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The Keyboard Is a Number Line

Four short lessons for parents of young pianists: twos and threes of black keys, finger numbers that mirror, twelve keys to an octave, and eighty-eight keys in all.

For grown-ups, from what MelodyMice teaches children at Spark & Anvil.

  1. Lesson 1Twos and threes
  2. Lesson 2Finger numbers mirror
  3. Lesson 3Twelve keys to an octave
  4. Lesson 4Eighty-eight keys
At the table · One child and a grown-up, ages 4 and up

A paper keyboard on the table

You'll need: A long strip of paper, a ruler, a black pencil or crayon.

  1. Draw fourteen white keys side by side on the strip.
  2. Colour black keys in groups of two and three over the gaps, the way a piano does.
  3. Take turns finding every group of two, then every C, then every F.
  4. Put a thumb on a C and play "five fingers" on the table: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, then back.
Where the numbers came from

A little history, and what nobody knows

The first piano

Bartolomeo Cristofori built the first pianos in Florence around 1700. The 88 keys on most pianos today came much later.

The year of Cristofori’s very first piano is not known exactly.

Source: Piano (Wikipedia)

Your child's ladder · on Spark & Anvil

The same idea at every age

  1. Ages 3–5Twos and Threes
  2. Ages 6–8Finger Numbers
  3. Ages 9–14Why 88 Keys?
  4. Ages 15–18Why Twelve Fifths Do Not Fit

Your child will meet this idea again at every age. The tools and courses here are the part for you.

Everything for a child who loves piano →

Print the guidebook (all lessons + the table activity) →