BESSIE. c, d, e, f, g, a, b, c.

DOMINIE. (after repeating this several times).  That’s good:  now you see you have learned something already.  That is the musical alphabet, and those are the names of the white keys on the piano-forte.  Presently you shall find them out, and learn to name them yourself.  But, first, you must take notice (I strike the keys in succession with my finger, from the one-lined c to the highest treble) that these sounds grow higher and become sharper one after the other; and in this way (I strike the keys from one-lined c to the lowest bass) you hear that the sounds grow lower and heavier.  The upper half, to the right, is called the treble; the lower half is the bass.  You quite understand now the difference between the high sharp tones and the low deep ones?  Now we will go on.  What you see here, and will learn to play upon, is called the key-board, consisting of white keys and black ones.  You shall presently learn to give the right names both to the white keys and the black; you see there are always two black keys and then three black keys together, all the way up and down the key-board.  Now put the fore-finger of your right hand on the lower one of any of the two black keys that are together, and let it slip off on to the white key next below it; now you have found the key called c; what is the name of the next key above it?  Say the whole musical alphabet.

BESSIE. c, d, e, f, g, a, b, c.

DOMINIE.  Well, then, that key is called d.

BESSIE.  Then this one must be e.

DOMINIE.  And now comes f.  Anywhere on the key-board you can find f just as easily, if you put your finger on the lowest of any three black keys that are together, and let it slip off on to the white key next below it.  If you remember where these two keys, f and c, are, both in the treble and the bass, you can easily find the names of all the other keys.  Now what is the next key above f?

BESSIE. g, and then a, b, c.

DOMINIE.  Now we will say over several times the names of the keys, upwards and downwards, and learn to find them skipping about in any irregular order.  At the end of the lesson we will try them over once more, and before the next lesson you will know the names of all the white keys.  You must practise finding them out by yourself; you can’t make a mistake, if you are careful to remember where the c and the f are.