How many keys does a piano have?

A full piano has 88 keys: 52 white and 36 black, from A0 at the bottom to C8 at the top. Keyboards often have fewer, and 76, 61 and 49 keys are common sizes.

Where is middle C on the piano?

Middle C is C4. On an 88-key piano it is the fourth C from the left, the 40th key. Every C sits just left of a group of two black keys, so look for the group of two nearest the middle of the keyboard.

What are the black keys called?

Each black key has two names: the sharp of the white key to its left and the flat of the white key to its right. The black key between C and D is both C sharp (C♯) and D flat (D♭).

Why does my keyboard call middle C C3?

Some keyboard makers and music programs number octaves one lower, so middle C shows as C3. It is the same key. This page uses scientific pitch notation, where middle C is C4 and the lowest key of a piano is A0.

Should I put stickers on my piano keys?

Labels behind the keys work better: they do not wear off under your fingers or leave glue on the keys, and they come away in a second when you are ready. Print the key labels on this page, cut them out and stand them behind the keys.

How do I print piano key labels?

Choose your keyboard size and the names you want, press Print, and print at 100% (actual size) on landscape paper. You get a chart of your keyboard and strips of labels sized for full-size keys, about 23.5 mm per white key.

Piano Keys Labeled: Free Printable Piano Notes Chart

How the piano keys are laid out

The keys follow one pattern from the bottom of the piano to the top: a group of two black keys, then a group of three. Each repeat is an octave of 12 keys, 7 white and 5 black.

The white keys are named after the first seven letters of the alphabet, A B C D E F G, and then the letters start again. The black keys take their names from the white keys beside them.

One octave, C to B. The groups of two and three black keys repeat across the whole piano.

How to find C and middle C

C is always the white key just to the left of a group of two black keys. Once you can spot C, walk up the alphabet: D sits between the two black keys and E just to the right of them. F is just left of the group of three.

Middle C is the C nearest the middle of the keyboard. On an 88-key piano it is the fourth C from the left, key number 40. In written music it sits on a short line of its own between the treble and bass staves, which is why so many first pieces start there. It sounds at about 261.6 Hz when the piano is tuned to A4 = 440 Hz.

Octave numbers tell the Cs apart. Each octave starts on C and runs up to B: middle C is C4, the B just below it is B3 and the next C up is C5. A full piano starts on A0 and ends on C8. This is scientific pitch notation. Some keyboards and music programs number octaves one lower and call middle C C3; it is the same key.

Middle C (C4) with the octave below and above. Every C sits left of a group of two black keys.

Sharps and flats on the black keys

A sharp (♯) is one key higher and a flat (♭) one key lower. The black key just above C is C♯; seen from D, the same key is D♭. Every black key has a sharp name and a flat name, and which one you read depends on the piece.

Black key between	Sharp name	Flat name
C and D	C♯	D♭
D and E	D♯	E♭
F and G	F♯	G♭
G and A	G♯	A♭
A and B	A♯	B♭

There is no black key between E and F, or between B and C. Those pairs are already a semitone apart, the smallest step on the piano, and that gap is what splits the black keys into groups of two and three. It also means E♯ is the same key as F, and B♯ the same as C. You will meet those names in some pieces, but the key is still the white one.

How many keys each keyboard has

A full piano has 88 keys. Digital pianos usually do too, while portable and MIDI keyboards come in smaller sizes that leave out keys at both ends. Middle C stays the same key on all of them.

Keys	Lowest to highest	White and black	Middle C
88	A0 to C8Acoustic pianos and most digital pianos	52 white, 36 black	Fourth C, key 40
76	E1 to G7Larger portable keyboards and some synthesizers	45 white, 31 black	Third C, key 33
61	C2 to C7Most portable keyboards	36 white, 25 black	Third C, key 25
49	C2 to C6MIDI keyboards and small portable keyboards	29 white, 20 black	Third C, key 25
32	F3 to C6Mini keyboards (ranges vary, F to C is common)	19 white, 13 black	First C, key 8

Ranges vary a little between models, most of all on small keyboards. Many 32-key keyboards run from F to C, the range used here. Small 25-key controllers usually span two octaves from C to C.

How to label your piano keys

Pick your keyboard size and the names you want at the top of this page, then press Print.
Print at 100% scale (actual size), on landscape paper. The labels page has a 10 cm line: check it with a ruler.
Cut the strips out along the dashed lines. Each strip is one octave, C to B, and the strip with middle C says so.
Stand the strips behind the keys, so each name sits just behind its key. Start with middle C and work outwards.
Hold them with removable tape. Avoid stickers on the keys themselves: they wear off and can leave glue behind.

The labels are sized for full-size keys, where an octave measures about 16.5 cm. If your keys are smaller, lower the print scale until one octave strip matches your keys.

When to stop using labels

Labels help in the first weeks, while you learn the shape of the keyboard. After that they get in the way: when you look down for a letter, you are not looking at the music.

Once you can find any C without searching, print labels with Only the Cs switched on and use those instead.
Play Find the key until you can find every note without labels, then take the Cs away too.
Learn to read the notes on the staff, which is what labels stand in for. The note reading trainer is a quick way to practice.

Piano notes chart

Every octave of an 88-key piano with its keys. Each octave starts on C, so octave 0 has only three keys and octave 8 only one.

Octave	Keys	Where
0	A0 to B03 keys	The three lowest keys
1	C1 to B112 keys	Deep bass
2	C2 to B212 keys	Bass
3	C3 to B312 keys	Just below middle C
4	C4 to B412 keys	Middle C and up; A4 is the 440 Hz tuning note
5	C5 to B512 keys	Just above middle C
6	C6 to B612 keys	High treble
7	C7 to B712 keys	Very high
8	C81 key	The top key

All 88 keys with their numbers and frequencies

Key	Name	Frequency	MIDI note
1	A0	27.50 Hz	21
2	A♯0 / B♭0	29.14 Hz	22
3	B0	30.87 Hz	23
4	C1	32.70 Hz	24
5	C♯1 / D♭1	34.65 Hz	25
6	D1	36.71 Hz	26
7	D♯1 / E♭1	38.89 Hz	27
8	E1	41.20 Hz	28
9	F1	43.65 Hz	29
10	F♯1 / G♭1	46.25 Hz	30
11	G1	49.00 Hz	31
12	G♯1 / A♭1	51.91 Hz	32
13	A1	55.00 Hz	33
14	A♯1 / B♭1	58.27 Hz	34
15	B1	61.74 Hz	35
16	C2	65.41 Hz	36
17	C♯2 / D♭2	69.30 Hz	37
18	D2	73.42 Hz	38
19	D♯2 / E♭2	77.78 Hz	39
20	E2	82.41 Hz	40
21	F2	87.31 Hz	41
22	F♯2 / G♭2	92.50 Hz	42
23	G2	98.00 Hz	43
24	G♯2 / A♭2	103.8 Hz	44
25	A2	110.0 Hz	45
26	A♯2 / B♭2	116.5 Hz	46
27	B2	123.5 Hz	47
28	C3	130.8 Hz	48
29	C♯3 / D♭3	138.6 Hz	49
30	D3	146.8 Hz	50
31	D♯3 / E♭3	155.6 Hz	51
32	E3	164.8 Hz	52
33	F3	174.6 Hz	53
34	F♯3 / G♭3	185.0 Hz	54
35	G3	196.0 Hz	55
36	G♯3 / A♭3	207.7 Hz	56
37	A3	220.0 Hz	57
38	A♯3 / B♭3	233.1 Hz	58
39	B3	246.9 Hz	59
40	C4 (middle C)	261.6 Hz	60
41	C♯4 / D♭4	277.2 Hz	61
42	D4	293.7 Hz	62
43	D♯4 / E♭4	311.1 Hz	63
44	E4	329.6 Hz	64
45	F4	349.2 Hz	65
46	F♯4 / G♭4	370.0 Hz	66
47	G4	392.0 Hz	67
48	G♯4 / A♭4	415.3 Hz	68
49	A4	440.0 Hz	69
50	A♯4 / B♭4	466.2 Hz	70
51	B4	493.9 Hz	71
52	C5	523.3 Hz	72
53	C♯5 / D♭5	554.4 Hz	73
54	D5	587.3 Hz	74
55	D♯5 / E♭5	622.3 Hz	75
56	E5	659.3 Hz	76
57	F5	698.5 Hz	77
58	F♯5 / G♭5	740.0 Hz	78
59	G5	784.0 Hz	79
60	G♯5 / A♭5	830.6 Hz	80
61	A5	880.0 Hz	81
62	A♯5 / B♭5	932.3 Hz	82
63	B5	987.8 Hz	83
64	C6	1047 Hz	84
65	C♯6 / D♭6	1109 Hz	85
66	D6	1175 Hz	86
67	D♯6 / E♭6	1245 Hz	87
68	E6	1319 Hz	88
69	F6	1397 Hz	89
70	F♯6 / G♭6	1480 Hz	90
71	G6	1568 Hz	91
72	G♯6 / A♭6	1661 Hz	92
73	A6	1760 Hz	93
74	A♯6 / B♭6	1865 Hz	94
75	B6	1976 Hz	95
76	C7	2093 Hz	96
77	C♯7 / D♭7	2217 Hz	97
78	D7	2349 Hz	98
79	D♯7 / E♭7	2489 Hz	99
80	E7	2637 Hz	100
81	F7	2794 Hz	101
82	F♯7 / G♭7	2960 Hz	102
83	G7	3136 Hz	103
84	G♯7 / A♭7	3322 Hz	104
85	A7	3520 Hz	105
86	A♯7 / B♭7	3729 Hz	106
87	B7	3951 Hz	107
88	C8	4186 Hz	108

Frequencies are for standard tuning, A4 = 440 Hz, rounded.

Keep going

Labels get you started. Reading music keeps you going.

MasterPiano gives you new music to read at your level and listens as you play, through a MIDI keyboard or your device's microphone, marking each note right or wrong.

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Questions

How many keys does a piano have?: A full piano has 88 keys: 52 white and 36 black, from A0 at the bottom to C8 at the top. Keyboards often have fewer, and 76, 61 and 49 keys are common sizes.
Where is middle C on the piano?: Middle C is C4. On an 88-key piano it is the fourth C from the left, the 40th key. Every C sits just left of a group of two black keys, so look for the group of two nearest the middle of the keyboard.
What are the black keys called?: Each black key has two names: the sharp of the white key to its left and the flat of the white key to its right. The black key between C and D is both C sharp (C♯) and D flat (D♭).
Why does my keyboard call middle C C3?: Some keyboard makers and music programs number octaves one lower, so middle C shows as C3. It is the same key. This page uses scientific pitch notation, where middle C is C4 and the lowest key of a piano is A0.
Should I put stickers on my piano keys?: Labels behind the keys work better: they do not wear off under your fingers or leave glue on the keys, and they come away in a second when you are ready. Print the key labels on this page, cut them out and stand them behind the keys.
How do I print piano key labels?: Choose your keyboard size and the names you want, press Print, and print at 100% (actual size) on landscape paper. You get a chart of your keyboard and strips of labels sized for full-size keys, about 23.5 mm per white key.

Piano keys labeled

88 keys, A0 to C8

Find the key