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I understand why you'd add courtesy accidentals, but I was browsing through some old sheet music lying around here and came across this, and can't seem to come up with a reason for this natural in bar 2:

enter image description here

What am i missing here? The signature's G and only the F's should be raised, so why naturalise the G's? I don't have any training, so maybe this is simply something I've missed in my self-study.

(It's from "Alec Eiffel" by Pixies BTW)

==edit==

enter image description here

Creynders
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    could you please poste a few more bars and the staff of F clef too? I assume there could be a G# in the left hand if this is somewhat of a blues style ... – Albrecht Hügli Jan 25 '19 at 11:52
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    Hehe, it doesn't really provide any more info, except that the chord's E there. But I uploaded a picture, so you can see for yourself. – Creynders Jan 25 '19 at 11:59
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    And the bass cleff is not provided separately btw. This is literally it – Creynders Jan 25 '19 at 12:02
  • sorry, I hope I haven't spoiled your question ;) I can delete my comment and my answer if you like. – Albrecht Hügli Jan 25 '19 at 12:04
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    I would call this a courtesy accidental. The difference between "redundant" and "courtesy" is nil IMHO. Not really worth worrying about. – Carl Witthoft Jan 25 '19 at 15:20
  • @CarlWitthoft - courtesy accidentals really ought to have parentheses, thus showing them to be accidentally on purpose. Any other accidentals which are absolutely necessary and correct don't need them. To be really courteous, the writer and printer should be doing that. Although here, that natural is totally unnecessary! – Tim Jan 26 '19 at 11:36
  • @Tim I see your point, but as a (sigh, so old!) very experienced orchestral player, I can say it's a lot easier to read music without extra parentheses crowding the page. – Carl Witthoft Jan 26 '19 at 13:55
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    @CarlWitthoft - with you all the way. Basically can't see the point in that natural (or other superfluous accidentals) anyway. There's always enough stuff to read without overcrowding, I'm sure you'll agree! – Tim Jan 26 '19 at 14:13

3 Answers3

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The harmony of the given chord in the 1st 2 bars is in E (major chord), the accidental in front of g you consider (minor third!) is referring to this Chord of E.

Albrecht Hügli
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    Ah, ok I think I get it! Since the harmony's E and in the E chord there's no G but a G#, they want to alert you on that deviation, right? – Creynders Jan 25 '19 at 12:05
  • I would say "chord" rather than "key," but this is obviously the correct answer. – phoog Jan 25 '19 at 12:05
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    @Creynders that's a possible reason. It's also possible they didn't want you to think that they'd forgotten to put a sharp sign. I would have put the natural sign in parentheses. – phoog Jan 25 '19 at 12:07
  • @phoog - Yep. The natural in front of the G is to ban the memory of the G# that went before in the accompaniment. And yeah, it should have been in parentheses. – Scott Wallace Jan 25 '19 at 13:47
  • @ScottWallace but it didn't go before; it's simultaneous. – phoog Jan 25 '19 at 15:21
  • I have just found a youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWYpaZTFedE this isn't a blues, rather something heavy metal or even punk. But the guitar fillin' contains some blue notes after 0'35" That's quite the style like I wrote "I'm a pilgrim and a stranger" in 1967 :) – Albrecht Hügli Jan 25 '19 at 15:37
  • Hehe, yes I wouldn’t classify the Pixies as ”blues” – Creynders Jan 25 '19 at 15:39
  • The song references the French engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, who designed the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty; "Because of Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, but also because it's funny: in Australia, you often say 'It's a smart Alec' Australians generally use the word to describe someone who is speaking out of turn; often in a way that makes them appear more intelligent than the person or group they are addressing. In Britain and the United States - a "smart Alec" is the exact opposite of Francis' description—someone who is intelligent, but mean or sarcastic. – Albrecht Hügli Jan 25 '19 at 15:41
  • @ScottWallace The problem with parentheses is that they serve a double meaning here, as in some music, the accidental is optional, i.e., it's up to the interpreter how he likes it. I personally stopped putting the helper accidentals in parentheses for this reason. I'm still looking for a good notation though as I don't like it now either :-/ – yo' Jan 26 '19 at 11:17
  • @yo: Do you mean the accidentals in late renaissance and early baroque music for recorder, lute and clavichord or harpsichord and songs. b rotundum or quadratum. look up in these style. – Albrecht Hügli Jan 26 '19 at 11:22
  • @AlbrechtHügli No, I mean for example option D/D# accidental when a hymn in E minor ends in D D/D# D. Or certain modern folk songs where the author himself alternates B or Bb in a C major song when either C or C7 is played, and he simply plays the 7 and sings Bb or does not play the 7 and sings B. The first example is the "romantic 7th" popular at some times by some people (I hate it and remove it whenever I can), the second one is probably a bluetone-inspired innovation. – yo' Jan 26 '19 at 11:33
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    @AlbrechtHügli - it should perhaps be pointed out that the accidentals in early music you speak of are modern editor's additions- they don't appear in the original notation, with or without parentheses. – Scott Wallace Jan 28 '19 at 19:20
  • you're right, Scott, I really forgot it. – Albrecht Hügli Jan 28 '19 at 21:05
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This is where the blues notes blur the key. The 'key' is more likely E, but in Eminor blues the E blues scale uses the same notes as the G major blues. The writer has decided that that G major/E minor key sig, is clearer/ more accurate, but when there is G note, since it's over an E major chord, it needs to be G natural, and thus it's a courtesy accidental.

It's impossible to write a key sig. for blues, thus the dilemma and the potential need for these courtesies.

Tim
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the previous chord is an E Major chord, which has a G#, the natural sign is probably to remind you that you that the next bar does not have that, for some reason.

Neil Meyer
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  • duplicate answer, therefore dv. – Tim Jan 26 '19 at 08:37
  • Also, not really correct. In this type of notation, it is understood that there is E major chord in both first and the second measure, so the G note in the melody is played against G# note in the harmony. – user1079505 Jan 12 '24 at 01:05