6.1.2 Accidentals

A sharp is formed by adding -is to the end of a pitch name and a flat is formed by adding -es. Double sharps and double flats are obtained by adding -isis or -eses to a note name.

     
     a2 ais a aes
     a2 aisis a aeses

These are the Dutch note names. In Dutch, aes is contracted to as, but both forms are accepted. Similarly, both es and ees are accepted

     
     a2 as e es

A natural will cancel the effect of an accidental or key signature. However, naturals are not encoded into the note name syntax with a suffix; a natural pitch is shown as a simple note name

     
     a4 aes a2

The input d e f is interpreted as “print a D-natural, E-natural, and an F-natural,” regardless of the key signature. For more information about the distinction between musical content and the presentation of that content, see Accidentals and key signatures.

     
     \key d \major
     d e f g
     d e fis g

Commonly tweaked properties

In accordance with standard typesetting rules, a natural sign is printed before a sharp or flat if a previous accidental needs to be cancelled. To change this behavior, use \set Staff.extraNatural = ##f

     
     ceses4 ces cis c
     \set Staff.extraNatural = ##f
     ceses4 ces cis c

See also

Program reference: LedgerLineSpanner, NoteHead.

Other languages: French.