Quick Guide To The Courtesy Accidental In Music Notation
Courtesy Accidental
Courtesy Accidental is a special way of using accidentals in music notation to remind musicians about the pitch of a note according to the key signature.
Majorly, it is used after a measure that accidental has taken effect and it specified the note that accidental has (no) effect on.
In this article, our focus will be on what is courtesy accidental in music notation. We will also look into how the majority of musicians notate it in the passage of music.
Lastly, we will discuss when to use a courtesy accidental in a music piece when notating.
So to start with, let us answer what is courtesy accidental in music. The answer to this question is provided in the following section.
What Is Courtesy Accidental?
Courtesy accidental is an accidental sign used before a note to specify the original pitch of a note after it has been altered in a previous measure or octave pitch.
Particularly, it will tell musicians that the note is the original note value before accidental alteration in the previous measure.
In addition, it is also known as a reminder or cautionary accidental and is not a must before a note. However, its usage is meaningful because it prevents ambiguity in some conditions.
The diagram above shows us the simple example of a courtesy accidental to remind a performer to return the note to the original pitch.
This will prevent the musician from using the effect of an accidental in the previous measure on the note in the current measure.
How To Notate A Courtesy Accidental?
Majorly, the courtesy accidental notation is usually an accidental sign wrapped inside a pair of parentheses.
Specifically, this is done to signify the courtesy accidental and is also applied to the chord in music notation.
When every note in a chord has a courtesy accidental, each note will have a personal pair of parentheses.
Specifically, the parentheses remind the performer about the actual pitch of a note especially if accidental sign had been used in the previous measure.
However, enclosing courtesy accidentals in parentheses is not a must. Again, the parentheses are only used to signify that the accidental symbol is a courtesy accidental.
This way, composers are prevented from confusion about the original pitch of a note as related to the key signature.
However, using many courtesy accidentals along with parentheses in a music piece with crowded notes can make the piece look cluttered and somehow complicated to read.
In order to prevent this complication, some composers and music editors settle for not using parentheses in any manner.
For example, in a measure containing several E accidentals, the first E in the next measure often has a courtesy natural attached, even though the E is technically canceled in the new measure.
Usage In Music Notation Software
Most of the music notation software provides an option for composers to add parentheses to an existing accidental in order to notate courtesy accidental.
Sibelius for example does not allow automatic insertion of parentheses for courtesy accidental. So, if the users want to see the parentheses with their courtesy accidental, they have to insert it themselves.
Musescore as well does not add parentheses automatically but provides it as an option for the users to add it at their wish to notate their courtesy accidental.
Likewise, Finale uses Cautionary Accidentals Plug-in to allow users to use courtesy accidentals in various forms in their scores. Either with parentheses or without it.
Rule Guiding The Usage Of Courtesy Accidentals
There are different approaches from different musicians and music editors for applying courtesy accidentals to a note in a piece.
Notwithstanding, there are some common approaches to its usage in a piece.
The following lists are the common way to use courtesy accidentals in music notation.
It is used:
First Note Of the New Measure
When a note with an accidental in the previous measure is the first note of the current measure.
The courtesy accidental serves here as a reminder that a note should go back to its original pitch.
Typically, the effect of accidentals on a pitch is across the measure. In normal accidental rules, the effect of accidental on a pitch (or note) is canceled after the bar line.
As a result, the effect of accidentals is lost immediately when we cross over the bar line to another measure.
So, it is normal to use a courtesy accidental to remind the performer of the original pitch of a note.
As we can see from the diagram above, the first note in the second measure is C. And the sharp accidental has already affected the C in the first measure.
Notwithstanding, the sharp in the previous bar does not apply to the first note which is C in the second measure.
However, the natural sign helps make it easier to read the note. Such redundant accidentals are called courtesy accidentals in wrapped with parentheses in this case.
Same Note With The Accidental Tie Note
If the note that follows a tied note that carries an accidental across a barline from the previous measure is the same as the tired note.
In accordance with the accidental rules, the tie extends accidentally across a bar line (or a measure).
Specifically, tied notes with an accidental will carry the effect across the bar to the other tied note in a successive measure.
So, if the next note after the tied notes is on the same pitch as the tied notes, the accidental sign will be added. As a result, there is a need to use a courtesy accidental for actual pitch remainder.
Chord With Augmented Or Diminished Octave.
When we have a chord within a piece that contains an augmented or diminished octave.
Note that the note in different octaves is classified as a note in a different pitch.
So they are considered as separate notes and the accidental sign does not affect the two pitches altogether. This is the difference between accidentals and key signatures.
Accidentals only have an effect on musical notes on the same defined pitch (i.e. space or line). Unlike key signatures, accidentals do not have any effect on the notes on the pitch in a different octave.
The best practice is using a courtesy accidental for octave shifts.
Important Of Courtesy Accidental
Courtesy accidental is used to indicate that an accidental sign has (or does not have) significance on a particular note.
Moreover, it is used to maintain the integrity of the pitch of a note.
Generally, it is used to simplify the reading of the music piece in a passage with high chromatic notes.
Final Thought
In this article, we discussed what is courtesy accidental in music notation and how to notate it.
Basically, it is used to remind singers or instrumentalists about the original pitch of a note.
Also, we look into the reason we are using parentheses to enclose the courtesy accidental in music notation.
Thereafter, we discussed some conditions to use it in our music score. And we finally end on the importance.
We believe this guide is of great help to our readers that want to know more about “courtesy accidental” in music notation.
At Phamox Music, we go all out for exactness and honesty. For this purpose, if by any means you found any possible glitch, be it factual, editorial or something that we need to update, kindly contact us.
