kettledrums See timpani.

key Defines the relationship of tones with a common center or tonic. Also a lever on a keyboard or woodwind instrument.

keyboard instrument Instrument sounded by means of a keyboard (a series of keys played with the fingers). The most commonly recognized keyboard instruments are the piano, organ, harpsichord, and synthesizer, a recent invention.

keynote See tonic.

key signature Sharps or flats placed at the beginning of a piece to show the key of a work.

Klangfarbenmelodie Twentieth-century technique in which the notes of a melody are distributed among different instruments, giving a pointillistic texture.

koto Japanese plucked-string instrument with a long rectangular body, thirteen strings, and movable bridges or frets.