The piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when the keys
are pressed. Most pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys: 52
white keys for the notes of the C major scale (C, D, E, F, G, A, and
B) and 36 shorter and thinner black keys raised above the white keys
and set further back, for sharps and flats. This means that the piano
can play 88 different pitches (or "notes"), spanning a range of a bit
over seven octaves. The black keys are for the "accidentals" (F♯/Gâ™,
G♯/Aâ™, A♯/Bâ™, C♯/Dâ™, and D♯/Eâ™), which are needed to play in all
twelve keys.