PIANUMERO
Piano letter notes
Letter notes write a song with the names of its keys: E E F G G F E D is the start of Ode to Joy. No staff, no clef: if you can find the letters on the keyboard, you can play the tune.
In numbers: 4 4 5 6 6 5 4 3
In letters: E E F G G F E D
The seven letters
The white keys are named with seven letters, C D E F G A B, and then they start again: after B comes the next C. To find them, look at the black keys, which come in groups of two and three. C is the white key just left of each group of two; F is just left of each group of three. The others follow in order to the right.
Sharps and flats
A letter followed by ♯ (sharp, often typed #) is the key just to its right, almost always a black key: F♯ is the black key between F and G. A letter followed by ♭ (flat, often typed b) is the key just to its left: G♭ is the same key as F♯. E and F, and B and C, have no black key between them, so the rare E♯ is the white key F, and B♯ is C.
Which octave?
The same letter appears every octave, so a letter alone doesn't say which C. Song sheets show it in different ways: a number (C4 is middle C, C5 the C above), small and capital letters, or marks such as C'. When nothing is said, start around middle C and keep the tune's ups and downs. Pianumero's song pages give every key with its octave, in a table.
What letter notes leave out
Letters give the keys, not the rhythm: how long each note lasts and when the next one comes are left to your ear. That is why they work best for songs you already know, read line by line with the words under them. To see the rhythm as well, play the same song with falling notes.
Letter notes on Pianumero
Every song page gives the whole song in letter notes, one line of the words at a time, with a table of its keys. A good way to learn the letters: play a song with the numbers until you know it, then play it again reading its letters (how the numbers work). If you learned do ré mi, C is do, D is re, E is mi (note names around the world).
Songs in letter notes
Ode to Joy · Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star · Happy Birthday · London Bridge Is Falling Down · Bella Ciao · Für Elise
Letter notes: questions
What are piano letter notes?
A song written with the names of its keys instead of sheet music: E E F G G F E D is the start of Ode to Joy. Each letter is a white key; a sharp (♯) or flat (♭) after it is a black key.
Do letter notes show the rhythm?
No. Letters say which key, not when or for how long. Listen to the song first, or follow it line by line with its words; on Pianumero, falling notes show the rhythm too.
How do I know which C to play?
Letter notes alone don't say. Start near middle C (C4) unless the song says otherwise; Pianumero's song pages give each key with its octave, for example E4.
What does C♯ or Db mean?
C♯ (C sharp) is the black key just right of C; D♭ (D flat) is the black key just left of D: the same key. Letter-note sheets often type them as C# and Db.
More guides
How piano numbers work
What 1 means, why key numbers are not finger numbers, what numbers teach and what they don't, and how to move on to letters.
Do Re Mi or C D E?
The same seven white keys have different names around the world: letters, do re mi, the German H, and where they come from.
Falling notes
The next step after numbers: each note falls onto its key, and its length shows how long to hold it. Free on every song.
Where is middle C?
Find middle C (C4) on any piano or keyboard, 88, 76, 61 or 49 keys, and why so many songs start around it.
Piano keys labeled
Every key named: the white and black keys of one octave, how many keys each keyboard has, and how the pattern repeats.
Written by Loïc Berthod, who makes Pianumero.