Accidentals

The most common types of accidentals are provided in the Accidentals toolbar above the score and in the Accidentals palette in the basic workspace. A more comprehensive range can be found in the Accidentals palette in the advanced workspace.

Add accidental

Accidentals are automatically added to a note, as appropriate, when you increase or decrease its pitch:

• ↑: Increase the pitch of a note by one semitone (favors sharps).
• ↓: Decrease the pitch of a note by one semitone (favors flats).

To add either (i) a double flat or double sharp, (ii) a courtesy (also known as cautionary or reminder) accidental, or (iii) a non-standard accidental, use one of the following options:

• Select a note and click on an accidental in the toolbar above the score.
• Select a note and double-click an accidental in the Accidentals palette (basic or advanced workspace).
• Drag an accidental from the Accidentals palette on to a note.

If you wish to add parentheses to a cautionary accidental, use one of the following:

• Select the accidental in the score and double-click the parentheses symbol in the Accidentals palette.
• Drag the parentheses symbol from the palette onto the accidental.
• Select the accidental and check the "Has bracket" box in the Inspector (as of version 2.1).

If you later change the pitch of a note with cursor keys, manual settings to the accidental are removed.

If required, accidentals can be deleted by clicking on them and pressing Del.

Change enharmonic spelling

To change the enharmonic spelling of a note, or notes, in both written and concert pitch views:

1. Select a note, or group of notes;
2. Press J;
3. Continue pressing J to cycle through the enharmonic equivalents.

To change the enharmonic spelling in the written pitch view, without affecting the concert pitch view, or vice versa:

1. Select a note, or group of notes;
2. Press Ctrl+J (Mac: Cmd+J);
3. Continue pressing the same combination of keys to cycle through the enharmonic equivalents.

Note: If the pitches of selected notes are not all the same, the effect may be unpredictable.

Respell pitches

• From the menu, select Notes→Respell Pitches.

See also

• Key signature: Change

External links

• Accidental at Wikipedia
• Enharmonic at Wikipedia