what are the keys on a piano made of
Piano In the early years of piano construction, keys were commonly made from sugar pine. In the 2010s, they are usually made of spruce or basswood. Spruce is typically used in high-quality pianos. Black keys were traditionally made of ebony, and the white keys were covered with strips of ivory. However, since ivory-yielding species are now endangered and protected by treaty, or are illegal in some countries, makers use plastics almost exclusively. Also, ivory tends to chip more easily than plastic. Legal ivory can still be obtained in limited quantities. The Yamaha firm invented a plastic called Ivorite that they claim mimics the look and feel of ivory. It has since been imitated by other makers.
Key (basketball) Originally, the key was narrower than it is today and had the shape of a keyhole, measuring six feet (1.8 m) wide, hence "the key", with the free-throw circle as the head, and the shaded lane as the body. It has been also called "cup" or "bottle" in other languages, because of how it looks from other perspectives. Due to the narrowness of the key, imposing centers, such as George Mikan, dominated the paint, scoring at will. To counter this, the key was widened into 12 feet (3.7 m) from 6 feet (1.8 m) at the onset of the 1951–52 NBA season.[5]