Post #3791509
2026-07-13 00:35 UTC
I'm curious how pianos arrived at their current keyboard configuration. I wonder what the rationale was for it.
#RandomThoughts
Replies (1)
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@outer@mas.to 2026-07-13 17:58
@JeremyMallin@autistics.life There are tons of stories explaining why the modern piano keyboard has the (current) odd looking arrangement of black and white keys. It can be difficult to tell truth from shinola. Short, fairly true: The modern piano keyboard is based on the interval patterns of the diatonic scale. Any sequence of seven successive white keys plays a diatonic scale. One popular idea is that the white notes from A through G is the scale of A minor (basically), very popular since Middle Ages. I'll post more soon. This one is from 1890. Here's a picture showing that the left-right symmetry of the keyboard pattern is centered around the "D" key. (!) #Music #History #Piano