Key (instrument) Key (instrument) A key is a specific part of a musical instrument. The purpose and function of the part in question depends on the instrument. On instruments equipped with tuning machines, violins and guitars, for example, a key is part of a tuning machine. It is a worm gear with a key shaped end used to turn a cog, which, in turn, is attached to a post which winds the string. The key is used to make pitch adjustments to a string. With other instruments, zithers and drums, for example, a key is essentially a small wrench used to turn
Boston Musical Instrument Company Boston Musical Instrument Company The Boston Musical Instrument Company was an American manufacturer of brass band instruments in the late 19th and early 20th centuries located in Boston, Massachusetts. Elbridge Wright was an apprentice to Samuel Graves at his original woodwind shop which had been founded in the 1820s outside of Boston. At the same time Wright was with Graves, James Keat, who had apprenticed to hais father Samuel in England around the turn of the century, introduced the Graves firm to brasswind instrument manufacture. Wright learned from both Graves and Keat before setting out on his own. In 1869,