reminder accidental

Meaning of Reminder Accidental in Music

In music notation, a **reminder accidental**, also known as a **courtesy accidental** or **cautionary accidental**, is used to remind the musician of the correct pitch if the same note occurs in the following measure. It is a special way of using accidentals in music notation to ensure the musician plays the correct pitch according to the key signature ).

Usage of Reminder Accidentals

The usage of reminder accidentals can vary among publishers, but there are a few common situations where they are applied:

1. **When the first note of a measure had an accidental in the previous measure**: If a note in the previous measure had an accidental, a reminder accidental may be used at the beginning of the next measure to remind the musician to maintain the altered pitch ).2. **After a tie carries an accidental across a barline**: If a note is tied across a barline and the same note appears in the next measure, a reminder accidental may be used to indicate that the pitch should remain altered ).3. **When a chord contains a diminished or augmented octave**: In chords that contain a diminished or augmented octave, reminder accidentals may be used to clarify the pitch of the notes ).4. **When there is a cross relation with another part**: If there is a cross relation between two parts, where one part has an altered pitch and the other part has the same note with a different pitch, a reminder accidental may be used to indicate the correct pitch ).

It's important to note that publishers of free jazz music and some atonal music may choose to eschew the use of courtesy accidentals altogether ).

Example of Reminder Accidental Usage

Here's an example to illustrate the usage of reminder accidentals:

```In the key of C major:- In the first measure, there is a C# (C sharp) note.- In the second measure, a reminder accidental in the form of a natural sign (♮) is placed before the C note to indicate that it should be played as a natural C, not C#.

Measure 1: C# Measure 2: ♮C

The reminder accidental in measure 2 ensures that the musician plays the correct pitch according to the key signature, even though the natural C would be implied by the key signature itself [[5]].```

Remember, reminder accidentals are used to avoid confusion and provide clarity to the musician regarding the correct pitch to be played in specific situations.