Playing the keyboard is not as difficult as a lot of piano upstarts think. In fact, the piano is the perfect instrument for music beginners, as, unlike other instruments, its layout is straightforward and easy to understand. Plus, in contrast to instruments like the guitar, to play the keyboard doesn’t require a lot of unnatural hand contortions — at least until you get to more advanced pieces, but by then your fingers will be buff. When learning how to play the keyboard, the basics are quite simple. Looking at the piano, there are two types of keys — white keys and black keys. As you may already know, the musical scale consists of the letters A through G with some sharps/flats mixed in. The first important fact to learn is that the white keys represent the letters, while the black keys represe black leather guitar straps nt the sharps and flats. Before going any further, you must find your piano’s middle C. You will find it in the middle of the keyboard. Most pianos have the name of the company that made them printed above the keyboard. In many cases, the first letter of the name is directly above middle C. If you still can’t find the middle C, consult a diagram. When starting out, you might as well tell yourself that you’re not going to touch the black keys for the first few lessons. For now, focus on the white keys, which make up the C major scale. To play this scale, place your thumb on the middle C, with the rest of your fingers on the next four successive notes — D, E, F, and G. Essentially, you’re going to play eight notes, beginning with middle C, and ending with the C that is one octave higher.