Accidentals are symbols used to lower or raise the pitch of a note by a semitone.
there are 3 accidentals :
The Flat lowers the pitch by a semitone
The sharp increases the pitch by a semitone
The Natural Cancels out any previous accidental
It is also important to note that any accidental is effective on the same note as long as there's no other sign cancelling out its effect in the same bar.
Probably aren't able to understand are ya? No worries, check out the examples below
(hopefully you understand better)
In this given example the highlighted note is a F Flat even though there isn't a sign before it. This is because, previously, in the same bar there was an accidental on the F note - which is still effective to the highlighted note. But in the last note, because of the natural symbol, the "Flat" accidental is being cancelled out and thereby the note over here is F Natural
In this example, the highlighted note is a G natural, this is because this note is present on another bar, therefore, the "flat" accidental on the first note of the piece is not effective on the same note in the next bar.
FINALLY, the most important thing to note is that, the sharp of one note is the same as the flat of the next note.
Basically, D Sharp is the same note as E Flat, or F sharp is the same note as G flat etc.
This is because, ideally, both of the accidentals- flat or sharp, decrease or increase(respectively) the pitch by a semitone from the original note only.
And that’s All for this article ! To quench your intrigue and clear the plot holes that we created in this lesson do check out our other articles .
PEACE ! 🎼 👈 that’s a treble clef btw :)