Start from zero

Six lessons, about 30 minutes: from not knowing the keys to playing one phrase off the sheet. Every lesson is done on this piano — no textbook, no teacher.

1. 1

   Find C, and see the black-key pattern

   Recognise one key called C, and notice the black keys repeat in groups of two and three.

   • 1Black keys alternate in groups of 2 and 3. The white key immediately left of any group of two is C.
   • 2Tap the white key labelled C4, then the one labelled C5 to its right: the same note, simply higher.
   • 3Count 7 white keys from C4 and you should land exactly on C5. Off by one? Tap back — the pattern beats memory.

   What gets checked: play C4 and C5 once each — any order.

   These are the keys — tap one to hear it

   Watch it

   C4AD4SE4DF4FG4GA4HB4JC5K

   Pressed 0 of 2 · next: C4

   You pass when:Tap any white key and you can say whether it is C.Mark this lesson done

2. 2

   Seven names, aka do re mi

   The white keys have only 7 names cycling (C D E F G A B), and solfège is just another label for them.

   • 1From C4 tap each key to the right: C D E F G A B — the next one is C again. That span is one octave.
   • 2The letters printed on the keys are the note names: do=C, re=D, mi=E, fa=F, so=G, la=A, ti=B. Run them backwards too.
   • 3Play do re mi fa so la ti do upwards, then back down. Your ear learns the shape before your eyes do.

   What gets checked: play C D E F G in that order (do re mi fa so).

   These are the keys — tap one to hear it

   Watch it

   C4AD4SE4DF4FG4GA4HB4JC5K

   Pressed 0 of 5 · next: C4

   You pass when:Say "mi" and you land on E without counting.Mark this lesson done

3. 3

   There are actually 12 notes in an octave

   Black keys have names too, and semitone / whole tone are the units of distance every interval and chord is built from.

   • 1The black key right of C4 is C#4, also called Db4: one key, two names.
   • 2From C4 step up by semitones (white and black alike); exactly 12 steps lands you on C5.
   • 3Two semitones = one whole tone: C to D is 2 semitones, E to F only 1, because there is no black key between them.

   What gets checked: C4 → C#4 (the black key right next to it) → D4, one semitone at a time.

   These are the keys — tap one to hear it

   Watch it

   C4AD4SE4DF4FG4GA4HB4JC5K

   Pressed 0 of 3 · next: C4

   You pass when:You can explain why there is no black key between E and F, and why B to C is the same case.Mark this lesson done

   Theory basics: the interval slider and scale steps →
4. 4

   What the staff is actually reading

   Lines, spaces and ledger lines are not decoration: one position higher is one second up the scale.

   • 1Five lines, four spaces, counted from the bottom. The lowest line of the treble staff is E4, the top line is F5.
   • 2Middle C sits on the first ledger line below the treble staff and on the first ledger line above the bass staff — one note, two places.
   • 3Tap 10 positions on the reading page: the key lights up below the staff, and the second time the position and the key match, it sticks.

   What gets checked: play the five line notes bottom-up — E4 G4 B4 D5 F5. Once your hand has done it, "up the staff means right on the keyboard" stops being a rule you memorise.

   These are the keys — tap one to hear it

   Watch it

   C4AD4SE4DF4FG4GA4HB4JC5KD5LE5;F5'

   Pressed 0 of 5 · next: E4

   You pass when:See the second space of the treble staff and say "A" — without counting.Mark this lesson done

   Read the staff: clickable positions and the find-the-key quiz →
5. 5

   Beat, metronome, and why slow practice works

   Make your hand follow the beat instead of making the beat wait for your hand. The metronome is the only teacher in this lesson.

   • 1Back on the piano, switch on the metronome in the bar above the keys (96 BPM, 4/4 by default). Play nothing: listen to four beats, then press one key on beat one.
   • 2Drop to 60 BPM and play do re mi fa so, requiring every note to land exactly on a beat.
   • 3Three clean passes in a row means add 10 BPM. One mistake means drop back and do three again. That is the whole mechanism of slow practice.

   What gets checked: metronome running, one note per beat, C D E F G. Two notes inside one beat only counts the first. Starting the metronome drops the tempo to 60 (that also changes your home-page tempo setting — put it back when you are done).

   These are the keys — tap one to hear it

   Metronome Watch it

   C4AD4SE4DF4FG4GA4HB4JC5K

   Pressed 0 of 5 · next: C4

   Metronome is off. This lesson checks one note per beat, so start it above first.

   You pass when:At 60 BPM all five notes sit on the beat and you do not look down at your hand.Mark this lesson done

   Back to the piano (the metronome is in the bar) →
6. 6

   Play one phrase off the sheet

   Combine the first five lessons once: finish one phrase on a real piece and know exactly which two beats you stumble on.

   • 1Pick a difficulty-1 score in C with few pages from the beginner library — pick the playable one, not the favourite one.
   • 2The score opens in staff view: play it through with the right hand only, slow it to 0.5×, and turn on follow-play so wrong notes are reported on the spot.
   • 3Loop A-B on the bar that trips you and practise only that, then release the loop once you clear it three times in a row.

   What gets checked: the first phrase of Ode to Joy — the same one the home page demos. Press "Watch it" first, then follow the keys that lit up.

   These are the keys — tap one to hear it

   Watch it

   C4AD4SE4DF4FG4GA4HB4JC5K

   Pressed 0 of 9 · next: E4

   You pass when:One phrase (4 bars) with no stops and no more than 2 wrong notes.Mark this lesson done

   Beginner library (difficulty 1) →

Finishing these six lessons does not make you a pianist. It guarantees one thing: you know what to practise next and which tool on this site to use.