Musical note indicated by placing the symbols in the key signature, which then apply implicitly to all occurrences of corresponding notes. Explicitly noted accidentals can be used to override this effect for the remainder of a bar. A special accidental, the natural symbol , is used to indicate an unmodified pitch. Effects of key signature and local accidentals do not accumulate. If the key signature indicates G, a local flat before a G makes it G (not G), though often this type of rare accidental is expressed as a natural, followed by a flat () to make this clear. Likewise (and more
Key signature the signature. In the major key with four flats (B E A D), for example, the penultimate flat is A, indicating a key of A major. In this case each new scale starts a fifth "below" (or a fourth above) the previous one. A key signature is not the same as a key; key signatures are merely notational devices. They are convenient principally for diatonic or tonal music. The key signature defines the diatonic scale that a piece of music uses without the need for accidentals. Most scales require that some notes be consistently sharped or flatted. For example, the