Imagine you’re learning how to use a keyboard and all the keys look the same except for some of the keys being bigger and in different positions
We can all type without looking at our keyboards because we’ve memorized the position of each key. That doesn’t mean we leave our keycaps unmarked because we’re done learning, it’s still useful to have
Same applies to pianos. Both useful as a learning tool and practically
I don’t play instruments
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Yeah that last line tells you everything “ I don’t play instruments”
if you actually tried learning to play piano, you would quickly realise the answer to your own question.
Piano teachers agree with you for beginner students and children, but there’s only like 12 notes to learn so the labels quickly become redundant and unnecessary.
Your computer keyboard is not an aesthetic item. A piano is meant to look nice as well as to be used as an instrument.
>I don’t play instruments
Neither do I, but I can tell you that this is just dumb, I could 100% see it for beginners who is learning, but after a point it makes no sense.
I did actually try this as a beginner pianist. I bought a bunch of stickers denoting each key.
It’s more of a hindrance to be honest. And actually, once you learn where C is you’re pretty much set anyway. It’s not rocket science.
You can buy beginners piano labels for $8 on Amazon 😭
When you’re first learning, sure go ahead and label the keys with some stickers. But once you’ve learned a bit, its not necessary, and it makes the piano look worse, which is why its not permanently labeled.
a computer keyboard has 105 keys, a piano has 7. That should be enough of an answer already. Also a computer keyboard has no natural order and is pretty chaotic, whereas a piano is very organized and those 7 keys are exactly where you’d expect them to be (the 5 additional black ones have the same name as the next white one with an added “#”, so you don’t have to learn them seperately)
Made the mistake of doing this with the kids. Then they went to a normal piano and got lost. Being able to find middle C and know where you are is a real inherent skill, not looking down and hunting for the right note. Remember there are only seven, A-G on repeat, with sharps and flats above. Imagine also trying this on a guitar which can be tuned in any number of ways, impossible.
What a stupid take. Especially that you give the keyboard analogy yourself. What’s the point of marking the keys, which are very easy to identify without labels, if you just have 12 keys to learn anyway? By the way, my keyboard has unmarked keycaps (I’m such a hacker, I know).
It’s 12 keys??? Why do you need to label that… it literally will take you a couple hours just to remember them…
The reason this works with typing and not playing the piano is (a) there are a lot more keys when you’re typing, but also – more importantly:
(b) You can type slowly and the end product is still what you intended to produce
Labels on a piano can be used for learners – but if you have to physically look for each key when you play it then you’re never going to produce the end product
To play a piece of music, you have to play it smoothly – and you can’t do that if you have to read the labels for each note
Musician here: wildly unpopular. Take my updoot
They are labelled in effect. Each one has a unique position to the ones around it. C is before 2 black keys. D is between 2 black keys. G is between 2 black keys but there’s an extra one to the right.
It’s a really simple pattern to know 7 notes. The other 5 are relative to those
This is why we shouldn’t try to form opinions about things with which we have no experience.
My dad was a piano teacher. He would start beginning students with a printed out keyboard with the keys labeled.
Should analog clocks also have number labels on them as well??
You can label your piano when you’re starting (I taught myself a few songs this way), but I think it’s more impressive if you can do it from memory. I know that’s not the point of music, but it’s still an art form, so it makes some sense why the ‘impressive’ way would be preferred.
I disagree. In a similar vein I had a music book when I started learning that had all the notes on the scale labeled with the letter of the note inside the note icon. After I graduated from that book I had no idea how to read music, it didn’t help and just made it a crutch that I couldn’t function without.
This would be like saying “Kids who are learning to read should have words replaced with emoji’s” it doesn’t teach them anything.
Nope, you can possibly really play if you need to look at the keys.
On a side note, i learned to type on a typewriter (yes a mechanical one, not a keyboard), with all blank keys. Just a couple of small dots on the F and J home keys for hand placement. Without labels, there was no incentive to look down. We had to learn to type without looking down. It was intimidating but a good learning tool.
I’m sure beginner pianos can have this. There are even colour coded digital ones now.
If you’re learning, go ahead and sharpie the notes on or something 🤷
It’s A-G repeating in alphabetical order, all you need to know is one note and you can figure out the rest.
You only have to learn 12 keys on a piano. They’re in a pattern that just gets repeated several times. Any single musician who understands how to read music and how scales work could walk up to a piano and figure out how the keys are laid out without ever even having seen one before. Just give them one note and they can figure out the rest easily.
A full computer keyboard has 104 keys and with the exception of a few doubling up (IE 2 shift keys, ctrl keys, etc.), they’re mostly unique and do different things. That’s a lot more keys to memorize than 12.
We had stickers to place on the keys when I was learning. They’re probably still there. Wherever that piano is now. I never did master it, myself.
> That doesn’t mean we leave our keycaps unmarked because we’re done learning, it’s still useful to have
Useful? Yes. Necessary? No.
My current keyboard is pretty old and half the key markings have been worn away at this point.
explain how you can look at the keys and the music and the same time
> I don’t play instruments
No offense but the fact you felt the need to post about something you have no knowledge of is all that’s wrong with this world.
If you had played the piano you would know that this wouldn’t be a useful feature
You can get labels for this for cheap. Or make your own.
There are only 12 different notes in a piano and they go in literal alphabet order. Labels can occasionally be useful for a brand new student (like the first couple weeks) but after even 3-4 lessons you don’t need them anymore and you’re still a year or so from basic piano competency. It’s a waste of effort since there’s only a tiny window where you are actively trying to learn the instrument and don’t know which key is which. I took 4 months of lessons like 5 years ago and I cannot really play the piano but I could find any note without even thinking about it.
Stop making ignorant opinions. You don’t play instruments? So don’t form opinions on them
This is unpopular because it’s wrong. Beginners have labels sometimes taped on by their teacher while they’re starting out, but beyond that it’s not necessary.
Labels aren’t necessary because you can very easily tell what key is what visually. It’s like asking to put a label that says blue on something that’s already blue.
They sell stickers for beginners
“I don’t play instruments”
You don’t say…
Many keyboards and pianos actually do have labeled stickers on them for beginners to learn easier. The thing is that what you’re doing is memorizing the notes. So once you’ve memorized them (there are 12 in total, only 7 of which are white keys) you don’t need labels anymore. So we’re talking a week of stickers on your piano, and the rest of your life without them.
I play instruments.