Accidental (music) Accidental (music) In music, an accidental is a note of a pitch (or pitch class) that is not a member of the scale or mode indicated by the most recently applied key signature. In musical notation, the sharp (), flat (), and natural () symbols, among others, mark such notes—and those symbols are also called accidentals. In the measure (bar) where it appears, an accidental sign raises or lowers the immediately following note (and any repetition of it in the bar) from its normal pitch, overriding sharps or flats in the key signature. A note is usually raised or lowered
Key signature sometimes is this change indicated with a change of key signature; if not, the passage in the second key will not have a matching key signature. The Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 538 by Bach has no key signature, leading it to be called the "Dorian", but it is still in D minor; the Bs that occur in the piece are written with accidentals. Keys which are associated with the same key signature are called relative keys. When musical modes, such as Lydian or Dorian, are written using key signatures, they are called "transposed modes". Exceptions to common-practice-period