Natural then flat/sharp for "undoing" double-accidentals

• Apr 25, 2015 - 03:55

The normal way to notate to go from a double-accidental to a normal sharp or flat is to have a natural followed by the flat/sharp symbol. Is there a way for MuseScore be able to create this accidental?


Comments

You could add the natural from the Symbols palettew (Z).

I have seen this before, but do you have a source to support calling this the "normal" way? If there is an objective basis for this, we should make it happen by default.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

The "Accidental" entry in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1980) says:

"A double sharp is changed to a single sharp by writing ♮♯ or occasionally ♯, a double flat to a single flat by ♮♭ or occasionally ♭,"

My own take on this is that the use of naturals in this context was usual in the 19th century and became less common during the 20th, but the Grove entry would suggest that the use of the natural was still more frequent than its omission, at least up to 1980.

Grove doesn't appear to address the question of how to notate a sharp following a double flat, or a flat following a double sharp.

In reply to by ghicks

Thanks for the info! Elaine Gould in "Behind Bars" specifically recommends against this "traditional practice" as being redundant. Since it is possible to create this effect if you want it, I am inclined to leave things alone. I suppose we could consider a new combined accidental on the palette for those who wish to use it.

It's not 'normal' at all; it has, in fact, been obsolete for a very long time. I only ever see it in what I'd call legacy scores from certain publishers that were engraved a very long time ago.

Do you still have an unanswered question? Please log in first to post your question.