Day 645 min

Level 0 review

In five days you went from not being able to read a keyboard to reading it as a map. Today checks whether it stuck.

Everything, on one page

Read this back before testing yourself. If any line makes you hesitate, reopen that day first. There is no prize for rushing on.

DayWhat you should be able to do
1Say which kind of instrument you own, and set it up ready to play
2Find C and F from the black-key groups without counting from the edge
3Name all seven white keys, and say what an octave is
4Sit correctly, know the finger numbers, and hold a C position
5Count semitones and whole tones, and name the black keys both ways
middle C
Middle C
The map you can now read.

Testing what you know

Question 1

Answer from memory, without looking back.

Faced with an unlabelled keyboard, what is the fastest way to find C?

Question 2

On distances between notes.

How far apart are F and G?

Question 3

On naming black keys.

What can the black key between A and B be called?

Question 4

On fingering.

In the right-hand five-finger C position, which finger plays G?

Testing your hands

Random note hunt

Eight of them, no labels. Aim to answer without counting.

G4

Question 1 of 8

No labels now — use the black-key groups to find it

Five fingers, twice through

Up and down twice without a break, and without moving your hand.

CDEFGFEDCDEFGFEDC

Press them one at a time, following the highlight

Fingers one, three, five

Skip a finger each time. The ones not playing stay resting on their keys

56BPMCurrent tempo
Ckey 1 of 2
0/4Tempo rungs cleared
0/4Clean reps in a row
CEGECEGE

Loop it in time with the clicks. 4 clean reps in a row moves you up a rung; one slip starts the count again · from 56 up to 80 BPM · after the first key it moves through 2 more

Put in the reps

Sixteen notes: day four's eight, twice through, with the pause that used to sit between them taken out. Everything new is at notes eight and nine — D down to C and straight back up to D, fingers 2 1 2 on three consecutive beats.

Fingers 2 1 2 across the join

Note nine is the C, and it lands on the downbeat of bar three. Almost everyone strikes it harder than the rest because it feels like setting off again, but it has to sound like the ninth note of one line, not the first note of a second.

52BPMCurrent tempo
Ckey 1 of 2
0/4Tempo rungs cleared
0/3Clean reps in a row
CDEFGFEDCDEFGFED

Loop it in time with the clicks. 3 clean reps in a row moves you up a rung; one slip starts the count again · from 52 up to 76 BPM · after the first key it moves through 2 more

Today's minigame

Level 0 note-rush test

A note name appears and you press the right key before the timer runs out. It speeds up as you go.

Trains: finding keys without counting up from C every time

This game needs keys. The on-screen keyboard, your computer keys, or MIDI all work.

Homework

Go to homework
Level 0 testEvery note in an octave, black and white. Aim for over 85% before moving on.
Play the five-finger piece throughRight hand, straight through from the top, at 70% of the written tempo
Take the pattern up to tempoToday's loop, a notch faster than the lesson version. Repeat it as often as you like — it comes back on its own when it is due.

All homework lives on the homework page. Repeat it as often as you like — anything you're still shaky on gets pushed back to the top by itself.

SummaryYou can read the keyboard now, finding C and F from the black-key groups without countingYou can name both white and black keys, and you know black keys always have two namesYou know semitones and whole tones, which become your main tool in the next levelYou sit correctly and use the right fingers, ready for harder practiceThe next level is about time: rhythm, and reading music
Done with day 6?

No rush. If you're not confident yet, run the minigame above once more before marking it done.

  • Read every part · 0 of 4
  • Take the drill up to target tempo · 0 of 2
  • Clear 60% of today's minigame · 0 of 1
  • Come back and practise again later · 0 of 2 sittings