Linking keys to notes, or use intervals to 'feel' your way around?

[peterb20]

I only know a couple of notes on the stave, and which key they represent. I play the rest of the notes using the intervals between them. However this doesnt seem to help me when I move down to the next line of a page because its much harder to compare the interval with a quick glance, so I end up having a pause at every change of line! (god only knows what id be like if I played a song which required a page turn!) Is this something I should work on learning or will it come with time?

my issue with learning it is id still have to glance down at the keyboard to identify the key to the note id read, whereas going by interval I can 'see' 4 notes lower, and 'feel' 4 keys down. Knowing which notes are which keys wont neccessarily speed this up?!

[distantfieldrelative]

Given that you have not been playing for a long period of time I would not fret about not being able to know where you fingers are at any given moment.

After progressing more knowing where your fingers are will become second nature.

[adodd81802]

Given that you have not been playing for a long period of time I would not fret about not being able to know where you fingers are at any given moment.

After progressing more knowing where your fingers are will become second nature.

True, just as eventually a professional footballer, doesn't look down at the ball until there is a specific need. don't worry yourself about it early on.

[keypeg]

The sense of intervals is a good thing to have and it is part of piano playing.  But it is also good to be able to associate a note on a staff with a piano key.  We have two clefs to contend with: the treble clef and the bass clef.  If you were to take just one symbol a day --- say the bottom line on the treble clef, associating it with the piano key to the right of the two black keys directly in front of you (i.e. E - the specific E above middle C), and "obsess" about this for the whole day --- then in 31 days you'd have gained familiarity with 31 piano keys and notes.  When you establish a goal, then you can develop a strategy toward that goal.  I would go quite concrete, by looking at that written note, pressing that piano key, listening to its sound, so that your senses, your body, and your mind, are all reinforcing each other.

Don't just wait for it "to happen" or "to filter in gradually" --- because that is rather iffy and weak (imho).

[jgallag]

Yup, be patient. Flashcards are wonderful! Also, it sounds like you are "counting" each interval. Rather, think of whether the interval goes from a line to a line or line to a space (or the converses) and how many notes/keys it skips. You want to be able to identify intervals at a glance as well.

What notes are you using as landmarks? There are a variety of options. Many like to use Middle C, Treble G (identified by the clef) and Bass F (identified by the clef). Then you can add High G (sits on top of the treble staff) or Low F (hangs off the bass clef). Then there are the C's, which are very symmetrical. Middle C is obviously in the middle. There's an additional C on the third space  up in the treble clef and the third space down in the bass clef, and the last C's are two ledger lines off the outside of the staff. Or you could identify the ACEs. They are very symmetrical as well (you'll have to work them out to see what I'm talking about). Or, as Bernhard suggests, you can learn the skips alphabet: FACEGBD. Start with FACE on the space below the bass clef, start with GBD on the bottom line of the bass clef.

Did I give enough options?