Identifying “MIDDLE C” No matter how young or old you are, identifying middle C is the first thing you need to know about playing the piano. You may be wondering why we first learn where to find C instead of A, and that’s a great question. After all, that is the first letter we learn to read in nursery school. The answer lies in simplicity. When we learn to place our thumbs on middle C, we set ourselves up for an easy-to-understand catalog of piano songs. C is the first note of a larger body known as a scale. The scale sounds a lot like something you may have heard before (think do, re, mi…), when we start this scale on the note C, we allow ourselves to stick to the white keys only, avoiding confusion with the differently named black keys. Once we understand the purpose of the black keys, adding them into our scales will be easy. For now, the beginner should limit themselves to C and the other white keys for an easy understanding of the major scale. Enjoy your keyboard note identification, -Parker Jervis

I sped this video up for convenience, don’t mind my new voice. This is a tutorial for note reading practice. Practice free and easy at https://www.musictheory.net/exercises/note No sign up required.

1. Analysis 2. Demonstration 3. Mechanical Walkthrough Enjoy

This is the welcome intro for the Verner Elementary Yellowhammer Piano Course with Ms. Mia and Mr. Parker. Follow those instructions to access the 12 week course material. Videos post every Thursday evening and stay up all semester for review.

Here is the opening video: