Caring for Piano Keys and Learning Their Notes
Piano keys are generally produced of spruce or even basswood for lightness and have a special finish which also adds to the weight of the finished key. Pianos no longer use ivory as that has been banned in many countries for quite some time now. The keys of a piano look simple from the outside, but pressing the key activates some many additional parts that all result in a wooden hammer striking the string and generating a sound. All of these parts between the piano key and the string are named the “action,” and failure in any of these parts can cause noises and squeaks. Also, the keys are able to get stained after becoming played by quite a few dirty, oily or sweaty fingers.
Clean piano keys consistently by gently wiping them with a tender, clean cloth. Other suggestions to maintain, especially on ivory keys consists of keeping away from scrubbing using the exploitation of a brush or even a scouring pad; avoid a number of rough chemicals on your keys as they might scratch the precious them; ivory must be gently rubbed using a soft clean, cloth and using mild, non-colored toothpaste. A lot of people effectively use a mix of salt and lemon juice to clean keyboard keys, however it could possibly be far better to invest in a more professional cleaning solution such as those of the “Cory” brand.
Universally speaking, a keyboard has the higher-pitched notes nearer the top on the right hand side and the lower ones to the left near the bottom. Most often the right hand will indeed practise the upper array which is usually shown in piano sheet music by the treble clef while the left hand will practise the lower range represented by the bass clef. But this is not always the case as we will explore in Day 6 when learning to read piano notes, that the clef used does not always represent the hand.
Some important definitions with regards to keys
If you imagine a piano keyboard, the distinction between a half step (or ‘semitone’) will be the distance from one piano tone to another on the piano. A ‘whole’ step is equal to two half steps or has 1 note in between the white keys on the keyboard to the very next piano key, white or black. Realize that on the piano keyboard, the keys E-F (third and fourth white keys) and B-C (seventh and eighth white keys) have no black piano key, and hence no extra tone in between them.
Some keyboards or software programs which connect to keyboards using MIDI, offer colored piano keys which have been scientifically confirmed to help the brain keep music notes in the mind for longer. Furthermore, a useful practice mode allows players to view the various piano notes nicely colored in the form of a fun ‘show and play’ type of game. The 61 piano keys of the Casio CTK-2100 guides you through an entire host of songs. It also feature two modes of training: one to learn the different piano notes, and another to master several compositions. If kids are not really prepared for colors, there is still the tried-and-tested ‘Suzuki’ method. This technique entails listening to songs and then performing what was heard. Children may try learning with numbers as well in the Suzuki method. There are actually books with photos of numbered piano keys which are particularly beneficial with beginner piano lessons.
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