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Hi thanks in advance for answering. I’m learning a tune that is written in D major, where Fs as written are sharp , the arrangement in one measure goes : G Fnat Ab Gb.

Why not just write F instead of G flat?

The piece is in D maj. F would be sharp anyhow.

user85305
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    It could be an error; there could be a good reason. It's impossible to know without knowing what else is going on. Can you name the piece or, better yet, post an image of the sheet music? – phoog Feb 03 '22 at 08:48
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    Need to see the dots, please! – Tim Feb 03 '22 at 09:00
  • My point of view: just because f sharp and g flat map to the same key on a piano is insufficient reason to replace one by the other. – guidot Feb 03 '22 at 09:01
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    @guidot that is correct, but it is also correct that sufficient reasons exist. Whether there are any such reasons here is not yet knowable. – phoog Feb 03 '22 at 09:12
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    Does this answer your question? What's the difference between a G♭ and an F#? – guidot Feb 03 '22 at 09:34
  • Agreeing with @guidot comment #3, this could be a deliberate will from the editor in order for potential copyright infringements to be easily proven. I've seen that so many times in the 60's. Could OP also inform about the editor ? – MC68020 Feb 03 '22 at 10:16
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    @MC68020 enharmonic respelling is not going to provide a very convincing defense against infringement proceedings. A legitimate theoretical reason could exist, however. For example, if the piece temporarily tonicizes the raised fourth degree, it would be more legible to spell it as the lowered fifth degree, and the seventh of V7/♭V is G♭. Or maybe it's the third of the minor chord built on the lowered second degree, or ... – phoog Feb 03 '22 at 11:32
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    This might be a portion of the D major piece that actually isn't in D major. Key signatures not reflecting the excerpt's current key is common in classical-era sonata-allegros. For more disgusting examples, there's at least one edition of Chopin's Heroic Polonaise and the sheet music of Michael Markowski's Shadow Rituals. – Dekkadeci Feb 03 '22 at 13:10
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    If you add an image of the piece (at least a page, not just one or two bars) this question will probably be reopened and answered accurately. – John Belzaguy Feb 03 '22 at 18:19

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