When playing music under a particular scale, you should normally avoid any key without a blue dot, although composers sometimes use altered notes which are not within the scale. The tonal center or tonic is the note where the scale hierarchy starts and it is represented on the virtual piano with a darker blue dot. E minor and A minor both use the same minor scale). You can also use scales to create your own melodies and set the mood of your piece.Īny chosen scale can be transported to any tonal center (e.g. Practicing scales will provide you with the necessary skills to play different styles of music like Jazz, Flamenco or Blues. Musical scales are an essential part of music improvisation and composition.
However, the distance between C and D, for example, is a full tone (or two semitones). A standard piano has 88 keys, 52 of which are white keys that are also known as natural notes. First, you need to take a look at the piano keyboards without the labels.
For example, the distance between C and C# (black key next to C), or the distance between E and F (both being white keys). We have created an easy chart for you to use as a reference, so you can familiarize your instrument with ease. In other words, a semitone is also the distance between two consecutive keys on the piano. A semitone is the minimum distance between two consecutive notes in any tempered scale (12 equal semitones per octave).
A scale is a set of musical notes ordered as a well-defined sequence of intervals (tones and semitones).
