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Piano Fluency in All 12 Keys

Piano fluency in all 12 keys… how do you do it? Knowing how to play in every key is magic on the piano. There are a number of angles to consider to achieve an all-scales fluency, here are three big interrelated topics to conquer:

  • Knowing all 12 major scales
  • Understanding the Circle of Fifths (Co5)
  • Seeing the “negative images” of scale pairs (scale siblings)
    • Ab and A
    • Bb and B
    • Db and D
    • Eb and E
    • F and F#

Secret: One Key A Month

12 Keys, 12 Months — Focus on one key a month. Use the chart below and simply jump into which ever month it is.

Pick one practicing approach for this year (then alternate next year):

  1. Chromatic approach
  2. Circle of Fifths (CO5) approach
Month (1) Chromatic (2) Co5
Jan. C C
Feb. Db F
Mar. D Bb
Apr. Eb Eb
May. E Ab
June F Db
July F# Gb
Aug. G B
Sept. Ab E
Oct. A A
Nov. Bb D
Dec. B G

Applications (Exercise Regimen)

I’ve been enjoying applying the following to the above table:

  • Hanon 1-10
  • Jazz II-V7 exercise:
    • LH walking a bass line over |: ii7 / / / | V7 / / / 😐
    • RH improvising
  • Arpeggios
  • Pentatonic scales

February 2020 just passed, so I’ve been enjoying playing in D flat. Knowing that I was sticking around all of Feb. in one key gave me plenty of time to get to know its personality.

Scale Pairs (Scale Siblings)

Next, I’m excited to do a March residency in the key of D—the sibling scale, or negative image of D flat, where I was just hanging out. Check it out…  they are literally the negative images of each other:

Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C Db
D E F# G A B C# D
Key of D Siblings
Key of D Siblings

One-Month Residency

The way to play in every key is to spend time playing in every key… do a residency in every key. So in this case, I’m suggesting a one-month residency.

Pick ideas that you’ll have fun playing over and over all year long, but know that you’ll have to translate to develop your fluency.

Next year, instead of rolling through the months chromatically, switch to Circle of Fifths. This simply gives your mind a new way to roll through the keys. My jazz professor in college made me transpose around the Co5 going counter-clockwise, so that’s what I’m recommending that you do.

Hope you enjoy this idea and have fun trying it to improve your all 12 keys fluency! Let me know how it goes for you or if you have any questions.