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accidental
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Accidental
In music notation, a sharp (#), flat (b), or natural ([natural]) sign preceding a note which changes the pitch of the note by a semitone up (#), down (b), or back to normal ([natural]).
Less common is the double sharp (##), which raises a note by two semitones, and the double flat (bb), which lowers a note by two semitones (there is an example of a triple flat in one of French composer Alkan's piano works).
Once an accidental appears in a bar, it applies to all the other notes of the same pitch that follow until the end of the bar.
© Research Machines plc 2008. All rights reserved. Helicon Publishing is a division of Research Machines plc.
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