Key (Portable instrument of metal)

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

a portable instrument of metal ble instruraent of for shooting the lock-bolt of a door. In lock-bolt of a door music: (1) A mechanical contrivance for echanical contrivance closing or opening ventages, as in flutes, ig ventages, as in f clarinets, ophicleides, etc. By means of eides, etc. By mear keys on such instruments, apertures too truments, apertures remote to be reached by the outstretched ched by the outstret fingers are brought under control of the under control of lever which brings player. (2) A lever which brings the pallets of an organ under the control of ran under the contr the hand or foot of an organist. (3) A of an organist. (2 lever which controls the striking apparthe striking ap atus of a key-stringed instrument. In instrument the harpischord it acted on the jack; in n the jack the pianoforte it acts on the hammer. the ham (4) The wrest or key used for tuning sed for tu instruments having metal pegs. (5) The (5) sign placed at the commencement of the ment o musical stave which shows the pitch of the pitc the notes, was originally called a clavis called a c or key. This sign is called in modern called in me music a clef. (6) Key, in its modern in its mo sense, is the starting point of the definite oint of the de series of sounds which form the recogich form the r nized scale. Different starting points starting p require the relative proportion of the proportion of ale to be maintaine steps of the scale to be maintained by means of sharps or flats in the signature. or flats in the signa The key of C major requires no flats or ajor requires no fla sharps for this purpose, hence it is called burpose, hence it is c the normal key.