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Natural (music)
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Example

An A natural, then A♭.

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In modern Western music notation, a natural (♮) is a musical symbol that cancels a previous sharp or flat on a note in the written music. The natural indicates that the note is at its unaltered pitch.^[1]

The natural symbol can be used as an accidental to cancel sharps or flats on an individual note. It may also be shown in a key signature to indicate that sharps or flats in a previous key signature are cancelled.

${ \omit Score.TimeSignature \key c \major \time 2/1 ais'1 a'1 aes'! a'}$

${ \omit Score.TimeSignature \key e \major s8^"" \bar "||" \key g \major s^"" \bar "||" \key aes \major s^"" \bar "||" \key f \major s^""}$

A note is referred to as 'natural' when the letter-name note (A, B, C, D, E, F, or G) is not modified by a flat or sharp (either from a key signature or an accidental). These notes correspond to the white keys on the keyboard of a piano. A key signature with no sharps or flats generally indicates A minor or C major, using all natural notes with no sharps or flats.

The natural sign is derived from a square b used to denote B♮ in medieval music (in contrast with the round b denoting B♭, which became the flat symbol).

Usage

Like all accidental markings, the natural symbol is written to the left of the note head and applies to subsequent notes of the same pitch through the remainder of the measure.

${ \omit Score.TimeSignature \relative c'' { b!1 }}$

A note marked with a natural sign can be changed to a flat or sharp by simply applying the new accidental.

${ \omit Score.TimeSignature \key c \major \time 4/4 b'!2 bes' b'! bis'}$

A natural sign (♮) cancels a flat or sharp from a previous note or key signature.

${ \omit Score.TimeSignature \key aes \major s8^"" \bar "||" \key f \major s^""}$

${ \omit Score.TimeSignature \key e \major s8^"" \bar "||" \key g \major s^""}$

Sometimes these cancelling naturals at a key change are omitted, but they must be used if the new key has no flats or sharps.

$\relative c' { \omit Score.TimeSignature \set Staff.printKeyCancellation = ##f \key aes \major s8^"" \bar "||" \key f \major s^"" \bar "||" \key e \major s^"" \bar "||" \key c \major s^"" }$

In the music notation program Lilypond, naturals are used at a key signature change to cancel a flat or sharp from the previous key signature, but are not shown when the flat or sharp changes to double flat or double sharp. The following shows key changes from A flat major to F flat major to G flat major in Lilypond.

${ \omit Score.TimeSignature \key aes \major s8^"" \bar "||" \key fes \major s^"" \bar "||" \key ges \major s^"" }$

In the music notation editing program MuseScore, a software bug causes a new key signature to not display naturals when changing from a key that the user has created, even if the new key has no flats or sharps. The following example shows G-sharp major changing to C-major.^[2]

${ \omit Score.TimeSignature \key gis \major _\markup { \halign #-.3 "G-sharp major ➡ C-major"} s^"" \bar "||"s^"" }$

Double natural

A double natural is a symbol that has two naturals (♮♮). It may be used to cancel a double flat or double sharp, but in modern notation a single natural sign (♮) is acceptable.^[3] The same principle can be applied when canceling a triple sign (triple flat / triple sharp) or beyond.^[4]^[5]

${ \omit Score.TimeSignature \relative c'' { beses2_"Older Practice" \tweak Accidental.restore-first ##t b bisis \tweak Accidental.restore-first ##t b beses_"Modern Practice" b bisis b } }$

Similarly, a simple ♭ or ♯ without a natural sign can be used to indicate that a double flat or double sharp has been changed to a single flat or sharp, but older notation may use ♮♭, ♭♮, ♮♯, or ♯♮ instead. When changing a flat to a sharp or vice-versa, the combined symbols ♮♯ or ♮♭ can be used.^[6]

${ \omit Score.TimeSignature \relative c'' { beses2_"Older Practice" bes bisis bis \accidentalStyle modern beses_"Modern Practice" bes bisis bis } }$

Most notes showing a double-flat or double-sharp correspond in pitch with a natural note but, since they are notated differently, are considered enharmonic equivalents of the natural note. The same is true for F♭, C♭, E♯, and B♯.

In John Stump's Prelude and the Last Hope, double naturals are used to cancel double flats in a key signature.^[7]

$dn=\markup{ \natural \hspace #-.5 \natural } { \omit Score.TimeSignature \set Staff.keyAlterations = #`((6 . ,DOUBLE-FLAT)(2 . ,DOUBLE-FLAT)(5 . ,DOUBLE-FLAT)(1 . ,FLAT)(4 . ,FLAT)(0 . ,FLAT)(3 . ,FLAT)) s^"" \bar "||" \key cis \major \override Staff.KeyCancellation.stencil = #ly:text-interface::print \override Staff.KeyCancellation.text = \markup { \concat {\dn \raise #1.5 \dn \raise #-0.5 \dn \raise #1 \natural \raise #-1 \natural \raise #0.5 \natural \raise #-1.5 \natural}} s^""} \paper{tagline = ##f}$

Unicode

The Unicode character MUSIC NATURAL SIGN '♮' (U+266E) should display as a natural sign. Its HTML entity is ♮.

References

^ Benward & Saker (2003). Music in Theory and Practice, Vol 1, p.6. McGraw-Hill, Seventh edition. "Natural (♮)—cancels any previous sharp or flat and returns to the natural, or unaltered, pitch."
^ "No cancelled key signature when changing custom key signature to C major / A minor". GitHub.
^ "OnMusic Dictionary - Term". www.music.vt.edu. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
^ Max Reger: Clarinet Sonata No.2 (Complete Score), pp. 33.: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
^ Wen, Eric (2011). "E-quadruple flat: Tovey's Whimsy". Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Musiktheorie (in German). 8 (1): 77–89. doi:10.31751/612.
^ Chopin: Études No. 9, Op.10 (C.F. Peters), pp. 429.: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
^ "Prelude and the Last Hope in C and C Minor". 3 March 2012.

This music-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Benward & Saker (2003). Music in Theory and Practice, Vol 1, p.6. McGraw-Hill, Seventh edition. "Natural (♮)—cancels any previous sharp or flat and returns to the natural, or unaltered, pitch."

[2] "No cancelled key signature when changing custom key signature to C major / A minor". GitHub.

[:0-3] "OnMusic Dictionary - Term". www.music.vt.edu. Retrieved 20 July 2020.

[4] Max Reger: Clarinet Sonata No.2 (Complete Score), pp. 33.: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project

[5] Wen, Eric (2011). "E-quadruple flat: Tovey's Whimsy". Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Musiktheorie (in German). 8 (1): 77–89. doi:10.31751/612.

[6] Chopin: Études No. 9, Op.10 (C.F. Peters), pp. 429.: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project

[7] "Prelude and the Last Hope in C and C Minor". 3 March 2012.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Short description|In music, accidental which cancels previous accidentals}}
 {{Listen|filename=Example of flats in music.ogg|title=Example|description=An A natural, then A{{music|♭}}.}}
-In modern Western [[music notation]], a '''natural''' (♮) is a musical symbol that cancels a previous [[Sharp (music)|sharp]] or [[Flat (music)|flat]] on a [[Musical note|note]] in the written music. The sharp or flat may be from a [[key signature]] or an [[accidental (music)|accidental]]. The natural indicates that the note is at its unaltered [[pitch (music)|pitch]].<ref>Benward & Saker (2003). ''Music in Theory and Practice, Vol 1'', p.6. McGraw-Hill, Seventh edition. "''Natural'' ({{music|natural}})—cancels any previous sharp or flat and returns to the natural, or unaltered, pitch."</ref>{{Infobox symbol|mark=<nowiki>♮</nowiki>|unicode=U+266E <br />
+In modern Western [[music notation]], a '''natural''' (♮) is a musical symbol that cancels a previous [[Sharp (music)|sharp]] or [[Flat (music)|flat]] on a [[Musical note|note]] in the written music. The natural indicates that the note is at its unaltered [[pitch (music)|pitch]].<ref>Benward & Saker (2003). ''Music in Theory and Practice, Vol 1'', p.6. McGraw-Hill, Seventh edition. "''Natural'' ({{music|natural}})—cancels any previous sharp or flat and returns to the natural, or unaltered, pitch."</ref>{{Infobox symbol|mark=<nowiki>♮</nowiki>|unicode=U+266E <br />
 (HTML : &#9838)|different from=}}
-== Examples ==
 The natural symbol can be used as an [[accidental (music)|accidental]] to cancel sharps or flats on an individual note. It may also be shown in a [[key signature]] to indicate that sharps or flats in a previous key signature are cancelled.
 <score>{ \omit Score.TimeSignature \key c \major \time 2/1 ais'1 a'1 aes'! a'}</score><score>{ \omit Score.TimeSignature \key e \major s8^"" \bar "||" \key g \major s^"" \bar "||" \key aes \major s^"" \bar "||" \key f \major s^""}</score>
-A note is referred to as 'natural' when the letter-name note (A, B, C, D, E, F, or G) is not modified by flats or sharps from a key signature or an accidental. These notes correspond to the white keys on the [[Musical keyboard|keyboard]] of a [[piano]] or [[Organ (music)|organ]].
+A note is referred to as 'natural' when the letter-name note (A, B, C, D, E, F, or G) is not modified by a flat or sharp (either from a key signature or an accidental). These notes correspond to the white keys on the [[Musical keyboard|keyboard]] of a [[piano]]. A key signature with no sharps or flats generally indicates [[A minor]] or [[C major]], using all natural notes with no sharps or flats.
+The natural sign is derived from a square ''b'' used to denote B{{music|natural}} in medieval music (in contrast with the round ''b'' denoting B{{music|b}}, which became the flat symbol).
-The keys of [[A minor]] or [[C major]] and their scales contain all natural notes, whereas other scales and keys have at least one sharp or flat.
+== Usage ==
-F{{music|b}}, C{{music|b}}, E{{music|#}}, B{{music|#}}, and most notes inflected by double-flats and double-sharps correspond in pitch with natural notes but are regarded as [[enharmonic]] equivalents of the natural note.
+Like all [[Accidental (music)|accidental]] markings, the natural symbol is written to the left of the note head and applies to subsequent notes of the same pitch through the remainder of the measure.
-The natural sign is derived from a square ''b'' used to denote B{{music|natural}} in medieval music (in contrast with the round ''b'' denoting B{{music|b}}, which became the flat symbol). The [[Unicode]] character <small>MUSIC NATURAL SIGN</small> '♮' (U+266E) should display as a natural sign. Its HTML entity is {{mono|&amp;#9838;}}.
+<score>{ \omit Score.TimeSignature \relative c'' { b!1 }}</score>
-==Double natural==
-A '''double natural''' is a symbol that has two naturals (♮♮). It may be used to cancel a [[double flat]] or [[double sharp]], but in modern notation a single natural sign (♮) is acceptable.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=OnMusic Dictionary - Term |url=http://dictionary.onmusic.org/terms/1189-double_natural |access-date=20 July 2020 |website=www.music.vt.edu}}</ref>
-<score> {
-\omit Score.TimeSignature \relative c'' {
-  beses2_"Older Practice" \tweak Accidental.restore-first ##t b bisis \tweak Accidental.restore-first ##t b beses_"Modern Practice" b bisis b
-} }
-</score>
-Similarly, a simple ♭ or ♯ without a natural sign can be used to indicate that a double flat or double sharp has been changed to a single flat or sharp, but older notation may use ♮♭,  ♭♮, ♮♯, or ♯♮ instead.<score> {
-\omit Score.TimeSignature \relative c'' {
-  beses2_"Older Practice" bes bisis bis \accidentalStyle modern beses_"Modern Practice" bes bisis bis
-} }
-</score>
+A note marked with a natural sign can be changed to a [[Flat (music)|flat]] or [[Sharp (music)|sharp]] by simply applying the new accidental.
-* The same principle can be applied when canceling a [[Triple accidental|triple sign]] ([[triple flat]] / [[triple sharp]]) or beyond.<ref>{{IMSLP|work=2 Clarinet Sonatas, Op.49 (Reger, Max)|cname=Max Reger: Clarinet Sonata No.2 (Complete Score), pp. 33.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wen |first=Eric |date=2011 |title=E-quadruple flat: Tovey's Whimsy. |journal=Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Musiktheorie |language=de |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=77–89 |doi=10.31751/612 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
+<score>{ \omit Score.TimeSignature \key c \major \time 4/4 b'!2 bes' b'! bis'}</score>
-* When changing a flat to a sharp or vice-versa, the combined symbols ♮♯ or ♮♭ can be used.<ref>{{IMSLP|work=Études, Op.10 (Chopin, Frédéric)|cname=Chopin: Études No. 9, Op.10 (C.F. Peters), pp. 429.}}</ref>
+A natural sign ({{Music|natural}}) cancels a flat or sharp from a previous note or [[key signature]].
-* In John Stump's ''Prelude and the Last Hope'', double naturals are used to cancel double flats in a key signature.<ref>{{cite web |date=3 March 2012 |title=Prelude and the Last Hope in C and C Minor |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/heatherlewin/6951090591}}</ref>
-<score raw="1">dn=\markup{ \natural \hspace #-.5 \natural } { \omit Score.TimeSignature \set Staff.keyAlterations = #`((6 . ,DOUBLE-FLAT)(2 . ,DOUBLE-FLAT)(5 . ,DOUBLE-FLAT)(1 . ,FLAT)(4 . ,FLAT)(0 . ,FLAT)(3 . ,FLAT)) s^"" \bar "||" \key cis \major \override Staff.KeyCancellation.stencil = #ly:text-interface::print \override Staff.KeyCancellation.text = \markup { \concat {\dn \raise #1.5 \dn \raise #-0.5 \dn \raise #1 \natural \raise #-1 \natural \raise #0.5 \natural \raise #-1.5 \natural}} s^""} \paper{tagline = ##f}</score>
-== Default Notation ==
-In [[musical notation]], a natural sign ({{Music|natural}}) cancels a [[Flat (music)|flat]] or [[Sharp (music)|sharp]] from either a preceding note or from the [[key signature]].
 <score>{ \omit Score.TimeSignature \key aes \major s8^"" \bar "||" \key f \major s^""}</score>
 <score>{ \omit Score.TimeSignature \key e \major s8^"" \bar "||" \key g \major s^""}</score>
@@ Line 53: / Line 36: @@
 </score>
-As shown in the figure below, in the music notation program [[Lilypond]], when changing the key, natural is not notated when the flat or sharp of the key signature changes to double flat or double sharp<ref>In other words, not notated like: <score>{ \omit Score.TimeSignature \omit Score.KeyCancellation \key aes \major s16^"" \bar "||" \set Staff.keyAlterations = #`((6 . ,NATURAL)(2 . ,FLAT)(5 . ,FLAT)(1 . ,FLAT)(4 . ,FLAT)(0 . ,FLAT)(3 . ,FLAT)(6 . ,DOUBLE-FLAT)) s^""}</score></ref>, respectively, but natural is notated in the opposite case. The following shows the case when changing the keys in the order of [[A flat major]] → [[F flat major]] → [[G flat major]] in Lilypond.
+In the music notation program [[Lilypond]], naturals are used at a key signature change to cancel a flat or sharp from the previous key signature, but are not shown when the flat or sharp changes to double flat or double sharp. The following shows key changes from [[A flat major]] to [[F flat major]] to [[G flat major]] in Lilypond.
 <score>{ \omit Score.TimeSignature \key aes \major s8^"" \bar "||" \key fes \major s^"" \bar "||" \key ges \major s^"" }</score>
-There is a [[software bug]] in the music notation editing program [[MuseScore]] that causes the new key signature to not display any naturals when changing a key that the user has created. This is even true when transposing to a key that does not have a flat or sharp. The following is an example of changing a [[G-sharp major]] key directly to [[C-major]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=No cancelled key signature when changing custom key signature to C major / A minor |url=https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/issues/20343}}</ref>
+In the music notation editing program [[MuseScore]], a [[software bug]] causes a new key signature to not display naturals when changing from a key that the user has created, even if the new key has no flats or sharps. The following example shows [[G-sharp major]] changing to [[C-major]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=No cancelled key signature when changing custom key signature to C major / A minor |website=[[GitHub]] |url=https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/issues/20343}}</ref>
 <score>{ \omit Score.TimeSignature \key gis \major _\markup { \halign #-.3 "G-sharp major ➡ C-major"} s^"" \bar "||"s^"" }</score>
+==Double natural==
-Like all [[Accidental (music)|accidental]] markings, the natural symbol is written to the left of the note head and applies to subsequent notes of the same pitch through the remainder of the measure.
+A '''double natural''' is a symbol that has two naturals (♮♮). It may be used to cancel a [[double flat]] or [[double sharp]], but in modern notation a single natural sign (♮) is acceptable.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=OnMusic Dictionary - Term |url=http://dictionary.onmusic.org/terms/1189-double_natural |access-date=20 July 2020 |website=www.music.vt.edu}}</ref> The same principle can be applied when canceling a triple sign ([[triple flat]] / [[triple sharp]]) or beyond.<ref>{{IMSLP|work=2 Clarinet Sonatas, Op.49 (Reger, Max)|cname=Max Reger: Clarinet Sonata No.2 (Complete Score), pp. 33.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wen |first=Eric |date=2011 |title=E-quadruple flat: Tovey's Whimsy. |journal=Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Musiktheorie |language=de |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=77–89 |doi=10.31751/612 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
+<score> {
+\omit Score.TimeSignature \relative c'' {
+  beses2_"Older Practice" \tweak Accidental.restore-first ##t b bisis \tweak Accidental.restore-first ##t b beses_"Modern Practice" b bisis b
+} }
+</score>
+Similarly, a simple ♭ or ♯ without a natural sign can be used to indicate that a double flat or double sharp has been changed to a single flat or sharp, but older notation may use ♮♭,  ♭♮, ♮♯, or ♯♮ instead. When changing a flat to a sharp or vice-versa, the combined symbols ♮♯ or ♮♭ can be used.<ref>{{IMSLP|work=Études, Op.10 (Chopin, Frédéric)|cname=Chopin: Études No. 9, Op.10 (C.F. Peters), pp. 429.}}</ref><score> {
+\omit Score.TimeSignature \relative c'' {
+  beses2_"Older Practice" bes bisis bis \accidentalStyle modern beses_"Modern Practice" bes bisis bis
+} }
+</score>
+Most notes showing a double-flat or double-sharp correspond in pitch with a natural note but, since they are notated differently, are considered [[enharmonic]] equivalents of the natural note. The same is true for F{{music|b}}, C{{music|b}}, E{{music|#}}, and B{{music|#}}.
-<score>{ \omit Score.TimeSignature \relative c'' { b!1 }}</score>
+In John Stump's ''Prelude and the Last Hope'', double naturals are used to cancel double flats in a key signature.<ref>{{cite web |date=3 March 2012 |title=Prelude and the Last Hope in C and C Minor |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/heatherlewin/6951090591}}</ref>
-Canceling the previous natural sign on a note of the same pitch is done by adding a new accidental.
+<score raw="1">dn=\markup{ \natural \hspace #-.5 \natural } { \omit Score.TimeSignature \set Staff.keyAlterations = #`((6 . ,DOUBLE-FLAT)(2 . ,DOUBLE-FLAT)(5 . ,DOUBLE-FLAT)(1 . ,FLAT)(4 . ,FLAT)(0 . ,FLAT)(3 . ,FLAT)) s^"" \bar "||" \key cis \major \override Staff.KeyCancellation.stencil = #ly:text-interface::print \override Staff.KeyCancellation.text = \markup { \concat {\dn \raise #1.5 \dn \raise #-0.5 \dn \raise #1 \natural \raise #-1 \natural \raise #0.5 \natural \raise #-1.5 \natural}} s^""} \paper{tagline = ##f}</score>
+== Unicode ==
-<score>{ \omit Score.TimeSignature \key c \major \time 4/4 b'!2 bes' b'! bis'}</score>
+The [[Unicode]] character <small>MUSIC NATURAL SIGN</small> '♮' (U+266E) should display as a natural sign. Its HTML entity is {{mono|&amp;#9838;}}.
+== See also ==
+* [[Flat (music)]]
-If a key change indicates flats or sharps of a key signature changing to double flats or double sharps, naturals are sometimes used to cancel the single flats or sharps.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
+* [[Sharp (music)]]
+* [[Accidental (music)]]
+* [[Key signature]]
 ==References==

v t e Musical notation
Staff	8^va 15^ma Abbreviation Bar Clef Da capo Dal segno Key signature Ledger line Mode Ossia Scale Rehearsal letter Repeat sign Tempo Time signature Transposition Transposing instrument
Musical notes	Accidental flat natural sharp Cue note Dotted note Grace note Note value beam Notehead stem Pitch Rest Tacet Tuplet Tremolo Interval Helmholtz pitch notation Letter notation Scientific pitch notation
Articulation	Accent Caesura Damping Dynamics Fermata Fingering Legato Marcato Ornament Appoggiatura Glissando Grace note Mordent Slide Trill Portato Slur Staccato Tenuto Tie Tonguing
Sheet music	History of music publishing Music engraving Music publisher Scorewriter
Other systems	Braille music Chord chart Chord diagram Eye music Figured bass Graphic notation Lead sheet Nashville Number System Numbered musical notation Klavarskribo Tablature Parsons Percussion notation Simplified Ancient Greek Chinese Ekphonetic Gamelan Kunkunshi Neume Swaralipi Shakuhachi Znamenny
Related	Mensural notation Music stand Perfect pitch Sight-reading Transcription
List of musical symbols Category:Musical notation