The five notes, C – D – E – F – G make up the five notes of the C position. C position is the starting position for your hands when you are beginning to play the piano. It is an anchor point that acts as a base for you to learn how to play music. As you progress, you will be leaving C position and playing all over the eighty-eight keys. For now, C position is your home base.

C position uses the same five notes in the right and left hands. Since you have five fingers, you will play each note of C position with fingers 1 through 5. To find the C position, you must first find middle C, which is the C key closest to the middle of the piano keyboard. Sometimes the manufacturer of the piano has their name stenciled on the fallboard right in the middle of the piano, so you can use that to quickly find middle C.

FIGURE 3-8: C position

Place your right hand thumb on middle C. Your remaining four fingers will naturally fall on the D – E – F – G keys. Now find the C key to the left of the middle C key. Place your left hand pinky on that lower C key. Your remaining fingers will fall on the D through G keys. Stop! Look at where your hands are positioned. Memorize this position of your hands and where they fall on the keys. This is C position. Be sure that the thumb of the right hand and pinky of the left hand are both on C keys!

To get used to the C position, go back to your finger exercises from earlier in this chapter and play them again in C position.