How to start playing the piano: a first interactive tour

A piano looks like a long row of identical keys, but the black keys give it a shape. They come in small groups: two, then three, then two, then three, all the way along. That pattern is your map.

C is the white key just to the left of each group of two black keys. Every C on the piano sits in the same place in the pattern, so once you can spot one, you can spot them all. The C closest to the middle of the instrument is often called middle C: it is a good home base for your right hand.

First, settle in. Sit facing the middle of the keyboard, far enough back that your elbows are a little in front of your body. Let your shoulders drop and keep your fingers gently curved, the tips touching the keys. Nothing should feel tight.

Put your right thumb on middle C, then let the other fingers fall on the next white keys: D, E, F and G. One finger per key. Pianists number the fingers from the thumb (1) to the little finger (5), so here finger 1 plays C and finger 5 plays G. This is a common starting position, not a rule.

Start with the first version: up to G and back down to C, one key after the other. Then try the short tune, which uses the same five notes in a different order. Lower the tempo until every note comes out even; speed only comes later.

In the tune, most notes last one beat. Two last longer: the F in the middle holds for two beats, and the final C for three. Counting “1, 2, 3, 4” out loud helps you give each note its full length.

A chord is several notes played together. The C major chord, written simply C, has three notes: C, E and G. On the keyboard, that is one white key, skip one, another, skip one, another. C is its root, the note that gives the chord its name.

Your hand is already in place: fingers 1, 3 and 5 land on C, E and G. Play the notes one by one first, to check each key, then press all three at once. Aim for a single sound, the three keys going down together.

If one note is missing or comes late, play the chord note by note again and watch which finger hesitates. Press from the fingertips with a loose wrist rather than pushing with the arm. Once it sounds clean, choose the third version: the short tune from step 2 now ends on the chord.

You have found a note, played a pattern and a chord: those three gestures come back in almost every piece. Where to go now depends on what you enjoyed most.

• To name every key, not just C: learn the notes on the piano.
• To add more chords to C: your first piano chords, with F, G and Am.
• To come back to the keyboard regularly: a 10-minute routine that strings these steps together.
• To go further with the five-note pattern: which scales to learn first.

Any instrument works for these first steps: an acoustic piano, a digital piano or a small keyboard. Everything on this page fits within two octaves around middle C, so a keyboard with fewer keys is enough to begin.

There is no wrong order. Short, frequent sessions tend to be easier to keep up than rare long ones; pick a pace you can hold.