How to find D and E on the piano and play C D E with three fingers

After this lesson you can find C, D and E anywhere on the keyboard and play them with fingers 1, 2 and 3.

Once you can find C, the next two white keys are easy to learn, because they live right next door. D and E, together with C, give you three notes: enough to play your first real tune. This page shows you how to find them anywhere on the keyboard and how to play them with three fingers in each hand.

Where D and E live

Go back to the group of two black keys that helped you find C. Look at the white keys around that pair:

C is just to the left of the two black keys.
D is in the middle, squeezed between the two black keys.
E is just to the right of the two black keys.

Around each group of two black keys: C on the left, D in the middle, E on the right

So the group of two black keys gives you three landmarks at once. D is perhaps the easiest key on the whole piano to spot, because it is the only white key held between a pair of black keys. Some teachers call it the "doghouse" key, with the two black keys as the walls. Use whatever picture helps you remember.

Like C, every D and every E repeats along the keyboard. Each time you see a pair of black keys, the same three white keys sit around it.

Every group of two black keys has a D between them and an E just to the right

Musical alphabet, step by step

Notice what happened when you moved from C to D to E: you went one white key to the right each time, and each new key sounded a little higher. Moving from one white key to the very next one is called a step. C D E is three notes stepping upwards; E D C is the same notes stepping down. Later lessons add more letters, but the idea stays the same: the letters follow the alphabet as you go up.

Three fingers, three keys

Because C, D and E are neighbours, three neighbouring fingers can cover them without the hand moving at all.

In the right hand, put your thumb (1) on middle C. Finger 2 then lands on D, and finger 3 on E.

Right hand: thumb (1) on middle C, finger 2 on D and finger 3 on E

The left hand is a mirror image. Play an octave lower, on the C, D and E just below middle C. Here finger 3 sits on C, finger 2 on D and the thumb (1) on E. It feels backwards at first because the thumb is now on the highest note. That is normal: the thumb of each hand always points towards the middle of the keyboard.

Left hand, an octave lower: finger 3 on C, finger 2 on D and thumb (1) on E

A first pattern: C D E D C

Try this little shape with the right hand: C D E D C, played with fingers 1 2 3 2 1. It climbs up two steps and comes back home. Play it slowly, one note per beat, and keep the notes even, like footsteps.

Then try the left hand on the lower C D E. The notes are the same, C D E D C, but the fingers are 3 2 1 2 3. Saying the finger numbers out loud as you play helps your brain connect the number to the right finger.

How to practise

Find three different Ds, using the pairs of black keys. Then find three different Es.
Close your eyes, touch a pair of black keys, and slide down between them to D. Open your eyes and check.
Place your right hand: 1 on middle C, 2 on D, 3 on E. Leave all three fingers resting lightly on their keys.
Count "1, 2, 3, 4" and play C D E D, then C D E D, one note per count. Keep counting without stopping between groups.
Play the longer pattern C D E D C, D E D C, E D C. The last group jumps from C straight up to E with finger 3, then steps back down.
Repeat everything with the left hand on the C, D and E an octave lower, fingers 3, 2 and 1.
Finally, play E over and over, one note per beat, with a metronome or along with a steady count. This trains you to keep the pulse even on a single key.

Common mistakes

Swapping D and E. If you are not sure, find the two black keys again. D is between them; E is outside them on the right.
Moving the whole hand. Each finger has its own key. If your hand is sliding about, put it back in place and let only the fingers move.
Uneven notes. Fingers 2 and 3 are often stronger than the thumb, so the thumb's notes come out quieter or late. Listen for three notes that sound equally loud and equally spaced.
Lifting the wrist. As you concentrate, your wrist may creep up. Let it float level with the back of the hand.
Forgetting left-hand fingering. Thumb on E, not on C. If your left thumb is on C, you are using the wrong fingers.

Try it in Pianuvo

In the Academy, this lesson belongs to Unit 0: First week at the piano. You find Ds and Es around the keyboard, watch and copy C D E D C in each hand, and then play Stepping Song, a short tune made only from C, D and E, with chords underneath. The exercises listen to you through the on-screen keyboard, a MIDI keyboard or a real piano and microphone, and the notes can wait for you until you are ready.