Tool
Printable piano keyboard
A full-size paper piano keyboard: 88, 76, 61, 49, 37 or 25 keys at the real key width — 23.5 mm white keys, a 164.5 mm octave — printed over landscape A4 or Letter sheets that join. Note names in letters or Do Re Mi, middle C marked, a low-ink outline version, finger numbers, and a strip of note names to stand behind a real keyboard.
88 keys: A0 to C8, 52 white keys.
88 keys, 122.2 cm long on 5 landscape sheets of A4 that join. Print at Actual size or 100%.
How the keys are sized
Modern piano keyboards have an octave of 164–165 mm, white keys about 23.5 mm wide and black keys averaging about 13.7 mm. The template draws white keys of 23.5 mm, so every octave is 164.5 mm, and black keys of one twelfth of an octave, 13.7 mm, each in its own twelfth — which is how the black keys sit on a real action. Key lengths vary between instruments; the drawing uses 150 mm white keys and 95 mm black keys. The PDF is laid out in millimetres, so printed at 100% the octave measures 164.5 mm — check the 100 mm line under the keys with a ruler.
Putting it together
- Print every sheet at Actual size, landscape.
- Trim the left margin of each sheet after the first along the small cut ticks.
- Lay that edge on the dashed guide of the sheet before, the key lines running on, and tape the back.
- For a sturdier keyboard, glue it onto card or foam board.
Keeps these settings in the link. Useful for moving from a phone to the computer with the printer on it.
Frequently asked questions
How wide is a piano key?
On a modern full-size keyboard a white key is about 23.5 mm (0.93 in) wide at the front and an octave spans 164–165 mm (6.5 in); black keys average about 13.7 mm (0.54 in). This template uses 23.5 mm white keys, so an octave measures 164.5 mm, and makes each black key one twelfth of an octave wide, 13.7 mm. Digital pianos with full-size keys use the same span; some portable keyboards have narrower “mini” keys.
Why are the black keys not centred between the white keys?
Because on a real keyboard they are not. The twelve keys of an octave are evenly spaced at the back, where they meet the action, so the black keys sit in equal twelfths of the octave: C# lies a little left of the line between C and D, D# a little right of the line between D and E, and the group of three is spread the same way. The template places them like that, so fingers find them where they would on a piano.
How many sheets does a full 88-key keyboard take?
The 52 white keys of an 88-key piano make a keyboard 1,222 mm (about 48 in) long: five landscape A4 or Letter sheets, one after another. A 61-key keyboard takes four, a 49-key three and a 25-key two. Trim the left margin of each sheet after the first along its cut ticks, lay it on the dashed guide of the sheet before, and tape the back.
Which keyboard size should I choose?
Match the instrument you will play: an acoustic or digital piano has 88 keys (A0 to C8); stage pianos and many digital pianos have 76 (here E1 to G7); home keyboards usually 61 (C2 to C7), and controllers 49, 37 or 25 keys starting on a C. If your keyboard starts on a different note, choose the next size up and trim the ends.
Where is middle C?
Middle C is C4 in scientific pitch notation, the fourth C from the left on an 88-key piano and close to the middle of the keyboard. On the template its key is shaded and marked with a dot and the words “Middle C”; every other C carries its octave number, so you can count octaves along a long keyboard.
What is the key label strip for?
It is a strip of note names spaced at the real key width, to stand behind the keys of a real piano or keyboard — on the key slip or against the fallboard — so each name sits above its key. It prints in short pieces of whole white keys that fit across the sheet, numbered in order; line each piece up with its keys rather than gluing them end to end.
Can I use Do Re Mi instead of letters?
Yes: choose Do Re Mi and the keys are named in fixed-do solfège (Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Si, as used in France, Italy, Spain and much of Latin America), with sharps and flats on the black keys. Octave numbers can be turned off for a cleaner beginner sheet.
Can I learn piano on a paper keyboard?
A paper keyboard makes no sound, but it is useful for learning where the notes are, practising finger positions and fingering patterns, and for teaching away from an instrument. The finger numbers option marks the C position — right hand from middle C, left hand from the C below — with the numbers piano music uses (1 = thumb, 5 = little finger).