Keyboard Instruments & Notation - Quick Reference

Hydraulis

  • Earliest known keyboard instrument; origin in ancient Greece, around 33rd century BCE.
  • Distinct feature: hydraulics — uses water pressure to drive air into pipes to produce sound; keyboard controls which pipe receives air.

Organ

  • Appeared in Western Europe, around 88th century.
  • Sound produced by air pumped through bellows; pressing a key opens a valve, allowing air to enter a pipe and produce a pitch.
  • Combines air pressure mechanics; powerful sound; used in public performances (e.g., Roman arenas, festivals).

Harpsichord

  • Originated in Italy; earliest examples dating to the 1414th century.
  • Sound produced when a key triggers a quill/plectrum to pluck a string (strings are metal).
  • Widely used in courts, churches, and ensembles.

Fortepiano

  • Invented in Italy around the early 1818th century.
  • Designed to allow dynamic control by using hammers to strike strings when keys are pressed.
  • Name from the ability to play both loud (forte) and soft (piano);
  • Sound is lighter and more delicate than the modern piano with less sustain; some harpsichords had multiple strings and manuals.

Piano

  • Modern piano evolved in the late 1818th century, with major developments in Germany and Austria.
  • Sound produced by hammers striking strings; stronger frame, more powerful hammers, and advanced sustain pedal.
  • Key feature: precise control of volume, touch, and emotion; suitable for solo and accompaniment.
  • Bridges expressive needs of composers with mechanical capabilities of earlier instruments.

Hand Position & Finger Placement (Do’s)

  • The instrument has 8888 keys; full tonal range; dynamic flexibility.
  • Keep fingers curved as if holding a small ball.
  • Wrist level (not too high or low) to avoid tension.
  • Fingertips on the keys; not the flat part of fingers.
  • Thumb resting on its side; Use correct finger numbers; keep fingers close to keys; start slowly and focus on control.

Hand Position & Finger Placement (Don’ts)

  • Do not flatten fingers; avoid wrists drooping or rising too much.
  • Do not press keys too hard; avoid curling fingers too tightly.
  • Do not use wrong finger numbers; do not rest palms on the keyboard.
  • Do not rush through notes; avoid ignoring hand position; do not compare yourself to others.

How to identify notes on the keyboard

  • Bass clef (Left Hand): Middle C as reference; notes start from middle C and go down; low notes are farther to the left on the keyboard.
  • Treble clef (Right Hand): Middle C is the starting point; notes go up; high notes farther to the right.
  • Note: We will be playing in C position; right-hand thumb and left-hand pinky will always be on C.

Treble Keyboard basics

  • In the right hand, the first five notes are played with finger numbers 1−51-5 (thumb to little finger).
  • The C position is used as a reference for treble notes.

Bass Keyboard basics

  • In the left hand, finger numbers 5−15-1 map from pinky to thumb when playing in the C position.
  • The C position serves as a reference for bass notes.

Keyboard diagrams (reference concepts)

  • Right hand uses the Treble keyboard in the C position; left hand uses the Bass keyboard in the C position.
  • Finger numbers follow the standard pattern: right hand 1−51-5, left hand 5−15-1.

Finger Numbers

  • Basic mapping: 11 on the thumb, 55 on the pinky; both hands use a 5-note pattern starting from the thumb (RH) or pinky (LH).

Reading Music Notation - Notes

  • A staff has five lines and four spaces.
  • Notes sit on lines or in spaces; higher on the staff = higher pitch.
  • The position on the staff determines the note name (A–G in a repeating cycle).
  • Do not rely on stem direction to determine pitch.

Reading Music Notation - Rhythms

  • Semibreve: holds for 44 counts.
  • Minim: holds for 22 counts.
  • Crotchet: holds for 11 count.
  • Rests: Semibreve rest 44 counts, Minim rest 22 counts, Crotchet rest 11 count.

Music Vocabulary

  • Sharps (#) raise a note by one key to the right (e.g., F# is the key to the right of F).
  • Flats (b) lower a note by one key to the left (e.g., Gb is the key to the left of G).
  • Enharmonic notes: two spellings for the same pitch (e.g., F# and Gb).
  • Diatonic notes: notes that belong to a key/scale (e.g., C major: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C; no black keys).

Music Signs

  • Staccato: play short and detached.
  • Tenuto: hold a note for its full length.
  • Accent: stress or emphasize a note.

Slur and Dynamics

  • Slur: play smoothly.
  • Forte: play loudly.
  • Piano: play softly.
  • Crescendo: gradually get louder.

Decrescendo

  • Gradually get softer.