Basic Tutorial
Even though the alphabet starts with the letter "A", for the beginner pianist everything will center around the note called "Middle C". As you probably guessed, it's the "C" note closest to the middle of the piano keys. If you look at the keyboard of the piano, you'll notice that there are both black and white keys. There are groups of three black keys, and groups of two black keys. The key "C" is the note to the far left of the group of two black keys. From C, the letter names of the keys are D, E, F, G, A, B, and then we're back to C.
Place your thumbs on middle C; your fingers should rest comfortably on the surrounding keys. Mentally number each of your fingers, starting with your thumb as one, your index finger as two, your middle finger as three, your ring finger as four, and your pinkie as five. It's the same on both hands; make sure you always think of both of your thumbs as "number ones".
So, if we were to play "Mary Had a Little Lamb" using only the numbered fingers of your right hand, with commas for pauses, it would go:
3 2 1 2 3 3 3, 2 2 2, 3 5 5, 3 2 1 2 3 3 3 3 2 2 3 2 1
If you were to do it with the letters of the keys, it would look like this:
E D C D E E E, D D D, E G G, E D C D E E E E D D E D C
Here is a picture of the keys so that everything is clear to you; also, below the image, there is a picture of the song being played.
Place your thumbs on middle C; your fingers should rest comfortably on the surrounding keys. Mentally number each of your fingers, starting with your thumb as one, your index finger as two, your middle finger as three, your ring finger as four, and your pinkie as five. It's the same on both hands; make sure you always think of both of your thumbs as "number ones".
So, if we were to play "Mary Had a Little Lamb" using only the numbered fingers of your right hand, with commas for pauses, it would go:
3 2 1 2 3 3 3, 2 2 2, 3 5 5, 3 2 1 2 3 3 3 3 2 2 3 2 1
If you were to do it with the letters of the keys, it would look like this:
E D C D E E E, D D D, E G G, E D C D E E E E D D E D C
Here is a picture of the keys so that everything is clear to you; also, below the image, there is a picture of the song being played.