C2C2 is the lowest key, at the left end. It sits just left of the first two black keys.
C sharp 2 / D flat 2The black key between C2 and D2. It is a half step above C2 and a half step below D2, so it has two names.
D2D2 sits between the two black keys. It is in the first octave from the left.
D sharp 2 / E flat 2The black key between D2 and E2. It is a half step above D2 and a half step below E2, so it has two names.
E2E2 sits just right of the two black keys. It is in the first octave from the left.
F2F2 sits just left of the three black keys. It is in the first octave from the left.
F sharp 2 / G flat 2The black key between F2 and G2. It is a half step above F2 and a half step below G2, so it has two names.
G2G2 sits between the first and second of the three black keys. It is in the first octave from the left.
G sharp 2 / A flat 2The black key between G2 and A2. It is a half step above G2 and a half step below A2, so it has two names.
A2A2 sits between the second and third of the three black keys. It is in the first octave from the left.
A sharp 2 / B flat 2The black key between A2 and B2. It is a half step above A2 and a half step below B2, so it has two names.
B2B2 sits just right of the three black keys. It is in the first octave from the left.
C3 to B3 12
C3C3 sits just left of two black keys. It is the second C from the left.
C sharp 3 / D flat 3The black key between C3 and D3. It is a half step above C3 and a half step below D3, so it has two names.
D3D3 sits between the two black keys. It is in the second octave from the left.
D sharp 3 / E flat 3The black key between D3 and E3. It is a half step above D3 and a half step below E3, so it has two names.
E3E3 sits just right of the two black keys. It is in the second octave from the left.
F3F3 sits just left of the three black keys. It is in the second octave from the left.
F sharp 3 / G flat 3The black key between F3 and G3. It is a half step above F3 and a half step below G3, so it has two names.
G3G3 sits between the first and second of the three black keys. It is in the second octave from the left.
G sharp 3 / A flat 3The black key between G3 and A3. It is a half step above G3 and a half step below A3, so it has two names.
A3A3 sits between the second and third of the three black keys. It is in the second octave from the left.
A sharp 3 / B flat 3The black key between A3 and B3. It is a half step above A3 and a half step below B3, so it has two names.
B3B3 sits just right of the three black keys. It is in the second octave from the left.
C4 to B4, from middle C 12
C4 (middle C)C4 is middle C, the third C from the left. The arrow points to it; it is key 25 of 61.
C sharp 4 / D flat 4The black key between C4 and D4. It is a half step above C4 and a half step below D4, so it has two names.
D4D4 sits between the two black keys. It is in the third octave from the left.
D sharp 4 / E flat 4The black key between D4 and E4. It is a half step above D4 and a half step below E4, so it has two names.
E4E4 sits just right of the two black keys. It is in the third octave from the left.
F4F4 sits just left of the three black keys. It is in the third octave from the left.
F sharp 4 / G flat 4The black key between F4 and G4. It is a half step above F4 and a half step below G4, so it has two names.
G4G4 sits between the first and second of the three black keys. It is in the third octave from the left.
G sharp 4 / A flat 4The black key between G4 and A4. It is a half step above G4 and a half step below A4, so it has two names.
A4A4 sits between the second and third of the three black keys. It is in the third octave from the left.
A sharp 4 / B flat 4The black key between A4 and B4. It is a half step above A4 and a half step below B4, so it has two names.
B4B4 sits just right of the three black keys. It is in the third octave from the left.
C5 to B5 12
C5C5 sits just left of two black keys. It is the fourth C from the left.
C sharp 5 / D flat 5The black key between C5 and D5. It is a half step above C5 and a half step below D5, so it has two names.
D5D5 sits between the two black keys. It is in the fourth octave from the left.
D sharp 5 / E flat 5The black key between D5 and E5. It is a half step above D5 and a half step below E5, so it has two names.
E5E5 sits just right of the two black keys. It is in the fourth octave from the left.
F5F5 sits just left of the three black keys. It is in the fourth octave from the left.
F sharp 5 / G flat 5The black key between F5 and G5. It is a half step above F5 and a half step below G5, so it has two names.
G5G5 sits between the first and second of the three black keys. It is in the fourth octave from the left.
G sharp 5 / A flat 5The black key between G5 and A5. It is a half step above G5 and a half step below A5, so it has two names.
A5A5 sits between the second and third of the three black keys. It is in the fourth octave from the left.
A sharp 5 / B flat 5The black key between A5 and B5. It is a half step above A5 and a half step below B5, so it has two names.
B5B5 sits just right of the three black keys. It is in the fourth octave from the left.
C6 to C7 13
C6C6 sits just left of two black keys. It is the fifth C from the left.
C sharp 6 / D flat 6The black key between C6 and D6. It is a half step above C6 and a half step below D6, so it has two names.
D6D6 sits between the two black keys. It is in the fifth octave from the left.
D sharp 6 / E flat 6The black key between D6 and E6. It is a half step above D6 and a half step below E6, so it has two names.
E6E6 sits just right of the two black keys. It is in the fifth octave from the left.
F6F6 sits just left of the three black keys. It is in the fifth octave from the left.
F sharp 6 / G flat 6The black key between F6 and G6. It is a half step above F6 and a half step below G6, so it has two names.
G6G6 sits between the first and second of the three black keys. It is in the fifth octave from the left.
G sharp 6 / A flat 6The black key between G6 and A6. It is a half step above G6 and a half step below A6, so it has two names.
A6A6 sits between the second and third of the three black keys. It is in the fifth octave from the left.
A sharp 6 / B flat 6The black key between A6 and B6. It is a half step above A6 and a half step below B6, so it has two names.
B6B6 sits just right of the three black keys. It is in the fifth octave from the left.
C7C7 is the highest key, at the right end. It is the only key of its octave on this keyboard.
How this list was compiled: Read on 2026-10-03. That a five-octave keyboard has 61 keys, and how the keys are laid out (the seven natural notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B on the longer keys, the five notes between them on the shorter raised keys, lowest note on the left): Wikipedia, Musical keyboard and Manual (music), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_keyboard . That those 61 keys run from C2 to C7: a keyboard maker's catalog of 1983, which lists three instruments as "61 keys (C2 to C7)", https://archive.org/details/1983-03-ram-228-key-catalog-vol-3 , and a second maker's owner's manual for a keyboard of 61 keys and 5 octaves whose lowest keys are named C2 to F3, https://archive.org/details/manual_CT6000_OM_CASIO_EN . That middle C is C4, that the number goes up at each C, and that every black key has two names (C sharp is D flat, and so on): Robert Hutchinson, Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom, sections 1.3 and 1.5, https://musictheory.pugetsound.edu/mt21c/OctaveRegisters.html and EnharmonicNotes.html , and Wikipedia, Scientific pitch notation. The counts of white and black keys and the place of middle C follow from that layout and were counted by the script that draws the keyboard. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-03 from plain rectangles: own work. No font and nothing traced. Licence: own work
How it works
A 61-key keyboard has 36 white keys and 25 black keys. The small strip at the top is the whole keyboard; the five rows under it are the same keys, one octave to a row, each with its name.
Read the full guide
How to read the names
The lowest key, at the left end, is C2 and the highest is C7. The letters run C, D, E, F, G, A, B and the number goes up by one at every C. Each black key has two names: the key between C4 and D4 is C sharp 4 or D flat 4.
Find middle C
Middle C is C4, the third C from the left. The arrows point to it.
C is always the white key just left of a group of two black keys.
Questions and answers
How to label a 61 key keyboard?
Start at the left end with C2. Name the white keys C, D, E, F, G, A, B and raise the number at each new C, ending on C7. Each black key is the sharp of its left neighbor and the flat of its right.
How to label a keyboard with 36 white keys?
A keyboard with 36 white keys is the 61-key keyboard: five octaves of seven white keys and one more C at the top. Label them C2 to C7, as on this page.
Where is middle C on a 61-key keyboard?
It is the third C from the left, just left of the third group of two black keys. Counting every key, white and black, it is key 25 of 61.
What notes are on a 61-key keyboard?
Five octaves, from C2 at the left end to C7 at the right end, with middle C written C4. Each octave has seven white keys and five black keys, and the last key is a C by itself.