Learning Objectives
- Examine the keyboard (comprising 52 white keys and 36 black keys) as the most common interface for understanding and making music because of the close relationship between the keyboard and the Western system of music notation.
- Identify duration, pitch, volume and timbre as basic elements in music.
- Define pitch (tone) as the relative perception of how high or low a sound is; a pitch may be the same, higher, or lower in relation to another pitch.
- Distinguish between the two systems of music notation (alphabetic and syllabic) most commonly used in music.
The Keyboard I: Introduction, keys, and pitch
Keyboard
The keyboard is made up of a repeating pattern of black and white keys. There are fifty-two white keys, and thirty-six black keys on a full-size keyboard.
Some electronic keyboard instruments and some synthesizers have fewer keys, more commonly 76 or 49 keys. The keyboard that we will use in this course is the following full-sized 88-key keyboard.
Why You Need to Learn the Keyboard
The keyboard is probably the most common interface for understanding and making music, and a very useful tool for those learning about the fundamentals of music. Because of the close relationship between the keyboard and the Western system of music notation, learning the keyboard layout will help you visualize and understand a wide variety of musical concepts, such as scales, intervals, and triads.
As you continue through this course, the virtual keyboard will be available to you from the bottom of each page, or by clicking a small keyboard icon that looks like this:
Keyboard x
Remember that listening as you learn is the key to musicianship. Try to play and carefully listen to the sounds that embody the concepts you will be learning about in this course. With practice, you will also develop the ability to hear these concepts internally; that is, to hear these sounds inside your head without having to actually play them on a keyboard or any other instrument.