Playing the keyboard

The on-screen piano can be played four ways. Whichever you use, the on-screen keys light up and you hear the notes — so you can mix and match freely.

Mouse

Click a key to play it. Click and hold to sustain. Drag across the keys (keep the button held) to glide from note to note.

Touch

Tap keys to play them. You can press several keys at once with multiple fingers to play chords, and slide your finger across the keys to glide.

Computer keyboard

Play directly from your typing keyboard using a two-row piano layout:

• Lower octave — the Z row: Z X C V B N M are the white keys (C D E F G A B), and S D G H J are the black keys above them.
• Upper octave — the Q row: Q W E R T Y U are the white keys, with 2 3 5 6 7 for the black keys.
• Change octave — the ↑ and ↓ arrow keys move the layout up or down an octave, so you can reach the whole piano.

You can hold several keys for chords. Typing in a text box (for example a search field) never plays notes — playing only happens when you're not typing into a field.

Use the Computer keys switch in the bar above the keyboard to turn this on or off.

MIDI keyboard

Plug in a MIDI keyboard or controller for the most expressive playing — including how hard you play (velocity), the sustain pedal, and pitch bend. Use Connect MIDI in the bar above the keys.

See Playing with a MIDI keyboard for the full guide.

Resizing the keyboard

Drag the top edge of the keyboard up or down to make the keys taller or shorter. If not all of the piano fits on screen, use the scrollbar along the top of the keyboard to reach the rest. Your size and position are remembered on this device.