Playing with Your Computer Keyboard

Keys A through J play the lower octave (C to B). Keys K through ' (apostrophe) play the upper octave. Press Z or X to shift the keyboard mapping down or up an octave. You can also click or tap the on-screen keys directly.

Sustain

When Sustain is on (green), notes ring out after you release the key, like holding a real piano's sustain pedal. Toggle it with the Space bar or by clicking the Sustain button. Turn it off for staccato playing where notes stop immediately.

Octave & Range

Octave sets the starting octave of the visible keyboard (use the up/down arrows or Z/X keys). Range controls how many octaves are shown — from 2 (compact) to 5 (full range). Default is octave 2 with 3 octaves displayed.

Volume

The speaker icon slider adjusts the overall playback volume for all instruments.

Key Labels

The tag icon toggles note labels (like C3, D3) on the piano keys. Helpful for beginners learning note positions — turn them off once you're comfortable.

Instruments

Below the keyboard, choose from 30+ instruments grouped by category: Keys (Grand Piano, Harmonium, Organ), Strings (Harp, Violin, Cello, Guitars), Wind (Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone), Brass (Trumpet, Trombone, Tuba), Percussion (Xylophone), and Synth (Harmonica, Warm Pad, Chiptune). Click any instrument to switch — the keyboard mapping stays the same.

Recording

Click the red Record button, then play. Every note you press is captured with its timing and duration. Click Stop when done. A note count appears showing how many notes were recorded.

Playback

After recording, a green Play button appears. Press it to hear your performance played back exactly as you recorded it — the keys light up as each note plays.

Save & Publish

Click Save to keep your piece (sign-in required — your recording is preserved). Toggle Public/Private to control whether your piece appears in the public library for others to listen to and remix.