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I suspect your correct answer is wrong. Organ keyboards originally had only the long keys (the white keys) because they only had the natural notes of the scale

by phaemon 11y ago

I suspect your correct answer is wrong. Organ keyboards originally had only the long keys (the white keys) because they only had the natural notes of the scale. The accidentals were added later as the short keys, and were added as short keys so you could still play as though they weren't there. Piano keys are the same because they copied the keyboard from the harpsichord, which copied it from the organ. The reason the long keys are in C is because a piano is naturally tuned to C. Tighten all the strings a bit to bring it up to D, and all the long keys will be in the key of D.

jameshart 11y ago
"Tighten all the strings a bit to bring it up to D, and all the long keys will be in the key of D" ... briefly, before the piano implodes.
OscarCunningham 11y ago
But what do you mean by "natural notes of the scale"? Why is it those notes that are in C and not the others?
- sbilstein 11y ago
  it's defined somewhat arbitrarily but those 7 notes are the notes of the C Major scale. If you just pay them in sequence, that is the scale. Western music is based around 12 tones, but each scale only has 7 of those tones. A piano with black keys allows you to play in any key/scale (based around semitones) since all 12 tones are present but only 7 constitute the major scale.
- phaemon 11y ago
  By the "natural notes" I just mean the notes that would make up an octave in that key, like "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do" in whatever key you like. On a piano, the long (white) keys are tuned to C for that. If you start on a D and just play the white notes up, it won't sound right. If you're asking "why is it tuned to C", it's probably because C is the key that historically was assigned the letters without any sharps or flats. There's no physical reason for this, it's just a convention (as opposed to, say, octaves, where each octave is half the frequency of the previous). If you're asking why C got the letters without sharps or flats, I believe you have the Romans to blame for that. They did start with A for their scale without sharps or flats, but it was what we would now call "A minor". Which leaves C as the major scale.

by phaemon 11y ago

jameshart 11y ago

"Tighten all the strings a bit to bring it up to D, and all the long keys will be in the key of D" ... briefly, before the piano implodes.

OscarCunningham 11y ago

But what do you mean by "natural notes of the scale"? Why is it those notes that are in C and not the others?

sbilstein 11y ago
it's defined somewhat arbitrarily but those 7 notes are the notes of the C Major scale. If you just pay them in sequence, that is the scale. Western music is based around 12 tones, but each scale only has 7 of those tones. A piano with black keys allows you to play in any key/scale (based around semitones) since all 12 tones are present but only 7 constitute the major scale.
phaemon 11y ago
By the "natural notes" I just mean the notes that would make up an octave in that key, like "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do" in whatever key you like. On a piano, the long (white) keys are tuned to C for that. If you start on a D and just play the white notes up, it won't sound right. If you're asking "why is it tuned to C", it's probably because C is the key that historically was assigned the letters without any sharps or flats. There's no physical reason for this, it's just a convention (as opposed to, say, octaves, where each octave is half the frequency of the previous). If you're asking why C got the letters without sharps or flats, I believe you have the Romans to blame for that. They did start with A for their scale without sharps or flats, but it was what we would now call "A minor". Which leaves C as the major scale.