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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 sharp or flat may be from a key signature or an accidental. The natural indicates that the note is at its unaltered pitch.^[1]

Examples

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 or organ. A key signature with no sharps or flats generally indicates A minor or C major, using all natural notes with no sharps or flats.

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♯.

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, when changing the key, a natural is not shown when the flat or sharp of the key signature changes to double flat or double sharp, but it is used to cancel a flat or sharp. The following shows the case when changing the keys in the order of A flat major → F flat major → G flat major in Lilypond.

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

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.^[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]

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

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.

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

The same principle can be applied when canceling a triple sign (triple flat / triple sharp) or beyond.^[4]^[5]

When changing a flat to a sharp or vice-versa, the combined symbols ♮♯ or ♮♭ can be used.^[6]

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 21: / Line 21: @@
 <score>{ \omit Score.TimeSignature \relative c'' { b!1 }}</score>
-A note marked with a natural sign can be changed to a sharp or flat by simply applying the new accidental.
+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.
 <score>{ \omit Score.TimeSignature \key c \major \time 4/4 b'!2 bes' b'! bis'}</score>

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