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
C-flat major C-flat major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has seven flats. The direct enharmonic equivalent of C major is B major, a key signature with five sharps. The C major scale is: \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { </score> C major is the only major or minor key, other than theoretical keys, which has "flat" or "sharp" in its name, but whose tonic note is the enharmonic equivalent of a natural note (a white key