, so let’s take a look at these and why you can expect them to eventually start feeling more comfortable.

What gets easier about playing piano and why?

For a lot of piano students, whether learning with a teacher or going down the self taught route, there are lots of difficulties, frustrations and moments of doubt you will encounter. Times when you think trying to play or understand something is just too hard and you will never do it. Two common culprits are hand independence and sight reading.

Everything can feel overwhelming in the beginning stages because there are so many different skills involved with learning the piano and for most people, they’re all completely alien. You are not alone if you have felt out of depth and it makes perfect sense to feel that way. With more experience and a focus on the most effective practice techniques, you soon get used to the fact that there is light at the end of the tunnel. If you’re patient and consistent, you will get the desired result. Once you know this for yourself, the feeling of difficulty wains and a satisfying challenge emerges.

At a certain point, you also start to see the bigger picture and all the different skills you have been working on begin to come together. Everything gets clearer, feels more natural and starts making sense. This is when you can can see a real boost in your rate of progress and things will feel like they’re getting easier. Every little achievement, breakthrough or milestone in your playing gives you confidence to reach further.

Technique

Gaining that initial control over your fingers in the way we need to for piano is just something completely new for your brain to deal with. It can feel very difficult and awkward in the beginning but over time it becomes more and more natural. It’s almost like a toddler learning to walk for the first time. You will fall over but eventually you become steady.

Of course there is always new technical challenges to overcome. Each one may be difficult and some may take a long time to master but the reassurance that slow, methodical practice plus time and patience will get you there makes it feel much easier along the way. Tackling individual elements at a time and then the gradual breakthroughs and tackling individual elements at a time will allow you to picture what’s possible.

Once you gain a certain amount of basic technique, you can start applying that to many things. Technique can be a barrier between you and playing something you want so there’s a time at which you unlock the door to lots of music. Here, you can play more, learn more and that in turn, then massively improves your progress.

Hand independence

This can be extremely frustrating at times. It can often feel like it doesn’t make sense and your hands will just not do what your brain is telling them to do. We have all been there. This goes hand in hand (pun intended) with technique but there is also a big element of really understanding how 2 patterns fit together as well as feeling and hearing the overall sound of the 2 parts (the composite rhythm).

Slow practice, taking small chunks chunks at a time and then gradually piecing it together before speeding it up is usually the best approach to developing this skill. It’s a bit pain staking when you’re new but when you learn effectively with simple patterns, over time you will not only be able to keep up with more complicated patterns, but they will start to feel easy because you can really hear 2 things happening at the same time and how they fit together to create the whole sound. Of course everyone has their limits with this but this is a huge part of playing the piano and a big reason it can begin to feel easier over time.

Theory

Music does not make much sense at first. Areas of music theory can become extremely complex but most of the time, it doesn’t need to be. Once you start understanding some of the basics like intervals, how to build chords and scales, how chords fit inside scales and some basic terminology etc, making music becomes a lot clearer.

When you understand what you’re doing a bit more, it can actually make the physical process of playing much easier. Technique can be hindered by not remembering what to play or recognizing shapes and chords on the piano but theory can help all that feel more like a natural part of your language. The different skills we learn start linking together in your mind, supporting each other and make the learning process much more fluid. The pieces all fit together in your mind slowly with time but it’s something that can make learning piano become much easier.

Ear training

One of the most important aspects of learning music is ear training. Having a strong sense of pitch, melody, harmony and rhythm in your mind can really support everything you do on piano. The longer you have been playing and if you make an effort to train your ears as well, you can really make a connection between what your hands are doing, the theory side and what the music actually sounds like (which is the most important part). This can lead playing piano to feel like a much more fluent, natural expression akin to speaking a language and again, different skills tie together to make the whole learning experience feel easier with a greater pace of progression.

Reading

I think at this point you are beginning to see the pattern that with time these elements feel more natural. There’s a logical system to reading sheet music which isn’t too difficult to make sense of but it’s one of those things where to get good at it, it really needs to feel very automatic. An obvious comparison is just reading regular text. When you first learn as a child, it’s a long slow process but you get to the point where you can read very quickly with little effort.

It’s not exactly the same as everyone has their own limit with how complicated the sheet music can get, but when you practice this frequently and consistently, you just get quicker at it, recognize patterns more easily and it feels easier. So if you struggle with it (And I certainly did), hang in there. Like with everything else, progress feesl like it’s on a slow incline at the beginning, but it soon starts getting steeper and steeper.

What You Can Do To Make Learning Feel Easier

There’s 4 main areas I want to mention to help you make the most out of your practice, progress faster and make the learning process feel that much more rewarding.

• Learning In Manageable Chunks – Don’t bite off more than you can chew. This may seem obvious but it’s something a lot of students don’t do. Set yourself just a few short term goals to reach at any one time, focus on them fully and then move on once you get there. This will help fulfil a sense of achievement and motivate you to carry on whilst allowing for the most improvement.
• Practice Little And Often – Everyone knows that practice makes perfect but with piano, little and often is usually the best way to train. Constantly repeating and reinforcing something at regular intervals will help whatever you’re learning stick to the pint it feels easier and more natural. This could be just memorizing the notes for a piece, something technical, reading or most other facets of learning.
• Practice Wisely – Particularly if you’re self teaching, make sure that you take the time to do some research to find a quality resource for whatever the task at hand is. Much of the time, difficulty and stress can be saved by learning something with a more efficient approach.
• Embrace The Learning process – Although learning piano can be frustrating at times, patience really is a virtue. Don’t expect too much too soon. It’s something you learn slowly and incrementally so remind yourself that when your’e practicing something correctly, you will eventually get results. You may as well try to enjoy the ride!

If It’s Too Easy, You Won’t Progress

Whilst you want to make the most progression you can, which in turn makes the learning process feel easier, you mustn’t forget that there is always more to learn. Reaching the upper echelons of piano playing is not a small task. Even if reaching that far is not your goal, there will still be times when learning feels hard, and that’s a GOOD THING!

At the point everything you’re doing feels too easy, like you’re not having to put much effort in to learning something new, you may have started to plateau. It’s now time to find something to challenge yourself. That’s how you make strides.

I’ll let David Bowie sum it up in this short clip. He’s not talking about piano, but the sentiment applies.

The 7 white keys are named using the letters A,B,C,D,E,F,G. These then loop and repeat along the keyboard. It’s easiest to find a C first which is the white key to the left of any block of 2 black keys. From there, they go in alphabetical order to the right, up to G and then start over at A.

How to navigate the piano keyboard

A standard piano has 88 keys, 52 white keys and 36 black. Black and white together, there’s 12 different notes which then repeat. That means we have multiple versions of each note starting low and getting high from left to right, respectively. We recognize the white keys by where they sit amongst the repeated pattern of a block of 2, then 3 black keys.

Just learn how to recognize C as a first step and get that memorized. Then you can start figuring out the other white keys from there, using C as a clear marker.

We need to learn the white keys first as the black keys then use those names but add on either a flat or sharp. You may be working with a smaller keyboard but the principles remain the same with a bit cut off either end. Focus on the middle region at first to avoid confusion learning the note names.

To start with, place one finger on a C and then move one white note a time to the right, naming each note aloud in alphabetical order along the way until you reach the next C. Remember to start the alphabet again at A after you reach G and along the way notice what each note looks like in the way it sits amongst the black keys. Eventually, you want to recognise these quickly and fluently so there’s some more practice tips later.

I have a clear 4 page PDF worksheet available on naming the white AND black keys available for you to have to hand in front of you at the piano whilst practicing.

Or if you prefer to learn with video, you can here on the piano from scratch YouTube channel:

Why we find the note C first

You may be thinking it’s most logical to start with A, but we usually find the note C first for a few reasons. Importantly, it’s visually clearer to see than A. C is also the starting note of the best first scale to learn on piano, the C major scale, which uses all the white notes from C to C. If you haven’t heard of a scale yet, that’s ok whilst we’re still learning note names. We also need to be able to find middle C. Middle C is the C that’s closest to the middle of your keyboard, whatever size you have and we use it as a marker to tell how high or low we are playing something on the piano. 

Why different notes have the same name

I understand that sounds strange to have many higher and lower versions of the same note if you haven’t heard it before because they are all clearly different pitches that come from different keys. Whilst that is true, if you listen closely when you play a few different versions of the same note in different ranges, you’ll notice that there’s a quality to them that sounds very similar, like they’re connected in some way. The note C up to the next C for example, is said to be an ‘octave’ higher

Play a bunch of C’s in various octaves for a while and then you’ll really hear the difference when you suddenly throw in any other note. This is a really important concept to try and get used to in music. Sometimes you may want to play something in a particular range for a certain effect. A melody played high up may sound light and sparkly but if you played the exact same thing lower down, it may sound thicker and warm.

There is a scientific reason for this. The pitch of each note of the same name (an octave higher) is double the frequency of the last one. For example, if an A is 440HZ, the next A up is 880Hz, then 1760Hz and so on. There is a simple ratio of 2:1 to this pattern and our ears can detect that making them sound like lower and higher versions of the same note. There are also simple ratios between other notes that harmonize well together, liek a perfect 5th is 3:2 (This part is certainly not essential for learning the piano, it’s just very interesting).

Why you need to be able to find each note effortlessly 

You will need to find a note before almost everything else that you do on the piano. That could be, learning a scale, playing a chord, reading sheet music as well as memorizing the notes of a song you want to play. The note names are a foundation that you need to make strong and if they’re not, you’re going to make everything else slower, harder and possibly tedious when it doesn’t need to be. Music is a language and everything you learn needs to be worked on so that eventually it can become internalized as part of your vocabulary. This is most true of the basics. That way, when you need something, (and you will need the note names all the time) it’s right there in your mind; you can access it with ease and without any mental barriers slowing you down from learning or being able to think musically and creatively.

It’s the difference between having a conversation in a language in which you are fluent where your thoughts just flow out, and struggling to ask a simple question in a language you kind of know fragments of. This may sound like overkill when we’re just talking about how to name the white notes but it’s an important attitude towards learning music that needs to start at the foundation if you want to be able to play with freedom, learn faster and retain more of that musical knowledge and ability.

As with everything you learn, this of course takes time so when I say it needs to feel effortless, don’t expect that to happen instantly and feel like you haven’t achieved something if it doesn’t yet, you just need to be working towards that. The more you use a skill, the more natural it will start to feel. You’ll practice this anyway because as I said you always use it, but isolating specific skills is a great way to make them stronger.

How to memorize notes on piano: 3 Practice methods

I like to use 3 steps with students to help them get familiar with the notes and be able to name them quickly and confidently. You can also apply this method to the black keys when you get there.

Step one: Going in order up and down and naming the notes

This is best to do first to start familiarising yourself with the keyboard, how the note names work and what each individual note looks like. Remember to use the black note blocks as a guide. Each white note will look different because of where it sits amongst the black keys. Start at C, go up (Right) to the next C, playing every note and back down.

• Use one finger to help you focus on the task at hand and not get fingers mixed up. If you haven’t played before, chances are you fingers will get in a muddle and it will throw you off what you’re really trying to do, learning the note names.
• Go slowly at first in order to let yourself digest the information better and reduce your chances of making a mistake. Practicing things too fast too soon is probably the no.1 beginner mistake so best to try and force a good habit early on.
• Say each note name out loud and really look at the note as you’re playing it to help build a strong connection in your brain between the name and what the note looks like. Try to avoid just reciting the alphabet on autopilot.
• Pay more attention on going backwards because it’s definitely the harder part. Go slower if you need to for this as I really forces you to have to think a bit more.
• Start trying to get faster. Once you are getting comfortable, try going up and down a little bit quicker to strengthen your familiarity.
• Go further using a wider range of notes or even the whole piano if you like. You could now also try starting and ending on different notes other than C which will force your brain to think about the notes more instead of just reciting the alphabet again

Step two: Naming notes at random

Once you have some basic familiarity with the notes it’s time to put that into some more real world like situations. The first is being able to name any note that you see whilst not already in the process of going up and down. You can still quickly go through the alphabet to figure out the answer at first but over time, that process will be super quick and then you won’t have to because you just recognise what note it is anyway. If you are by yourself, I recommend looking away or covering your eyes and then use one finger to blindly find a white note. Name that note as quick as you can and then rinse and repeat. Use the image above or the downloadable worksheet to check your answer. Over time see if you can speed up this process and you could also start off using a small range of notes and then get bigger for more of a challenge. Steps 2 and 3 may be easier if you have someone who could select the notes and check your answers for you but you could also use my play-along practice video.

Step three: Finding notes at random

This is just the reverse of step two, so name a note at random and then try to find it on the piano. It’s good to do this both ways as practically speaking, you will need to use both methods when learning and playing the piano. If you’re on your own, you can just select a note at random or perhaps draw note names out. Again, start slow, get faster, start with a small range then use more of the piano and use the image of the keyboard to check your answer. This step is also easier if you have someone to help name notes and check for you but if not, my practice video has this covered too.

My 4 page PDF worksheet is a clear recap of all of this information PLUS how to name the black keys that you can have in front of you at the piano

Still struggling? Here’s some more tips

If you’re still finding this tricky at all, there could be a few possible reasons. Check that you’re not trying to do it too quickly too soon because that is the number 1 beginner mistake which may end up in you learning the wrong thing by mistake. Go as slow as you need for it to feel manageable so that the information really starts to sink in. It might be that you’re trying to do too much in one go so with each practice step, try just doing it with C, D and E first until that feels easy. Then include F until it’s easy and keep adding one new note at a time until you can handle all of them. Lastly, maybe you just haven’t given it enough time yet. Expect some things to take time and practice, patience is honestly quite a big part of learning piano and it’s good to try and enjoy the process

A lot of newcomers to piano, learning on their own and going down the reading route have benefitted from the Alfred all in one method book series. You can check prices for book 1 on Amazon HERE or watch my detailed review on YouTube