Topmusicanswers
- Does an accidental apply to both clefs?
- Does an accidental apply to all octaves?
- Does treble clef apply to bass clef accidental?
- Do accidentals apply to the whole song?
Does an accidental apply to both clefs?
No. Each accidental applies only to ONE KEY on the keyboard. Each accidental applies only to one line or space within a staff. If the same key is shown in both clefs, you need an accidental for both.
Does an accidental apply to all octaves?
Accidentals apply within the measure and octave in which they appear, unless canceled by another accidental sign, or tied into a following measure. If a note has an accidental and the note is repeated in a different octave within the same measure, the accidental does not apply to the same note of the different octave.
Does treble clef apply to bass clef accidental?
An accidental on a note should affect all of the same note (regardless of octave) for the rest of the measure. This is the case for piano, where one performer is playing multiple clefs. However, for an orchestral score, I would assume that each line is autonomous, whether in the same clef as another instrument or not.
Do accidentals apply to the whole song?
The accidental will apply to following notes in the same measure / bar but not after that. If it is needed to cancel the effect before then another accidental (maybe a natural sign) will be required. Oddly, although a sharp or flat in the key signature affects the same note in other octaves, an accidental does not.
