Piano Keys With Letters – Should I Label The Keys on my Keyboard?

 

Should you label your piano keys with letters? This is the type of question that has a double-edged sword. Will tell you all that you need to know about labeling your piano keys with the correct letters along with the pros and cons of labeling your piano keys.

How to correctly label your piano keys

If you are thinking about labeling your piano keys with letters, look at the image below to help you label the keys.

Starting from the white key (to the left of the grouping of two black keys) we have C, D, E, F, G, A, B. After “B”, the pattern repeats itself throughout the entire keyboard or piano. Use these labels for your piano keys!

Now that you know how to label your keyboard, let’s talk about the pros and cons of labeling your keyboard. Then will give our expert opinion in labeling the keyboard/piano.

Pros of labeling your piano keys

There are many pros to labeling the piano keys. One of the more obvious points to mention is that it would be easier for the student to memorize the keys. Let’s face it, with a map of the keys readily available, it makes it so much easier to learn where the keys are and helps in memorization. It also helps you to find your way in case you do get lost while playing a song. This is important because labeling notes gives you that chance of getting back on your feet in case you “skip a beat” (no pun intended). Another good thing about labeling piano keys is that the student will be able to visualize the patterns on the keyboard a lot easier. This is important for learning chords and notes by memory.

It may feel like with all of these great things that labeling piano notes do, why would we choose not to? This is where we get to the cons of labeling the piano notes.

Cons of labeling your piano keys

The cons of labeling your piano keys have to do with getting the help you need in situations where you get lost, and later on not having that crutch. Let me give you an example of a past student I had. This student would constantly use the labels on the piano keys, but one day, I saw that he was becoming to reliant on those labeled notes. I decided to remove the notes from the keyboard, and I was surprised to see that the student was relying on those labels to play the keyboard. It took a while for the student to readjust to this new way of playing piano (without the notes). This is one of the big cons of learning piano with key labels. I am afraid that the student would become reliant on those labels and it would be hard for the student to readjust him or herself.

Our Expert Opinion

We think that it is very helpful to have those notes labeled on your keyboard because the pros totally outweigh the cons. It really helps, especially with children. We love how students can memorize the notes easier and visualize the different patterns on the keyboard especially while playing chords. We green light you to use piano labels on your keyboard, but remember that we can’t become reliant on these labels. If we were your teacher, we would remove notes slowly so that you can readjust yourself to a new playing style (when you were ready).

Overall

If you are interested in labeling your notes, we give you the green light to do so. We feel that the pros outweigh the cons and that you would benefit from doing so. We hope you enjoy reading The Boom Blog!

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