A typical piano has 88 keys spanning just over seven octaves. There are other, smaller keyboards or synthesizers that have fewer keys – most come in increments of 25, 32, 49, 61 or 72 keys.

A standard piano has 88 keys: 52 white and 36 black. But who decided this number would be the norm, and why? The king of instruments has played a significant role in music history. From concertos and ...

Let’s go back to the days before the piano, when composers wrote for the harpsichord, which has just 60 keys, and each key is its own note, its own sound. Around 1700, a musical technician named ...

In the Classical era, the colours on a piano keyboard were the other way round – the black keys white, and the white keys, black. So, when did it all change? And why are pianos made up of monochrome ...