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Plural
accidentals
1
a symbol placed before a note to indicate that it should be played higher or lower than it is written in the key signature
An accidental is a musical symbol used to temporarily alter the pitch of a note. It appears before a note and includes sharp (♯), flat (♭), natural (♮), double sharp (♯♯), and double flat (♭♭). A sharp raises the note by one half step, a flat lowers it by one half step, and a natural cancels any previous sharps or flats. A double sharp raises the note by two half steps, while a double flat lowers it by two half steps. Accidentals affect only the note they precede and remain in effect for the measure in which they appear.
- The sharp accidental raised the pitch of the note by a half step.
- In the second measure, there was a natural accidental, correcting the earlier sharp.
- The piece frequently used accidentals to create chromatic melodies.
- The accidental made the melody sound more dramatic and unexpected.
- An accidental appeared before the F note, changing it to F♯ for the measure.