Note reading game: find the key for each note

The note reading game trains the two skills that make reading music quick: knowing where each note is on the staff, and finding its key on the piano without thinking. Choose how the notes are shown, press Start, and press the key for each note as it appears. Twenty notes make a round, and the timer shows how quickly you get through them.

Three ways to show the notes

• Letter names. The note appears as a letter, such as G or E♭. Press any key with that name, in any octave. This mode is for learning the keyboard itself: where every C is, where F sits beside the group of three black keys, and so on.
• Treble clef. The note appears on a treble clef staff, anywhere from middle C, on a short ledger line below the staff, up to A5, on the first ledger line above it. Press the exact key. The right hand usually reads this clef.
• Bass clef. The note appears on a bass clef staff, from E2, on a ledger line below the staff, up to middle C, on a ledger line above it. The left hand usually reads this clef.

The Keys setting chooses between the white keys only and all the keys. With black keys included, a note may appear as a sharp or as a flat, so you practice both names for the same key: C♯ and D♭, for example, are the same black key.

How the round works

The note stays on screen until you press the right key. A wrong key flashes red and counts as a mistake, and the right key lights up green for a moment so you can see where it was. The round ends after the twentieth correct note and shows your time and the number of mistakes.

A round without mistakes becomes your best time if it beats the last one. Best times are kept separately for each mode and key setting, so letter names with white keys and bass clef with all keys each have their own record. They are stored only in this browser.

A plan for learning the notes

1. Start with letter names and white keys. Learn the seven white-key names and the landmarks: C just left of each pair of black keys, and F just left of each group of three.
2. Move to the treble clef. Middle C and the G on the second line from the bottom are useful anchors. The line notes from the bottom up are E, G, B, D and F, and the spaces spell F, A, C, E.
3. Then the bass clef. Its line notes from the bottom are G, B, D, F and A, and its spaces are A, C, E and G. Middle C sits one ledger line above this staff.
4. Add the black keys. Once a clef feels easy with white keys, switch Keys to include sharps and flats.

Aim to answer without counting lines. When you catch yourself counting, slow down and connect the note to its nearest landmark instead.

Tips for faster answers

• Keep your eyes on the note. Glancing between the staff and the keys costs time. Rest your hand over the part of the keyboard the mode uses; the game scrolls there when you press Start.
• Use your computer keyboard. The letter rows are piano keys, which can be quicker than clicking. On a phone or tablet, tap the keys directly.
• Short, frequent practice. Two or three rounds a day are enough to see your time drop over a week.

For a full explanation of the staff, clefs and ledger lines, read how to read piano sheet music. When you want to put note reading to use, the song pages show every tune as sheet music with the letter name under each note, and the falling notes game turns the songs into a game.