Dictionary of Music - Birding America

208 keyed harmonicaof the instrument, which made available all the notesfrom middle C to high C (two octaves). Later, it wasgiven a sixth key, and still later, in France, severalmore were added. The key bugle was invented byJoseph Halliday, an Irish bandmaster, and later itbecame known as the Kent bugle or Kent horn inhonor of the Duke of Kent, commander-in-chief ofthe British armies. Until about 1850, when it wasreplaced by the valved cornet, the key bugle was thechief solo brass instrument of treble range.G-sharp minor and A-flat minor; D-sharp minor andE-flat minor; A-sharp minor and B-flat minor.fig. 139 p/u from p. 213fig. 140 p/u from p. 213keyed harmonicaSee under GLASS HARMONICA.keynoteAnother name for TONIC.key signature The sharps or flats placed at thebeginning of a musical staff, immediately after theclef sign, to indicate what KEY (def. 3) the music isin. The line or space of the staff on which the sharpor flat appears indicates the note affected, no matterwhat octave it is in. The key signature does not indicatewhether the key is major or minor; thus thesame signature is used for a major key, such as Gmajor, and its relative minor, E minor, each of whichhas one sharp (F-sharp). The absence of a key signatureindicates either that the composition is in thekey of C major or A minor, or that the music is notwritten in any key (see ATONALITY).The key signature is repeated at the beginning ofeach staff of the score. Temporary modulations intoanother key usually are not marked by a new keysignature but are indicated by accidentals (sharp,flat, or natural signs) preceding the notes affected.However, a long passage in a different key is usuallyindicated with a new key signature, separated fromthe old by a double bar line. As shown in the accompanyingexample, there are fifteen possible key signatures.On keyboard instruments like the piano,which do not distinguish between enharmonic notes,six pairs of the possible keys are identical in sound.They are: B major and C-flat major; F-sharp majorand G-flat major; C-sharp major and D-flat major;Khatchaturian (kä′′chä doo r′ē ən), Aram (äräm′), 1903–1978. An Armenian composer,teacher, and conductor who became known all overthe world for a piece from his ballet Gayane, the“Saber Dance.” Among his many other works, thebest known are his two symphonies, piano concerto,violin concerto, and cello concerto. His music is traditionalin form and reflects his interest in folklore,especially that of Armenia.kin (kin) Japanese.See under KOTO.kit A tiny violin used by dancing masters in theseventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Small enoughto be carried in a pocket, the kit was descendedfrom a medieval fiddle called the rebec. Kits werefifteen to twenty inches long, and had three or fourstrings that were played with a bow. They weremade in various shapes, the earliest usually being inthe form of a rebec, and the later ones in the form ofa violin or viol.kithara (kith′ər ə). British, cithara. The mostimportant musical instrument of the ancient Greeks.