Amazing Reasons Why the Piano Has Black and White Keys

July 12, 2021 Leslie Young

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Today’s pianos have the black and white keys that we take for granted. Have they always been like that? Why black and white anyway?

The early pianos were actually named “pianoforte” which means an instrument that makes soft and loud sounds. This was a very new and different instrument than the harpsichord, which only had one volume because the strings were plucked like a harp. Pianoforte eventually shortened to “piano.” In a later article I’ll go into the differences between the harpsichord, pre-harpsichord instruments, the fortepiano and pianoforte, and Mozart’s piano that had a pedal-board!

But now, the question: Why black and white keys? When harpsichords and pianofortes were made initially they had white wood with some ivory. Why ivory? Because it is a whitish color and contrasted well with the black. Those black keys were mostly made with rosewood or ebony because they are naturally dark-colored wood.

Here’s a photo of Mozart’s pianoforte that he used in the 18th century until his death in 1791.

Originally the raised keys were white and the longer keys were black. How strange that seems to us today! One reason these pianos had the raised keys made of white ivory was cost. It was more expensive to use ivory than wood so the fewer keys that had ivory the more affordable was the instrument. You may wonder why weren’t all keys just painted black or white. The feel of ivory keys is a very satisfying touch, absolutely not like paint. It’s like the difference in feel between artificial fur and the real thing. Currently, modern piano keys are made with a plastic finish. Some models have plastic keys with an ivory feel.

White and black became black and white keys!

This new pianoforte instrument really caught on and became extremely popular. Sometime in the 1800s the key colors were reversed, with black on the short raised keys and white on the long keys. There does not seem to be any documentation as to exactly when and why this happened, but it makes sense if you think about it.

A long row of black keys makes it more difficult to locate a specific key. It’s just harder to see the separation of keys in peripheral vision. Plus white stands out more, and black recedes as a darker color. Some may have thought it just plain looked prettier to have more white than black!

Why are there groups of 2 and 3 black keys?

If there was just a continuous row of raised black keys above a continuous row of white keys, it would be extremely difficult to locate specific keys. Cover a section of your piano’s black keys with a paper. Your orientation completely disappears! We can’t find our way around the white keys if there are no black key groups.

Why not have all groups be of two or three keys only? Again, our orientation would completely disappear – it all would look the same. To have the sequence of two black keys – three black keys marks the distance of an octave which is playing frequently (the distance of 8 letter names or 13 physical keys). No matter if the octave used is C to C or A flat to A flat, having the black keys in groups of two and then three makes it easy to navigate about the keyboard. Black and white keys as they are placed are essential to playing the piano.

Leslie Young is the author/composer of the Revolutionary Piano Method. She co-founded a K-12th grade charter school in Texas and has been a piano teacher for about 40 years. She has had experience teaching a variety of students tackling piano for the first time or as returning students.

She states: “In teaching piano to students of varying ages, what also varies is a commitment of time and the amount of dedication. Children of certain ages may do very well with a parent as teacher; others may need someone who is not family to instruct them. Some older children and adults prefer to make progress on their own, and this method is designed to act as a meticulous guide through new material. Some adults and teens insist on professional teachers, which also encourages continuity. Because these books are self-explanatory, a new or experienced professional teacher will have no trouble using the Revolutionary Piano Method with students. It is an easy way to learn piano.”

Leslie believe that “learning to play the piano is more about diligence and perseverance” – but would add that just as critical to success is the method that is used, the encouragement of critical thinking, and the instructional principles that promote immediate success.

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