An accidental is a symbol indicating an alteration of the pitch of a given note :
| - | the sharp sign ( ) raises the pitch of the note by a semi-tone
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| - | the flat sign ( ) lowers the pitch of the note by a semi-tone
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| - | the natural sign ( ) cancels the effect of all prior accidentals.
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There are two types of accidentals :
| - | Simple accidentals are placed immediately before the note they modify whether this is located on a line or space of the grid. The accidental affects all notes of the designated pitch until the end of the measure in which it occurs. It is applied in addition to any key accidentals dictated by the key signature.
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| - | Key accidentals are found in the key signature at the beginning of the notation and are placed on the same line or space as the note they modify. With the exception of the key of C, each key has its own, specific, accidentals (i.e. the key of G major automatically includes 2 sharps, F and C). Such accidentals affect all notes of the same name until the end of the score or until the key is changed, whichever occurs first.
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