The register key is a key on the clarinet that is used to play in the second register; that is, it raises the pitch of most first-register notes by a twelfth (19 semitones) when pressed. It is positioned above the left thumb hole and is operated by the left thumb. The same key used in combination with the left first finger key which produces the written note A4 (in scientific pitch notation) is used to play B♭4. Some clarinets, particularly bass clarinets and lower, have separate keys, or a more complex key mechanism, to control two or three separate holes for playing B♭, for playing the lower notes of the second register, and for playing the upper notes of the second register.
The octave key is a key on the saxophone or oboe that raises the pitch of most notes by an octave when pressed, so that similar fingerings can be used for two different octaves.
Famous quotes containing the words register and/or key:
“Our fear that Communism might some day take over most of the world blinds us to the fact that anti-communism already has.”
—Anonymous U.S. Analyst In 1967. Quoted in “The Uses of Anticommunism,” vol. 21, published in The Socialist Register (1985)
“There are two kinds of timidity—timidity of mind, and timidity of the nerves; physical timidity, and moral timidity. Each is independent of the other. The body may be frightened and quake while the mind remains calm and bold, and vice versë. This is the key to many eccentricities of conduct. When both kinds meet in the same man he will be good for nothing all his life.”
—Honoré De Balzac (1799–1850)