Accidental (music) felt it was obvious that the accidental should continue. The older practice continued in use well into the 18th century by many composers, notably Johann Sebastian Bach. The newer convention did not achieve general currency until early in the 19th century. 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
Key signature vice versa, the old key signature is cancelled with the appropriate number of naturals before the new one is inserted; but many more recent publications (whether of newer music or newer editions of older music) dispense with the naturals and simply insert the new signature. Similarly, when a signature with either flats or sharps in it changes to a smaller signature of the same type, strict application of tradition or convention would require that naturals first be used to cancel just those flats or sharps that are being subtracted in the new signature before the new signature itself is written;