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accidental

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music | 1996 | | Copyright

accidental. The sign indicating momentary departure from the key signature by the raising or lowering of a note by means of a sharp, flat, natural, etc. It holds good throughout the measure (bar) unless contradicted, and where it occurs attached to the last note of the measure and this note is tied to a note in the next measure, it holds good for that latter note also. In some 20th-cent. mus. any accidental which occurs is understood to affect only the note before which it is placed, as was also often the case with mus. from the medieval period to the 17th cent.

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MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "accidental." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "accidental." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-accidental.html

MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "accidental." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-accidental.html

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accidental

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

ac·ci·den·tal / ˌaksiˈdentl/ • adj. 1. happening by chance, unintentionally, or unexpectedly. 2. incidental; subsidiary. 3. Philos. (in Aristotelian thought) relating to or denoting properties that are not essential to a thing's nature. • n. 1. Mus. a sign indicating a momentary departure from the key signature by raising or lowering a note. 2. Ornithol. another term for vagrant. DERIVATIVES: ac·ci·den·tal·ly adv.

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"accidental." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"accidental." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-accidental.html

"accidental." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-accidental.html

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